How to run an email re-engagement campaign

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Unsubscribing people from your email list feels a bit wrong. We live in a data-driven world where metrics, like follower numbers and subscribers, have become indicators of our value – but they’re only part of the story.

 

It’s much more satisfying to report on the big subscriber number rather than the smaller percentage of people actually engaging with your email content.

 

However, inactive email subscribers could be decreasing the chance of your emails reaching inboxes. How do you know when it’s time to say goodbye?

 

 

Email engagement and deliverability

 

When your charity sends an email, email service providers (ESPs) decide whether it should end up in the recipient’s inbox or their junk mail. They look at a few factors such as spam complaints and bounces, as you might expect, but open rates, click through rates, and ‘spammy’ words in the content also affect your sender reputation. 

 

 

What is a re-engagement campaign and why run one?

 

The purpose of a re-engagement campaign is to help you make decisions about your subscriber list – who to hold on to and who to say goodbye to.

 

The idea is that you send a short series of emails with your best content and offers to re-engage lapsed subscribers.

 

Those who engage with the campaign or any other recent email content stay subscribed. Those who don’t, get unsubscribed.

 

Re-engagement is an important part of email list hygiene, but investing time in these campaigns can get overlooked.

 

Rob Mansfield, Head of Digital at World Cancer Research Fund, says: “Charities often chase new donors and supporters, while ignoring their greatest asset – those who once cared enough to sign up to email. A re-engagement campaign doesn’t just revive an email list, it resurrects relationships – and costs far less than a paid social media campaign.”

 

 

Who to target for a re-engagement campaign

 

Re-engagement campaigns shouldn’t go to all your subscribers, just those who aren’t opening or clicking on your emails.

 

You’ll need to define what an inactive or dormant subscriber looks like for your charity or non-profit. Is it someone who hasn’t opened or clicked on a link for three, six, or twelve months, for example?

 

Most email marketing providers will have options for segmenting your subscribers based on their activity. For example, in Mailchimp, you can segment by interaction with campaigns or by using the engagement ratings system.

 

 

What makes a great email re-engagement campaign?

 

An important starting point is your audience’s needs. Why did they subscribe in the first place? What did they need from you?

 

Options for a successful re-engagement campaign could include elements we discuss below.

 

 

Should you re-use your most popular email content?

 

Simply repeating the most popular emails with some re-wording or subject-line testing could work, but consider looking more broadly across your social media and website content too.

 

What were the best posts for reach and engagement on your socials and which info pages and blogs were the most visited on your site – could these form the basis of your campaign?

 

 

Re-set your relationship with users

 

Check in with your audience to find out whether they still want to receive emails from you.

 

If you have a preferences centre set up you can direct them there to share more about the type of information they want to receive and how often. 

 

Surveys are also a really great way to check in, learn more about your audience’s needs and preferences, and drive engagement with lapsed subscribers.

 

 

Offer giveaways

 

Discounts and free postage aren’t usually an option for charities, but lead magnets and giveaways are.

 

What could you offer to your subscribers to keep them engaged? If you’re running successful value exchange campaigns or using lead magnets to grow your email list, think about offering a lead magnet or item to your target group of lapsed subscribers – ideally one they haven’t been offered already.

 

 

Test your email content

 

If you’re running a re-engagement campaign for the first time, consider testing a couple of approaches with a sample segment of your audience before rolling out the campaign.

 

According to Go Fund Me and Dataro, testing your content is really important. They recommend optimising it for engagement and using A/B or multivariate testing to optimise the campaign.

 

 

How to measure email success

 

Success in a re-engagement campaign looks like:

• Re-engaging some lapsed subscribers
• Sunsetting (unsubscribing) subscribers who don’t engage with the re-engagement campaign or any other recent email content you’ve sent

 

Automating the email marketing process

 

You can use automated journeys to identify lapsed subscribers, target them with your re-engagement campaign and unsubscribe them if they stay lapsed.

 

The campaign content will need to be refreshed from time to time, but setting up an automation to help with email list hygiene can save staff time.

 

Re-engagement campaigns shouldn’t be a one-off. They should be running regularly to win back subscribers and say goodbye to any who’ve become disengaged and could be affecting deliverability.