How to Re-Engage Cold Email Subscribers

One of the most challenging parts of setting up an email marketing strategy is how to create a re-engagement campaign… because re-engaging customers can feel about as awkward as running into someone you ghosted months ago.

And really… I get it. It can feel like you’re calling attention to your absence on the channel if you suddenly start popping up in inboxes again — the email equivalent of showing up late to work with a latte in hand. Should you address the absence? Or, carry on as if you never went MIA?

Enter the re-engagement campaign

A re-engagement email campaign is a subtle nod to the fact that a segment has not engaged with your content in some time (whether by your absence or their lack of interest). These customers need their own series to build up the trust and relationship again.

>> As I’ve said before (and will continue to repeat) customers that have already subscribed but are inactive are still more valuable than potential new leads.

But before we go about re-engaging these inactive subscribers, we need to figure out…

Which subscribers on our lists are in need of some wooing

This will vary by the email software that you use, but typically you can Google the following and get some pointers on identifying subscribers for re-engagement:

“List clean [software name]” or “identify cold subscribers [software name]”

So, for example, if you use ActiveCampaign, type in, “identify cold subscribers ActiveCampaign”

And Google will spit out a helpful article (& sometimes video) from your email marketing software.

Yes, it really is that simple.

It’ll look something like this:

Once you identify the customers, you need to decide what to send them.

Here is where I recommend a 3-5 part nurture series designed to pull that inactive subscriber back into your world. Below is a simple but effective cadence to get you started, but of course, you’ll need to adjust the timing and the content based on what you know about your audience.

3-5 part nurture series:

1. Email 1: Gauging interest + value
   • Goal of this email = Start the re-engagement with value, and if they click anything you can track their interest.
   • What to include: A warm reintroduction to you & your business. Links to recent highly-valuable + well-liked content.
     
2. Email 2: (48 Hours Later) Checking interest + value
   • Goal of this email = Update their subscriber account with the email address they’re most active on.
   • What to include: A short, fun anecdote introduction leading into a request that they reply with their preferred email so you can update their contact info (if needed).
     
3. Email 3: (48 Hours Later) Get them to reply
   • Goal of this email = Open up dialogue to re-engage the subscriber.
   • What to include: Make this email super short, punchy, and personal. Try to make it look like you’re sending a personal email VS a mass email from your email marketing software.
     
4. Email 4: (48 Hours Later) Unsubscribe
   • Goal of this email = Remove this contact from your list if they’re truly disinterested
   • What to include: Two click action options –
     • Can you let me know either way?
       • Click here to keep getting them
       • Click here to unsubscribe

Pro-Tips:

👉 See what we did in email 4? I recommend including those click action options in every email of the re-engagement sequence – include a P.s. with the option to “click to stay subscribed”. The moment they click that hyperlink we want them to get removed from the remaining re-engagement emails. If they’re interested in staying, there’s not need to annoy them with follow ups about it!

And of course, the moment they click to unsubscribe, the email software will unsubscribe them.

👉 If you have a lot of cold subscribers, split them into a couple of “phases of re-engagement”. Why? Because email service providers (like gmail, outlook, yahoo, etc.) are a protective bunch. If they see you emailing and NOT getting opens, they may bounce you to spam. Enough spam filtering and it could impact your overall email deliverability for future campaigns.

What does “a lot of cold subscribers” look like? It’s kind of subjective based on your email list size, but I’d say don’t email more than 100 cold people a time to be safe.

The most important element of this series is the value of each touchpoint — to pull the subscriber back into your world and re-engage them. Linking to content, including resources, and delivering benefits will give them an irresistible taste of your expertise + remind them why they subscribed in the first place. 

Any questions? Send me a DM on Instagram, let’s chat!

Or ya know, shoot me an email 😉

Shannon

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