How Targeting the Unengaged Improves Your Bottom Line

We all know that inbox providers prefer if you only send emails to engaged segments. The more you send to uninterested recipients, the more spam-filter rejection you face. On the other hand, targeting those who have opened, clicked, or purchased improves inbox placement and strengthens customer relationships.

But what if you could reactivate large portions of your list, boost sales, and expand your engaged segment without hurting deliverability or spending extra money?

Every subscriber matters. You invest time, effort, and money to grow your list. Plus, you need a broader audience because not every customer responds to every promotion. So, how do you engage the unengaged without risking deliverability?

No, we’re not suggesting cliché “we-missed-you” cat banners.

Instead, pepper your engaged segments with small fractions of your unengaged list for each campaign—keep it under 10%. This approach maintains open rates while reintroducing your brand to forgotten subscribers.

Steps:

1. After a re-engagement flow, save inactive profiles to a folder in your storage drive.
2. Re-upload a subset to your email list, labeling it “Unengaged after Re-engagement Flow” with the date.
3. Select 1,000 records for a new segment labeled “Sample 1” with the date. Include this in your next campaign.
4. Repeat with additional 1,000-record samples, ensuring each excludes previous samples until all unengaged subscribers are covered.
5. Incorporate these segments one at a time in future campaigns. Open rates may dip slightly, but revenue will rise.

Why It Works ✌:

1. Timing Matters: Sometimes prospects aren’t ready to buy—perhaps they recently purchased elsewhere or even from you. A re-engagement email at the wrong time can result in unsubscriptions, yet these recipients could become loyal customers later.
2. Changing Circumstances: Life changes daily, as do your products, competitors’ offerings, prices, and gifting occasions. Dormant subscribers might respond to the right product at the right price when the timing aligns.

What re-re-engagement success stories do you have? Comment below and share your experiences!

Anna Hrychukh and Thomas McClintock, Hustler Marketing