What’s the right reactivation frequency?

You haven't heard from a subscriber in six months. You want them back, but you also don't want to blow your sender reputation by hammering a cold list. The right reactivation frequency balances giving people enough nudges to re-engage while cutting bait before inbox providers flag you as a spammer.

For most senders, 2–3 emails over 2–3 weeks is the right structure. Space them out: day 1, day 7, day 14. The first email re-introduces you and reminds them why they signed up. The second adds a stronger hook. A discount, a freebie, or a clear statement of what they're missing. The third is your final notice: "We're removing you from our list unless you click here to stay." That last email often gets the best click rate of the three, because urgency works.

Adjust based on your purchase cycle. If you sell mattresses, a subscriber who hasn't clicked in 90 days isn't actually dormant. They may have just bought last year. Define "dormant" relative to your typical buying window, not some generic benchmark. For most e-commerce, 90–180 days without a click is a reasonable threshold. For SaaS or high-frequency retail, 60 days might be enough.

Whatever you decide, don't loop indefinitely. If someone doesn't click after your series, move them to a suppression list rather than continuing to mail them. Continuing to send to people who never engage pulls down your sender reputation and increases your bounce risk over time. A cleaner list consistently outperforms a larger, disengaged one. If you're unsure which subscribers are truly dormant versus just quiet, Review My Emails can help you score engagement and identify who's worth a win-back attempt.