Ideas to Win-Back Lost Readers

Have you thought about using win-back emails to bring customers and subscribers back? Things change. Your subscribers and customers get busy. They stop opening your emails and they aren’t clicking your links. Things used to be going so well. How do you get them back in action?

It may be as simple as making a change in your subject line. Maybe you can change the content order around in your messages. Your subscribers were interested in your information. They filled out your form and even clicked a confirmation link to verify that they wanted to see what you have to offer. Don’t just let their inactivity take them away.

It may be time to send a win-back email. According to a study by Salesforce, 63% of marketers surveyed said that re-engagement campaigns are “very effective.” And a study by Return Path found that 45% of recipients who received win-back emails read subsequent messages.

By sending your inactive subscribers a win-back email, you will be able to see who is still interested in your offer. You may even generate some immediate sales. I’ve seen inactive subscribers re-engage, thank me for the reminder, and decide to order from me.

Here are some ideas you might use to see if you can win back some subscribers and customers with your TrafficWave Email Marketing Campaign

1. Make them an offer they can’t refuse. 

Maybe you can offer a discount, such as a buy 1 get 1 free offer. Maybe offer free shipping.

2. Let them know you’re thinking about them.

Sometimes, it helps to just remind your subscribers that they are on your list and that you are still interested in helping them. Recently, we sent out a broadcast to everyone who hadn’t opened a message or clicked a link in the past 90 days in our 30 Minute List Building Challenge campaign. The message was just a reminder that they had asked for the information and that we were still interested in helping them get started with email marketing. We got replies back asking questions. We got new orders. We got a few “thank you” messages with a commitment to get back to us. That’s a win-win from a win-back email!

3. Clear up any confusion. 

Your message may be fine. Your subject line may be fine. It just might be getting lost in the Gmail Promotion tab. A major retailer was able to re-engage a number of their gmail subscribers by sending this message:

You Love GMail, so do we. But some changes may have landed your emails from us in your promotions tab.

Let’s Get Back Together

Simple Fix: Drag this email into your Primary Tab – Fixed, Done. Thank you.

They closed out with an offer of free shipping on the next purchase.

If you get creative, you can re-engage your subscribers and customers and that brings life (and revenue) in to your business.

Your TrafficWave email marketing account helps you find out who is engaged and who may need a re-engagement email message. The stats of one of my campaigns showed the Subscriber base growing and the open rate shrinking.

For example, I had 100 subscribers and a 87% open rate. 200 Subscribers and 43% open rate, and then 400 subscribers and a 21% open rate…. Whats Going On?

I thought maybe I had a static number of loyal customers say about 80 That opened all the time. So I went into my TrafficWave campaign and looked at the stats. This is what I found.

Every new subscriber opened email number 1. Then most 80 to 90 % opened 2, same on email 3, same on email 4. But hardly anyone opened email 5, 6, and so on. I thought email 5 has a bad subject lie maybe? So I went to look at the individual emails.

That is when I saw email 1-3 were about 90% value and 10% ads, but email 4 was just one big ad. And that turned off a lot of people. I removed that email and sent a Win-Back email to my audience.

The subject line was “Forgive Me, I provided no value” The body started with, “I sent you a zero value, 100 percent ads, email. I am sorry. I know you requested my emails because of what you could learn. It will not happen again.”

I then provided them a little bit more of what they originally came for. I won back many of my lost prospects and my open rates have strengthen significantly. I had abused my list and I had lost their attention. Respecting them has led to many more opens and consistent sales.

Using the tools in TrafficWave I was able to identify the problem and email only those who had stopped opening emails. Love it.

What are some of the most effective win-back emails you have sent or received? Let me know just reply to this email.