There’s nothing like the fresh, vibrant connection between you and a new subscriber. They just can’t wait to get their hands on your newslet-ter, and they revel at the subtle windows within the email that show your virtual personality shining through. However, the more time passes, the higher likelihood of your consumers’ interests and attention being directed someplace else. This isn’t necessarily a reflection of something you’re doing wrong; it’s just the nature of the beast. Thankfully, there are a few tested steps you can take that might re-spark the flare you once had with your under-engaged subscribers.
Subscriber Re-engagement — Why Bother?
Some marketers don’t recognize subscriber re-engagement as a priority. They see it as something that requires a great amount of effort without guaranteeing results. However, the fact is that there are several possible reasons why consumers cut off ties with a brand, and several of them can be captivated anew. Consider a reengagement campaign as your chance to reach out to your dormant consumers and remind them why they were pulled toward your brand in the first place.
Make Your Campaign Fun
Inactive subscribers might have simply developed a tolerance to your specific emailing tone, and this might have dulled their consumer experience over time. Spice things up by making your email campaign vibrant, eye-catching and fun for whoever opens your messages. Include some game mechanics in your consumer’s experience, and add incentives by rewarding them for performing well on the games. “Strategically implemented game mechanics can help to engage both enthusiastic and even passive subscribers better. The concept of adding some fun to communications in order to grow user interaction of course is not new, but the idea of ‘gamification’ takes reward-based engagement to a higher level,” writes Smart Insights. “Ideally, a nice incentive is included, to make your customers’ efforts worthwhile. CarDelMar’s reward for correctly guessing the city the car is traveling through, was a chance to win a free car rental for one week – an attractive prize, which ensures a higher likelihood of customer engagement.”
Try Something Different
When something doesn’t work the first time, the next logical step is to try it again in a different way. The reason that your subscribers have been neglecting you might not boil down to your manner of executing your emails, but switching up your content might spark their attention once more. “Mix up your content and send something a little out of the ordinary (but still on brand). Try sending each subscriber a personalized promo code, with special messaging about how you haven’t seen them in a while,” offers Byrd. It may also help to change the style of your email in order to catch your consumer’s eye. “It’s likely that most of your emails have been designed as HTML emails with your brand as the from name. Consider sending a plain text email from a customer support representative, as a “check-in” with the subscriber. Ask if they have any questions about your product and reinforce the idea that you’re there to help.”If All Else Fails, Cut your LossesIf you are not seeing results by a certain point, it’s time to form a mental goodbye to your inactive subscribers, and focus on more productive endeavors. Despite an effective re-engagement strategy, most inactive subscribers tend not to re-engage. Once you have done everything you could think of, it may be time to close the chapter in this regard, and move on to more productive endeavors. Separate your inactives from your regular send lists, and look forward to more promising campaigns.
