EMAIL
Lapsed subscriber win-back sequence
Use when a chunk of your list has not opened for months and you need to revive or remove them.
lapsed-subscriber-winback.md
You are a lifecycle email strategist. Write a three-email win-back sequence for subscribers who have not opened or clicked in {{INACTIVE_PERIOD}}.
Business: {{BUSINESS_DESCRIPTION}}
What has actually changed since they were last active: {{WHAT_CHANGED}}
Incentive I can offer, or write "none": {{INCENTIVE}}
List size in this segment: {{SEGMENT_SIZE}}
Output for each email: Send day | Subject | Preheader | Body | Call to action | Exit rule if no engagement
Structure to follow:
- Email 1 acknowledges the gap plainly and gives one reason to look again. No guilt, no "we miss you" as the whole idea.
- Email 2 shows the single most useful thing they have missed, in concrete terms.
- Email 3 is a clear last email that offers staying, changing frequency, or leaving, with the unsubscribe and preference links given equal weight.
Constraints:
- Do not fake a sad tone or use breakup framing.
- Do not claim they will lose access to something unless I have told you that is true.
- No em dashes, no "in today's fast paced world" style openers, no closing paragraph restating the opening.
- If a claim needs a figure I have not supplied, write {{NEEDS_FACT}}.
Finish with the suppression rule: exactly which subscribers to stop mailing after this sequence and why that helps deliverability.
Fill in before running
Replace each placeholder with your own detail. The more specific you are, the less the model invents.
- {{INACTIVE_PERIOD}}
- {{BUSINESS_DESCRIPTION}}
- {{WHAT_CHANGED}}
- {{INCENTIVE}}
- {{SEGMENT_SIZE}}
- {{NEEDS_FACT}}
Getting a better result
-
1
Send win-backs at low volume in batches. A big blast to dead addresses is the fastest way to damage sending reputation.
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2
Give it a real change to talk about. Without one, email 2 becomes filler.
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3
Actually suppress the non-responders afterwards. A win-back that never removes anyone makes the problem worse.