7 ways to Stop Subscribers Becoming Inactive in Mailchimp (#5 is a must!)

“ You haven’t been opening my emails…Are you ghosting me?“
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Maintaining a healthy relationship with your email list is like maintaining a healthy romance – it takes work, dedication, and a bit of tender loving care. Nobody wants to feel neglected or taken for granted, right?
You need to have excellent communication skills, trust, personalisation, consistency, and flexibility.
And, to keep your subscribers interested and excited about your brand, you must constantly improve their user experience and provide them with something of value.
Providing relevant and interesting content to your subscribers can help keep them interested and invested in your brand, just like a thoughtful partner who brings you flowers or plans a surprise date night.
They’re just not that into you…
But sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t keep your subscribers engaged. And that’s when they become inactive.
These Zombies are an infestation of people on your list who’ve been receiving emails from you for a while but have lost interest. They’ve not unsubscribed but according to stats, have just stopped opening your emails.
They’re technically alive but in reality, they’re as dead as an unsubscribed person.
Don’t fret – it happens to the best of us. According to a study by Mailchimp, about a quarter of subscribers will become inactive after a year. So, how can you prevent this from happening?
We’ve got some sage advice on how to keep the spark alive between you and your subscribers. Keep reading for seven tips that you can apply to your email marketing strategy to keep your subscribers engaged and active in Mailchimp.
1.”I will always love you”: Reignite the Passion with a Re-Engagement Campaign for Zombie-Like Subscribers
When your subscribers stop responding, it’s time to turn up the heat. Consider it like a relationship: nothing will happen unless you put in the effort.
If your subscribers are becoming inactive, you need to start implementing re-engagement campaign messages. These messages should be aimed at re-engaging inactive customers.
You could begin by sending emails asking for feedback and reminding them of promotions or discounts. You can also send them personalised messages with offers tailored to their specific interests.
Try contacting with something like: “We miss having you around – what have you been up to?” Let’s make up for it with INSERT DISCOUNT>!” It’ll bring back memories and get them interested in what your brand has to offer. It may feel awkward at first, but it pays off.
By taking steps to re-engage inactive subscribers and providing them with valuable content, you can avoid a permanent breakup and keep them interested in your brand.
2: “I Can’t Help Falling in Love… (with Your Welcome Emails)”
Another important aspect of any relationship is the first impression. In email marketing, this means the welcome email.:.
A welcome email is often the first point of contact a subscriber has with your company, and it can set the tone for the rest of your email relationship. So start a positive relationship with your subscribers right away by sending them a warm and inviting message that makes them feel appreciated and valued.
Confirm the subscriber’s opt-in and inform them about the nature of your email communications. This can help to reduce the number of unsubscribes or spam complaints in the future.
Pique interest by introducing your company, explaining your mission, and emphasising your products or services. This can help your brand grow and generate interest in what you have to offer.
Encourage interactions: Incorporate a call-to-action in your welcome email, such as a request to follow your social media accounts or take advantage of a special offer. This can encourage subscribers to interact with your company and begin building a relationship.
Welcome emails provide an opportunity to introduce yourself, set expectations, and build trust. By sending a welcome email, you can start engaging with your subscribers from the beginning
3: “Endless Love”: Providing Value in Emails to Keep Your Subscribers Smitten
Maintaining a positive relationship with your subscribers entails providing them with something useful on a regular basis. Consider it like any other relationship: if you don’t keep things interesting, the other person will lose interest quickly.
Give your subscribers special attention by sending them valuable information in eye-catching content. Here are some ideas to keep your subscribers returning for more:
Gimme something special: Who doesn’t love a good deal? Show your subscribers some love by offering exclusive offers, discounts, or promos that you can only find in your emails.
Spread the good news: Share your knowledge! Include industry-specific tips, tricks, and insights to demonstrate that you know what you’re talking about. It’s an excellent opportunity for you to demonstrate your expertise.
Be helpful: Do you have anything useful up your sleeve? Find links to articles, tools, and resources that will help them add value to their lives.
Make them smile: Take a break from all the facts and figures and get silly! Bust out jokes or funny stories – anything hilarious really.
Don’t generalise; personalise!: Just like everyone is unique – take advantage of data analytics so you can tailor messages just for them based on their interests or past behaviour. They’ll be super appreciative when they see how much thought went into it.
4. “I Want to Hold Your Hand”: Ask for Responses
When it comes to relationships, talking is essential, and the same goes for you and your subscribers. Inquire about their reactions to your emails and assure them that their opinions are valued. Include a survey or two so they can provide more feedback, which will be a huge plus.
It’s a quick and easy way to boost your response rate and keep your subscribers interested. You can learn more about what they like and dislike, as well as what they want from your brand, all whilst building a stronger relationship and increasing loyalty.
