Want To Increase Email ROI? A Re-engagement Campaign Is The Answer

I was reviewing email strategy with a new client, and he stressed the urgency of finding new leads asap. As we began discussing specifics, I was completely distracted by the CRM. Turns out we weren’t starting from 0. There were actually 3,000+ leads that had opted into the list since2017.  

But since the business didn’t send any emails for over a year, the owner actually forgot how many leads he had and assumed they were no good. After closely reviewing the contact information, it turns out most of those leads were quite viable for this B2B. The answer was to create two distinct email campaigns: one was a re-engagement campaign for those “old” leads and a second campaign to welcome and convert the new leads coming from advertising.

The Stark Reality of Inactive Leads

In this example, the business stopped emailing, but most of the time it’s the subscriber who just stops opening your emails. Over time, the unopened emails move to spam or just sit in the inbox, unopened forever or until deleted.

When subscribers stop engaging with email, many businesses ask, “what did we do wrong?” But the reality is everyone gets an overwhelming number of emails every single day. It’s normal for many leads to simply drop off. In fact, it’s estimated that 20% or more subscribers will become inactive annually.  

There are several reasons why this happens.  

• The emails (or product/service) are boring.
• Emails don’t clearly communicate how you can help.
• Too many selling and self-promotion emails.  
• Subscribers thought they were signing up for something else.  
• Emails are  so Infrequent that readers forgot who you are.
• Emails that don’t deliver the content as promised.
• Readers forget why they signed up in the first place.
• People use fake or unchecked email accounts to receive information.  

Increase Email ROI with an Email Re-Engagement Campaign

A re-engagement campaign is an email marketing strategy to win back those inactive subscribers and identify who needs to be permanently removed. This campaign uses your subscriber data to create targeted emails that encourage subscribers to connect with your brand, remind them of the value of your product/service, and ultimately increase loyalty and purchases. A re-engagement campaign increases your email effectiveness and ROI by helping you to:  

·        Reconnect with leads who were once interested but for some reason dropped off.

·        Improve your database by learning what topics are of interest to individual leads.

·        Identify stale leads and remove them before they impact deliverability and sender reputation.

·        Give insights and context to the older leads who may have been collected without any data.

·        Nurture and convert leads who may be interested but need a relationship first.

Re-Engagement Campaign Tips

Every business is different so each re-engagement campaign will be unique. Here are some tips and best practices to help you have a successful email campaign:

Run a report to identify the leads who haven’t engaged with your emails in some time and reintroduce yourself.  The timeframe depends on your business. This could be 2 or 3 months but if you only email monthly, use a longer timeframe.

Use your CRM to add contact tags that easily identify inactive leads. Segment leads by topics or other insights if possible. Ideally the more relevant the information you send the better. Consider how to group similar leads together. The most successful emails are the ones that feel like a conversation, where you are speaking directly to each person individually.  

Create a series of these emails to send only to the specific contacts or group of contacts you identified.  

Prioritize your time to craft really great subject lines. It’s vital that your emails stand out in a cluttered inbox and encourage readers to open them. Test different options to see learn what works best for your readers.

Include your best-performing content or create new, helpful, interesting, and engaging content.  

Show that you value your contacts with an incentive or exclusive offer. This is often impossible for B2Bs so consider offering a webinar or virtual event instead.

Use a clear call-to-action that prompts the subscriber to engage with you, this could be visiting your website or downloading valuable information.

Include a button for contacts to click if they still want to hear from you. Encourage readers to update their email preferences and select the topics they are most interested in.  

Make it easy for inactive leads to opt out. This gets resistance from business owners but why not make it easy to be removed from your list? The cleaner your database, the more accurate your analytics and deliverability are.

Test and analyze different call-to-actions and offers to see which ones perform the best.  

Identify a waiting period before resending or setting email open conditions. This gives readers time to interact with the email before you send follow-up emails.

Once there is activity, be sure to remove the inactive tag from your CRM list. Use your email providers automation functions to create new lists based on activities such as clicking call-to-action buttons or visiting website pages.

Follow up with the inactive tagged contacts who did not interact by sending one more “last chance” email.

It’s All About the Subject Line

Subject lines are what grab readers’ attention and set expectations about what your email is all about. The greatest email in the world means nothing if no one reads it. That’s why it’s so important to spend time creating and analyzing your subject lines to see what works for your readers.

For your re-engagement campaign, build on those subject lines by creating a sense of urgency that the reader is missing out on. And be sure that your emails deliver on what the subject line promised. Here are a couple of ideas to help you create stand-out re-engagement subject lines:

·        We noticed you’ve been a little distant lately

·        {First Name}, don’t leave a good thing behind

·        We’re here to help with x. Let’s reconnect

·        {First Name} do you still want to hear from us?

·        {First Name}, we’re wondering how we can help you.

·        You haven’t read our messages, Should we stop emailing you?

·        Are we still welcome in your inbox?

·        We have all new X. See how we’re helping other xyzs

·        Long time, no see{First Name}. Let’s catch up…

·        We still miss you(and you still have 20% off)

·        We want you back and have a special offer to prove it

·        Are you sure you want to leave x behind?

·        {First Name}, it’s been awhile. We have news.

·        {First Name}, we miss you!

A re-engagement campaign is a vital component of email marketing because it helps maintain a healthy email list, improves email deliverability rates, and increases customer retention and engagement. By creating targeted emails, you can win back inactive subscribers, rekindle your relationships and keep them engaged with your business. Over time this will significantly improve your email ROI and grow your business.

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