A user visits lots of different websites each day. Numerically speaking 96+ domains each month. You cannot expect a user to remember each and every one of these websites and revisit them. So what can you do? Well, what else than sending them gentle reminders of visiting you again and keeping them updated when a new product is launched or a new feature is added. These emails help the users keep track of all the developments that have occurred in the time they didn’t visit a website. Re-engagement emails are a way to do just that. When a user doesn’t visit your website in a long time, you send-out a re-engagement email to them along with an alluring offer so that they pay a visit again at your website.

What are re-engagement emails?

As the name suggests, re-engagement emails are sent to engage again. They are targeted at the customers who paid a visit to the website once or were regular customers but are no longer active users. These emails are usually sent along with a re-engagement offer such as discount code or with the announcement of a new update or product that would make the users want to revisit a website.

Why are re-engagement emails important?

Doesn’t matter how many customers you have got in your mailing list, if they don’t engage regularly, it’s definitely going to affect your market reputation and your brand value. There is no point in people just visiting your website once and never coming back because that will just show your products are not good enough and your ranking on Google can get negatively impacted because of that.

This is where re-engagement emails come in. They remind the users to revisit your websites and check out what they have missed while they were gone. This way, re-engagement emails help you establish long-term relations with your customers and turn them into loyal customers who may help in enhancing your brand image in the market and on social media.

How to write good re-engagement emails?

As email marketing is evolving, marketers are getting more creative each day with their email design and copy. New tricks and ideas are used each day to get more and more client visits on a website. This also includes email marketing. The way in which an email is designed and written plays the most important role in determining how much engagement it can create.

As email marketers, we have collected and summarized a few tips and tricks for creating effective re-engagement emails that will help you win back your lost customers.

1. Remember you can’t win back your customers over a single email.

When you decide to win back customers, always remember that it will take more than a single email to do that. So plan and create a series of emails that could be sent over certain intervals after 1 or 2 months of a user’s inactivity.
So how many emails and at what intervals should you send? Well, usually it’s a series of 3-4 emails but I suggest that four emails are more than enough to send everything you have to offer.

Now usually the first email of the series is to just send a gentle reminder to the user that they haven’t been active lately. You can do this in two ways. First, directly let them know they haven’t been active for a while or you could add some spice and emotion to it and make it more interesting. For example, instead of writing – “Hey you haven’t visited us for a while”, try writing – “You are missing out on so many amazing offers, hurry while you still can and check these out”. However, it completely depends on the type of business you are and the types of services you offer.
The main thing is to give them the idea that they have been missing out on something amazing!

1.1 Suggested subject lines-

In all my blogs related to effective email writing, I have always mentioned how important subject lines are. They are the very first thing your customers see. Whether they decide to open an email or not depends a lot on your subject lines.

We have created a list of some subject lines for all business types. You can either use these in your re-engagement emails or take inspiration from them to write your own ones.

Creative and Funny Email Subject Lines –

Are we breaking up?
We really miss you!
Is it us or is it you?
Can we make up?
Let’s have THE TALK
Where is this going?
It’s been a while
Is this goodbye?
Have you forgotten about us?

Formal Subject Lines –

Do you want to continue receiving our emails?
Get XX off of your next purchase!
We have some amazing offers for you.
It’s been a while
Please come back
We miss you!

2. Offer free stuff that provides a value.

While some of the customers forget about visiting your website simply because they visit lots of websites each day and cannot remember each and every one of them. However some people may decide to not visit because they think that your products and services are just not for them. This may be due to two reasons – either the products are expensive or irrelevant. If you notice that a person has added some items to the cart but is not checking out, this could be mainly because they think the price is high and expect to buy when the price drops. In this case, you should include an offer such as a discount code or free stuff.

But if you notice that a person hasn’t even viewed the products much and hasn’t revisited in a while then they might not find your products relevant. As a marketer, you need to create an urgency or need for your products in your customer’s heads. Try noticing their shopping patterns and offer them a discount on similar products available on your website. Another option is asking them their preferences directly and then sending a follow up email offering relevant products on discount.

3. Send Personalized messages

As an email marketer, you should remember that people do not need your products, they need solutions. Honestly, I can’t say this enough. There are tons of messages a user receives each day, so to get their attention you should put in everything perfectly. Personalization is one of those ingredients. Research shows that personalized emails are more likely to work than generic messages. 

When you talk to a person, addressing them by their name, it adds a sense of empathy to your message. However, using a name is not the only personalization you need. Sending relevant messages is also equally important. Try to understand a user’s behavior and send them relevant messages. Address their problems and provide solutions. Then send an email explaining why your solution is the best solution. This way you would be able to convince them to use your products and services positively and also retain them as long-term customers by providing good customer support.

4. Use their positive experiences with you

Customers may forget the good experiences they’ve had with you but they’ll always remember the bad ones. This is because paying for a service and getting good results is expected but who’d want to get disappointed when they are paying you a price?

So as a marketer what you need to do is remind your customers why they choose you in the first place and how well you have served them in the past. Any products they’ve bought from you in the past or any positive review they might have left on your website.

Along with this send them links to all the products that might pique their interest based on their previous purchases and browsing history on your website. This will remind them how well you know them and care about their choices and interests. This is all a customer needs to connect with a brand. There’s a high chance that they make an instant purchase out of the products you send and suggest them. If not, well, they’ll at least pay a visit.

5. Update them on what they missed

We humans are strange creatures, if we realize that everybody else knows about something and we don’t, we get extremely curious. A “what did you miss” email works the same way. A user is aware of the fact that he can’t remember each and every site he visits. This is why the concept of bookmarks is used. So these email updates pique their curiosity and make them wonder “hmmmmmm.. What can it be?”

What you send also affects how the user will react to both your future emails and products. So, try to pick some of your highest rated products or use the user’s purchase and browsing history to send more relevant products. Remind them how much they love your products and they are missing out on a lot. Send reviews of other people which shows them how much people trust and love your brand.

How about professionally designed email templates?

All marketers know what to send and when to send it, the challenging task is how to design emails that the users love. Emailwish solves this problem for you. Our design and content experts work hard to create beautiful email templates that can be edited and sent directly from our dashboard. We have a series of re-engagement emails prepared for you, designed and written by experts with solid knowledge and skills. Use these re-engagement email templates and many more to reach out to your clients and generate more leads.

Conclusion

Re-engagement is necessary to interact and connect with your customers in the long run. No company or brand launches a new product daily, so it’s bound to happen that you may be left behind sometimes. Re-engagement emails are a great way of staying in the list of a customer’s go to brands and building long-term relationships that build brand loyalty. So don’t take these email campaigns lightly and leverage email marketing tools like Emailwish to create and send beautiful emails to your customers