In an ideal world, every connection on a company’s email list would be operating, matched, and a usual buyer. Unfortunately, that’s not how it always works. Inactive subscribers rise and emerge, and some become sedentary over time.
Why are companies reducing their subscriber lists?
In 2019, Microsoft announced that it would remove accounts that haven’t been accessed for over two years – for security reasons. Since accounts that are no longer managed are easier to hack without anyone noticing, they felt it was best to delete (former) users’ accounts.
Netflix will begin deleting accounts that have not been accessed for a year in 2020. According to their claims, they were saving money by reminding users to pay for the ongoing service.
Upon not opening an email over a short period, one of our employees was removed from a marketing industry newsletter. It was a way to minimize overhead costs for this business by eliminating the costs of sending emails to those who did not open them.
As companies eliminate inactive users more often, we thought we’d examine the pros and cons of this practice and think about why it’s becoming more popular for large and small businesses alike.
The old way to take on inactive subscribers
In the past, the rule was to delete inactive subscribers from your list to escape obstacles. What kind of problems? Mailing emails to inactive consumers could harm your deliverability. If Google or Yahoo sees that you’re mailing email after email to users who aren’t opening them, they could start switching your emails to the spam folder.
A new way to take on inactive subscribers
But there’s another point of view in this contest. An inactive subscriber is superior to a vacant one, right? After all, it costs five times as much to get new consumers than it does to keep an actual one.
Inactive subscribers have evidently taken interest in your company or product at some point, so it seems reasonable that you could re-engage them to join your active list before deleting them.
Say goodbye to inactive subscribers or not?
An inactive subscriber who never hooked up with an email or acquired anything from your association is distinctive from an inactive subscriber who has a past of buying but hasn’t done so in the last six months.
Inactive subscribers don’t come up in a straightforward way, but we’ll show you how to divide them into three groups, give you an idea of how to segment or manage them, and depict which emails you should send to keep them active.
Type of inactive subscriber: passive or unengaged
They were active and committed subscribers, but just entered a rest period that has you wondering if they’re going to resume or not.
These inactive subscribers have the most ability. They’re on the verge and, with the right email marketing, you can stroke their buying power your way once again.
Type of inactive subscriber: zombies
These subscribers haven’t opened, clicked, or transformed in a long time. This gang has very little possibility of alluring your emails again.
If these subscribers have gone a severe duration of time without alluring with your emails (say 6-12 months), they’re not unusually going to bounce on board by sending a voucher code their way. But that also doesn’t mean you should just say farewell and discontinue
Type of inactive subscriber: never active
Then they faded from sight. If they have never even opened an email, let alone clicked on a link or made a purchase, then what is your reason to keep reaching out to them?
While this may seem a hard step to take, a key point to keep in mind is that you have already tested to attract these connections when they become asleep or are not occupied or when they are in the “zombie” section. If this guy has never displayed any claim in your emails and you have tested to rehire them, it is clear that continuing to send them emails is a profitless exercise.
Implementing a re-engagement campaign
Once you’ve taken the time to check your emailing list and properly determine who your inactive subscribers are, you want to take the necessary time to work and re-establish them before you write them off as lost permanently.
It costs five times as much to bring in a new consumer than it does to retain and re-engage an actual one. You should also make sure you re-commit everyone who’s been absent before you just say goodbye.
No matter what their reason, you shouldn’t just discard them from your mailing list before trying to contact them. The best way is to send them an email and ask them if everything is alright.
Wrap up
Understanding your inactive subscribers is a fundamental part of your email list sanitation. By separating your inactive subscribers and ensuring the suggested ideas that are listed above, you can target your struggles on contacts that have the highest possibility of being hooked and ensure you keep your email output rates high.
Once you’ve separated your lists and analyzed who’s gone inactive, be sure to compose an email campaign to reconnect them. It’s much more practical in the long run to try to get back your subscribers than it is to try and find new ones.
When re-connecting your subscribers, you want to make sure that:
– They can reveal you’ve recorded their absence
– You inspire them to come back
– You give motivation and clarify the perquisite of returning to them.
About Post Author
Anant Gupta
Growth Hacker, Marketing Automation Enthusiast & Founder of GrowMeOrganic