Best Practices for Curing List Fatigue, Part 2

In this part, we offer takeaway tips to combat list fatigue and help you re-engage inactive customers who haven't given up on your brand. (To view Part 1, where we examined some of the root causes of list fatigue, click here.)

Before you can attempt to re-engage customers, it's necessary to determine which ones have become inactive. Work with your e-mail service provider to mine your data. Compile a list of the subscribers who've opened at least one of your e-mails in the predetermined time frame you've set (for example, six months), then compare that list against the entire list to identify the subscribers that have received but haven't opened a single message. Then, reach out to those subscribers with a re-engagement campaign.

Here's a look at the whitepaper's best practices to re-engage inactive customers.

1. Reach out with a special offer. Include a special offer, such as a contest, survey, coupon, free whitepaper or report, among other things, in your first attempt at re-engaging inactive customers. The e-mail should be exciting, eye-catching and to the point to capture their attention, the whitepaper says.

2. Attempt a second contact. If subscribers don't open or respond to your special offer, send a follow up e-mail informing them that their subscriptions will soon expire. Include a link that allows them to confirm that they wish to remain on your list, the whitepaper advises. This message will attract those subscribers who've been reading your messages but not responding.

3. Send a final notice. If your subscribers still don't respond, give them one more chance to remain on your list. Create a subject line announcing that this is their last chance. In the e-mail itself, be sure to include all the benefits they'll be missing out on in future e-mails to encourage some subscribers to reactivate their accounts, the whitepaper says.

4. Say goodbye. If your re-engagement campaigns didn't generate any response at all, it's time to remove those subscribers from your list. Send them a farewell e-mail letting them know their accounts have been suspended, and include a link on how they can reactivate their accounts if they're interested in your products or services in the future. Don't unsubscribe the recipients from your list completely; segment your data to prevent this group from receiving future messages, the whitepaper adds.

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