Don’t just listen though—always remember to respond with thoughtful replies! That way you’ll get an idea of what’s working and what isn’t, plus it’ll make them feel extra special like a part of the family. It’s really easy to boost your response rate this way and FOMO could pay off big time in terms of subscriber loyalty.
5.”Every Breath You Take, Every Click You Make”: Using Tracking Reports and Data
Just like in a relationship, understanding your partner’s likes and dislikes can help you provide a better experience. If you want to create emails that really resonate with your customers, it’s essential to understand who they are and what they care about.
Tracking reports provide powerful insights into the performance of your campaigns and subscriber behaviour. They measure how subscribers interact with each email, including open and click rates, as well as other metrics such as conversions, forwards, and social shares.
Use tracking reports and data to analyse open rates, click-through rates, and other engagement metrics.
This can help you identify which emails are resonating with your audience and which ones are not. and make adjustments to improve engagement.
You can test things such as adjusting the frequency or timing of your emails, changing your content, or segmenting your list to provide more relevant content to specific groups of subscribers.
6.”I’ll Be There for You (with Consistent Emails): Making and Fulfilling Your Frequency Promise”
.Consistency is key in building trust and establishing a strong relationship. and it’s no different with email marketing. Just like in a relationship, breaking promises can lead to trust issues and ultimately, disengagement.
If you want to keep your subscribers engaged and show them that you’re reliable, then setting up a consistent schedule is the way forward.
When you tell people they’ll get a weekly newsletter from you, make sure they actually get one! It’ll help build trust and familiarity between your subscribers, who might have their own schedules to plan around.
And consistency is key, so try to stick to the same days for sending out emails – having that regular pattern will be beneficial for everyone.
Promises are serious business too – if it looks like you’re flooding their inbox with messages all the time, then some of your subscribers might choose to say goodbye.
Don’t let too much silence pass either though, or else they could forget about you altogether and suddenly vanish from your list. Set yourself reminders if need be and make sure those emails arrive on time – your subscribers will appreciate it!
7. “You Are the Sunshine of My List”: Segmenting and Targeting for Relevance
Segmenting and targeting your email campaigns can also help prevent subscriber disengagement. Just like in a relationship, it’s important to understand and cater to your subscriber’s interests and needs.
By segmenting your email list based on interests, behaviours, or demographics, you can provide more relevant content that is tailored to their specific needs and preferences. This can help increase engagement and prevent subscribers from feeling like your emails are not relevant to them.
Segmenting and targeting your email campaigns can help prevent subscriber disengagement in several ways, here’s how:
Customise your message: Split up your email list according to interests, behaviour, or demographic profile so you can tailor the content you send out. This way, each person on your list only gets stuff that’s relevant and interesting to them—so no more generic blasts that just aren’t making the connection.
Stay on target: Specific, tailored emails ensure you’re talking directly to someone’s needs and wants. That way, they’ll stick around cause they know you get what they like.
Let’s keep it light: Segmenting also helps tone down the intensity of emails going out—no one likes being bombarded with mail every hour of the day! By understanding personal preferences and crafting messages that are a surefire hit with your readers, you can stay connected without overwhelming them.
Add a bit of soul into it too: Going further than just stats and data points will make your subscribers smile by addressing them directly and giving personal recommendations—that kind of familiarity shows how valued a customer is in your eyes and builds relationships for life!
Final thoughts
Some of your subscribers may not feel the same love they once did for your brand, and that’s totally okay. It’s all about understanding when it’s time to move on and focus on the subscribers who still have a spark for your brand.
We know it’s not always easy keeping your subscribers engaged, just like in a real relationship, the flame may eventually flicker out hopefully these tips will prevent that.
To keep your customers around for the long haul, you need to figure out what they care about most and how to connect with them effectively. You need to tailor your content, design, and email personalisation to their needs, preferences, and interests. It’s like sending Cupid’s arrows straight to their hearts, making them fall head over heels for your brand.
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Liz Seymour
Cheesy as it sounds, Liz is the biz when it comes to Marketing. She's worked in Marketing for around 20 years when she went to uni and studied Multimedia Technology…That's where her love affair for all things Marketing began. Since then she has worked for household names such as Wickes, The Rank Group, Nuffield Health, Snappy Snaps and Marriot. Not to mention a great variety of B2B and B2c businesses and agencies.
Here at Chimp Answers she deals with all things Marketing focusing on the Content and Copywriting side of things such as Blog posts, Emails and landing pages. Liz is Certified in Direct-Response Copywriting, Google Digital Marketing Fundamentals,Hubspot Inbound Marketing,Hubspot Social Media and of course, Mailchimp Foundations.
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