What is an inactive subscriber?
An inactive subscriber in the context of email marketing or digital communications refers to an individual on an email list who has not engaged with the emails sent over an extended period. This lack of engagement typically means that the subscriber has not opened or clicked on any links within the emails. The specific timeframe used to define an “inactive subscriber” can vary depending on the organization’s criteria, but it commonly ranges from several months to a year.
What are the characteristics of an inactive subscriber?
Typically, an inactive subscriber is someone who has not interacted with your email content or CTA in the past 6 to 12 months. There are a few characteristics of inactive email subscribers that you should be aware of:
- Inactive subscribers are more likely to unsubscribe from your list because they aren’t interested in your content.
- They are less likely to purchase from you since they are not opening the emails.
- They might not take the necessary actions through CTA in your emails.
- They can negatively affect your email deliverability rates and impact the open rate.
How can you identify an inactive subscriber?
There are a few different ways to identify an inactive subscriber. One way is to look at the open rate and click-through rate for your email campaigns. If a subscriber hasn’t opened or clicked on any of your emails in a while, they may be considered inactive.
Another way to identify an inactive subscriber is by using a tool like InactivitySensor. InactivitySensor can help you track subscribers who are not engaging with your email campaigns for a period of time. If you have a lot of subscribers who haven’t engaged with your emails in a while, InactivitySensor can help you weed them out so that you can focus on the subscribers who are more active.
Why are inactive subscribers a problem for email marketers?
Inactive subscribers are a problem for email marketers because they can lower the overall engagement and click-through rates of an email campaign. Inactive subscribers are those who have subscribed to a mailing list but haven’t opened or clicked on any of the emails they’ve received from that list. This can be a problem because it means that the email messages you’re sending are not reaching the people who are most interested in them, and it can also indicate that your list is growing stale and needs some update.
One way to combat the problem of inactive subscribers is to prune your mailing list regularly by removing inactive and invalid email addresses. This also means removing subscribers who haven’t interacted with your emails for a long time. You can also try to re-engage inactive subscribers by sending them a special offer or discount coupon in the email or by including an interactive element, like a quiz, in your campaign.
How can you re-engage inactive subscribers?
There are a few ways to re-engage inactive subscribers with email marketing:
- Try a different approach. If you’ve been sending the same types of emails to your inactive subscribers and they haven’t been responding, try an email with different content or structure. Maybe send them a survey or ask them to participate in a contest. Or, if you have a new product or service to promote, send an email about that instead.
- Send a reactivation campaign. A reactivation campaign is a series of emails specifically designed to re-engage inactive subscribers. It can be a great way to try out new ideas and see which ones work best for getting your subscribers interested again.
- Use segmentation to target specific groups of inactive subscribers. Not all inactive subscribers are the same, so it’s important to target specific groups of them with customized campaigns. For example, you could target those who haven’t opened any of your emails in the past month or those who opened but didn’t click on any links. This will help you create messages that are more likely to resonate with each group.
- Offer an incentive. One way to get people interested in your emails again is to offer an incentive for re-engaging. This could be anything from a discount or coupon code to exclusive content or early access to sales or promotions.
What are the benefits of re-engaging inactive subscribers?
There are a few key benefits to re-engaging inactive subscribers:
- You can potentially increase your overall email engagement rates. According to MailChimp, email engagement rates can drop by up to 75% when subscribers don’t receive any messages for a period of 4-6 months. Re-engaging inactive subscribers can help to mitigate this drop-off and keep your engagement rates more consistent over a longer time.
- You can improve your email deliverability rates. When subscribers stop interacting with your emails, it can be a sign that they’re no longer interested in hearing from you. This can lead to your emails being marked as spam or blocked by ISPs. Re-engaging inactive subscribers show that there is still interest in your content and improve your deliverability rates.
- You can reduce your unsubscribe and complaint rates. When subscribers stop interacting with your emails, it’s often a sign that they’re not happy with the content you’re sending them and have some other expectations. This can lead to higher unsubscribe and complaint rates, which are both bad for your email reputation. Re-engaging inactive subscribers can help to reduce these rates and keep your email list healthy.