What is the ideal re-engagement trigger?
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The ideal trigger is earlier than most senders think. Waiting until someone has been silent for 6 months gives you a 3���5% re-engagement rate at best. Starting earlier, when you can still remind them of something relevant, gives you a meaningfully better shot.
A practical trigger framework by tier:
First trigger: 45–60 days without a click (or 60–90 days for monthly senders). The subscriber is starting to drift, but they likely still remember you. Send something different from your normal campaign. A format change, a plain-text personal note, or a meaningful value offer. Not a "we miss you" discount coupon; something that reminds them why they subscribed.
Second trigger: 90 days without a click. A direct re-permission ask: "We've noticed you haven't clicked anything lately. Still want to hear from us?" with a prominent "Yes, keep me subscribed" button. This is the make-or-break intervention. Anyone who clicks stays active. Anyone who doesn't is a suppression candidate.
Third trigger: no response to the second ask. Suppress them from main campaign sends. A subscriber who hasn't responded to a direct re-engagement ask is hurting your sender reputation every time you include them in a send.
One calibration note: clock these triggers from last click, not last open. Apple Mail Privacy Protection automatically records opens for Apple Mail users regardless of whether they actually viewed the email. Using opens as the trigger clock means your inactive subscribers may never trigger re-engagement because they're showing proxy-generated opens. Check what actually counts as an open to understand why this matters.
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