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Engage effectively, engage impactfully: email subscribers activation methods!
8 min read
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by Helen Parf
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All of us have email lists we are subscribed to, but we never (or seldomly) open them or even click on the links. It is a fact. However, as an email marketer, you should not accept the fact that some subscribers become inactive. Instead, you must attempt to reactivate (or re-engage) them with various email campaign strategies. Effective re-engagement initiatives can bring back consumers at a lower cost than acquiring new ones. And that’s a fact.
Have you been in this scenario?
Not too long ago, a few of our close partners told us their common problems that they usually stumble across when trying to re-engage their past subscribers.
So imagine if you already have a significant email base of your subscribers. Around 60% of them do not convert successfully. The second you try to approach them you come across two major things:
- You don’t know how to segment them, as you lack more user information on them.
- You don’t know how much of a discount you need to offer.
And with that being said, you clearly lack a certain level of understanding of where your next step should be. Unless you begin to think outside of the box and analyze your audience.
Why email re-engagement is essential?
Having a high proportion of inactive subscribers on your email lists can be detrimental for a number of reasons.
If you repeatedly send emails to recipients who do not interact with them, your sender's reputation may suffer (or have marked you as spam).
Because this subscriber occupies space on your list, your expenses are higher. The majority of email marketing firms charge based on the number of subscribers, thus unengaged subscribers are a waste of money and force you to pay for a more expensive plan.
Importantly, if you're providing products or services, it's typically easier to re-engage an existing customer than to attract a new one; so, you could be leaving money on the table if you don't attempt to contact these individuals.
If your re-engagement email is successful in regaining a subscriber, it is a success because your list now has more engaged users. This is the ideal case, and you should be able to win back every single unengaged subscriber with your emails.
4 impactful re-engagement methods
Personalization for the win!
Personalization is critical for your email marketing strategy, not simply re-engagement initiatives. According to various studies, the open rate for emails containing a personalized message is 17.6%, compared to 11.4% for emails without it.
Send personalized offers to dormant members to activate their accounts once again. Analyze each recipient's purchase history, product usage, and web behavior to identify how to regain their clicks and, eventually, their business for the most effective re-engagement efforts.
Here are some core suggestions for more personalized re-engagement campaigns:
- Analyze the recipient's historical actions and purchases before making product recommendations. Then, recommend products that correspond with their purchasing inclinations. For instance, you could recommend a product that interfaces with a recently acquired tool. If it’s a dress, advise them to a pair of shoes that will complement the entire look.
- Send anniversary discounts to honor the anniversary of the recipient's subscription to your email list. For instance, your re-engagement message may read, "In light of your six-month anniversary with us, you'll receive 20% off your next purchase!". This could potentially enlighten your subscribers and make them purchase goods from your website.
- People anticipate receiving birthday gifts from their friends and family, but a gift from a company they subscribe to may come as a pleasant surprise. A personalized "Happy Birthday" email can't go wrong; birthday emails receive 235% more opens and 300% greater click-through rates than standard advertising emails.
In the example below, a corporation combines an anniversary with a discount offer, which may be sufficient to re-engage a portion of your dormant email subscribers.
Unique welcome email series
What should you do if a welcome email is the most critical initial step in the process of engaging your new subscribers? In that case, you should always consider the correct choice of words. The welcome series can be composed of two, three, or more triggered emails sent in response to a new subscriber's action, possibly informing them about your business or requesting further information about their preferences.
We know the initial welcome email must be sent as soon as possible, as the user’s action has been initiated. But what about the timing of all subsequent emails? For that, you must test and determine what your audience prefers.
If you can segment from the outset based on the circumstances around a new subscription, you can immediately give better, more focused messaging. For instance, someone may be a new subscriber because they are a new customer: They just made their first purchase from you. Or perhaps they subscribed through your Facebook page.
You could also initiate engagement with responses. If some individuals respond positively to emails received more regularly, they may be more engaged than others. Consider segmenting them into distinct email marketing lists with a welcome series that has a faster cadence, so they get migrated into your regular email list more quickly.
Segmentation is a must
Emails with tailored subject lines improve email revenue by 760%. By segmenting your target lists, you may more effectively personalize emails and interact with your audiences. Relevant information for one consumer may not be relevant for another; therefore, tailoring emails based on targeted lists will increase your email engagement rates.
Using a signup form to collect information about your clients is one of the most effective ways to segment your lists. You can collect subscriber information such as location, gender, marital status, occupation, age, and interests. Additionally, lists can be segmented based on the buyer's path or recent email action. For instance, you can send a welcome email to every new customer and send specialized consumers VIP email content.
Create different email campaigns that are most appropriate to each list's interests after segmenting the lists. This boosts the relevance and personalization of each email you send, which can boost your return on investment.
What are some additional methods for segmenting an email list? The buyer's journey and email activity have been covered, but what about the landing page activity? Occasionally, the trip begins well before a person becomes a customer. Customers may be perusing your product pages, about page, and contact page in search of additional information.
Not only customer journey, but also user behavior can be used to effectively segment your list. What about those who only visit during special events? How about your most frequent website visitors? Each group has email engagement potential.
For example, if you observe consumers with low usage rates, it may be the ideal time to send re-engagement letters to inactive clients. You can also assist those in the readiness stage prior to a purchase to take the necessary next steps.
There are additional possibilities for personal characteristics besides those listed above. Rather than only segmenting people based on their occupation, you can build larger, more generic categories by focusing on the industry.
This enables you to create broader emails that can reach a larger audience and helps you discover which industry sectors are the most profitable. For instance, open rates vary by industry; consequently, subscription statistics and other engagement metrics may demonstrate comparable variances.
When discussing subscriber engagement, subscription duration also plays a significant influence. For instance, new subscribers may welcome a brief explanation of your brand's essence. Your new subscriber may require additional information that your existing subscribers do not.
Remember, re-engagement emails aren't just used to engage dormant customers. Additionally, they can do the same for inactive subscribers. Your email list can accomplish a great deal for your brand that does not entail sales. You can encourage the downloading of eBooks, the completion of surveys, and even the clicking through of calls to action, as well as the viewing of new sites.
Email engagement demands originality. Occasionally, you may need to expand the scope of your segments. In some instances, you may need to adjust the send frequency for certain groups but not others.
No matter how you split your list, you create fresh opportunities. Even if you use some of the lesser-known segmentation techniques, you can still achieve good results and sometimes even exceed your metrics' expectations.
Interesting & Intruding content
Your re-engagement email approach is intended to motivate your subscribers to take action; however, they may not be ready to purchase a product or request a demo, so a contest or giveaway may be more effective.
Promote a specific prize in the subject line and body of your email. After an inactive subscriber enters your contest, you should send them more content to reintroduce your brand. Those who do not win the ultimate prize may then continue to interact with your emails.
Examine the simple example provided below. This email offers a free sample of their product, which is not novel in and of itself. However, the reason why competitions and giveaways are so popular is that once a participant participates, they are likely to remain engaged with your emails while they await contest outcomes.
In conclusion
It is impossible to win back every inactive email list subscriber. Some subscribers will not be re-engaged by even the most extensive and focused promotions. Learn to detect when it's time to move on and remove a subscriber from your list after multiple unsuccessful attempts.
But keep in mind that even if you lose a few subscribers permanently, this number will be insignificant compared to the number of subscribers you may potentially re-engage. We hope this post has provided you with ideas for your subsequent re-engagement campaign.
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