Re-engagement email generator: a win-back sequence for inactive subscribers
In short: Enter your brand, what they signed up for, how long they've been inactive, an optional incentive and your keep and unsubscribe links; get a three-email win-back sequence (day 0, 4 and 9) with subjects and preview text, plus a pre-send checklist. Limit: The emails follow a fixed pattern; edit them so they sound like your brand.
A re-engagement email asks subscribers who stopped opening whether they still want your emails, with one click to stay. A good sequence is three emails: a plain question, a reason to stay, then a last email saying when non-responders will be removed. Enter your details here to get all three with subject lines, preview text and one keep-me-subscribed link each.
Price: this tool is free. Checking a whole email list is from $9/mo, and the first 100 checks are free with Google, no card. Check your list free nowSee pricing
Months since their last open or click.
Counted from the last email.
Written in your browser as you type. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Email 1: still want these?
Day 0- Subject
- Do you still want emails from {{brand}}?
- Preview text
- One click keeps you on the list.
Hi {{first_name}},
It looks like you haven't opened emails from {{brand}} in 6 months. That's fine, inboxes get busy.
We'd rather send to people who want to hear from us, so: do you still want emails from {{brand}}?
Yes, keep me subscribed: {{keep_subscribed_url}}
The {{brand}} team
Not interested any more? Unsubscribe here: {{unsubscribe_url}}Email 2: what you'd keep getting
Day 4- Subject
- Here's what you've missed from {{brand}}
- Preview text
- Pick up where you left off, or let us know you're done.
Hi {{first_name}},
Since you last opened one, we've kept sending emails from {{brand}}. If it's still useful, one click keeps it coming.
Keep me subscribed: {{keep_subscribed_url}}
If it's not for you any more, no hard feelings. You can unsubscribe below.
The {{brand}} team
Not interested any more? Unsubscribe here: {{unsubscribe_url}}Email 3: last email before removal
Day 9- Subject
- We'll take you off the list
- Preview text
- Unless you click, this is the last email from {{brand}}.
Hi {{first_name}},
We haven't heard from you, so in 7 days we'll stop sending emails from {{brand}} to this address.
If you'd like to stay, click here and nothing changes: {{keep_subscribed_url}}
If we don't hear back, this is the last email you'll get from us. You can always sign up again on our website.
The {{brand}} team
Not interested any more? Unsubscribe here: {{unsubscribe_url}}Before you send to the inactive segment
Check: Keep link left as {{keep_subscribed_url}}
Replace it with a link that tags the subscriber as re-engaged, such as a link-click tag or preference page in your platform.
Yours to confirm: Check the dormant addresses before you send
A segment that hasn't engaged in months holds addresses that have since closed. Sending to them raises the bounce rate on exactly the campaign meant to repair your reputation, so remove dead mailboxes first.
Google: email sender guidelinesYours to confirm: Remove non-responders after 7 days, as the last email says
Move them to a suppressed or unsubscribed status rather than deleting them, so a later import can't add them back.
Yahoo: sender best practicesYours to confirm: Keep one-click unsubscribe on every email
Bulk senders to Gmail and Yahoo need List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post headers as well as the link in the body.
RFC 8058: one-click unsubscribe
Next step
Check the inactive segment first, then win it back.
Subscribers who stopped opening months ago include addresses that have since closed. Drop the segment's export here to find them before the first email goes out.
No list right now? This tool stays free, no account, so bookmark it for next time. Ctrl+D (⌘+D on a Mac)
Ready to verify now? Check the inactive segment
Sample result
Days 0, 4 and 9: still want the Northwind Weekly, a free shipping code to stay, then removal in 7 days.
- Win-back sequence
- 3 emails
- Send days
- 0, 4, 9
- Removal
- 7 days after
What this means for you
Inactive subscribers get one clear chance to stay; the rest come off the list.
- Subjects and preview text
- One keep link per email
- Removal date stated
- Pre-send checklist
- Win-back
- Inactive
- Newsletter
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
Check the inactive segment before the first email goes out.
- Export the inactive segment from your email platform.
- Upload or paste it at /verify. Every address gets a live mailbox check, and the first 100 email checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card.
How do I run a re-engagement campaign?
- Export the subscribers with no opens or clicks in the period you choose, often 3 to 6 months, and check the addresses first.
- Enter your brand, what they signed up for, how long they've been inactive and, if you have one, a reason to stay.
- Add a keep-me-subscribed link that tags a click in your platform, and your unsubscribe link or merge tag.
- Copy the three emails into an automation sent on days 0, 4 and 9, then remove everyone who didn't click when the last email says you will.
Example
- You enter
- Brand Northwind,
the Northwind Weekly, 6 months inactive, the incentivea free shipping code, a keep link and{{unsubscribe_url}}, removal 7 days after the last email. - You get
- Day 0: Do you still want the Northwind Weekly? Day 4: a free shipping code, if you'd like to stay. Day 9: We'll take you off the list (removal in 7 days). Each has preview text, the keep link and the unsubscribe link, plus a checklist that starts with checking the inactive segment.
- Limits
- Written in your browser as you type; nothing is sent.
Why run a re-engagement campaign?
Subscribers who never open still count against you. Mailbox providers watch how recipients treat your mail, and Google's sender guidelines and Yahoo's best practices both point senders towards mailing people who want the email. A win-back sequence gives inactive subscribers one clear chance to stay, and gives you a clean reason to stop mailing the rest.
What goes in each of the three emails?
Email 1 asks a plain question: do you still want these? Email 2 gives a reason to stay, either your incentive or what they'd keep getting. Email 3 says that, unless they click, this is the last email and when they'll be removed. Every email has the same keep link and an unsubscribe link, so either answer is one click.
Opens are a weak signal now that Apple Mail Privacy Protection loads images for many readers, so the sequence asks for a click and the checklist suggests tagging clicks, not opens.
Why check the inactive segment before sending?
People who stopped opening months ago include people whose address has since closed. Sending a win-back to those addresses produces hard bounces on the very campaign meant to repair your sending reputation. Remove dead mailboxes first, and keep one-click unsubscribe headers on every email so leaving is easy.
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- Newsletter publishers
- Trim readers who stopped opening before they drag down inbox placement.
- Ecommerce marketers
- Win back lapsed subscribers with a code, then sunset the rest.
- B2B marketers
- Clean a nurture list of contacts who left their companies years ago.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- The emails follow a fixed pattern; edit them so they sound like your brand.
- It writes text only; set up the automation, the keep link's tag and the removal in your email platform.
- It doesn't pick the inactive subscribers for you; export them by last open or click date from your platform.
Common questions
- What is a re-engagement email?
- An email to subscribers who stopped opening or clicking, asking if they still want your emails, often with a reason to stay and a date after which non-responders are removed.
- How long should I wait before sending a re-engagement email?
- Many senders start after 3 to 6 months without opens or clicks; frequent senders sooner, monthly newsletters later. The checklist flags anything under 3 months.
- How many emails should a win-back sequence have?
- Three is common: a question, a reminder or incentive, and a last notice. This tool writes them for days 0, 4 and 9.
- What do I do with subscribers who don't respond?
- Remove or suppress them when your last email says you will. Suppressing rather than deleting stops a later import adding them back.
- Do the merge tags work in Mailchimp or Klaviyo?
- They are left exactly as you type them, so replace {{first_name}} and the link tags with your platform's own.
Sources
Records published. Now the list itself.
Authentication stops your mail being forged. It does nothing about the dead addresses that get you throttled in the first place.
- Bulk verification with real SMTP mailbox checks
- Hard bounces removed before a send, not discovered after
- Catch-all, disposable and role detection on every row
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