How to Restart Your Email List Without Apologizing (and Why Re-Engagement Comes First)
- Kathy Farah
- Aug 29, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 2, 2025
Every business owner has been there. You build a list, send a few emails, then get busy. Days turn into months—sometimes years. When you finally sit down to write again, the panic sets in:
“Do I need to apologize for disappearing?”
The truth? You don’t.
Your subscribers aren’t keeping score. They signed up because they wanted to hear from you. All they need now is a reminder of who you are and how you can help them today. That’s where re-engagement comes in.
Why Re-Engagement Matters More Than You Think
Re-engagement emails aren’t just about being polite. They’re about protecting your sender reputation and ensuring that your emails actually land in inboxes instead of spam folders.
Here’s the technical reality: if too many subscribers ignore your emails, Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook assume your content isn’t valuable. They track engagement metrics like open rates, time spent reading, and delete rates. Poor performance on these metrics lowers your deliverability—even for people who genuinely want to hear from you.
Cleaning and re-engaging regularly keeps your list healthy, boosts open rates, and makes sure your messages reach the right people.
💡 Case in point: I worked with one business owner who removed over 4,000 inactive subscribers after running a re-engagement campaign. Her overall open rate improved, and within six months she saw a 20% increase in sales—without adding a single new lead.
Related: 5 Things Every Email Strategy Needs Before You Hit Send
What Happens If You Ignore Inactive Subscribers
A dormant list doesn’t just cost you money. It quietly works against you. Here’s how:
Lower deliverability: Too many unopened emails trigger spam filters.
Wasted resources: You’re paying for subscribers who never engage.
Missed opportunities: Potential clients forget who you are when they finally need your help.
Think of it this way: an unused email list is like a storefront with the lights off. People might peek inside, but they won’t come in.
Real Examples of Re-Engagement Emails That Work
There’s no single “right” way to re-engage your list. The best approach depends on your brand tone and your audience.
Here are four proven styles:
1. The Friendly Acknowledgment (Amy Porterfield)
Kathy, it’s been a while… If my emails have been quietly collecting dust in your inbox, I get it.
→ Conversational, acknowledges the gap, and quickly pivots to value.
2. The Playful Breakup (Tarzan Kay)
Subject: Are we breaking up? Looks like you haven’t been reading my emails for a while. Was it something I said? Something I didn’t do?
→ Adds humor and gives subscribers an easy choice: stay or go.
3. The Value Drop
It’s been a while since I shared something with you—so here’s a quick win you can put into practice today.
→ No apology, just useful value that reminds readers why they signed up.
4. The Gift Email (E-commerce) (Brook Linen) We took a little break. No big deal. Let’s put it behind us. Here’s 15% off your next order. → Incentives work especially well for product-based businesses.
When AI Meets Email Strategy: Real Results
Recently, a client needed to re-engage her dormant list. Instead of starting from scratch, she used my AI assistant Babs – Your Cold List Whisperer (Re-Engagement) to create her email.
Here’s what happened:
56.14% open rate (industry average: 15–25%)
4.38% click rate (industry average: 1–3%)
These numbers more than doubled benchmarks. The difference? Babs understands email psychology—not just copywriting. It rebuilds trust without sounding automated or transactional.
The 2-Email Re-Engagement Framework
You don’t need a complicated campaign. A straightforward sequence is usually most effective:
Email 1 – Reintroduce + Deliver Value
Briefly remind subscribers who you are
Share something immediately useful (a resource, story, or quick win)
Email 2 – Check-In + Clear Choice (sent 5–10 days later)
Acknowledge if they haven’t engaged
Offer a simple choice: click to stay, or unsubscribe
Then, clean your list. Anyone who doesn’t respond should be removed to protect your sender's reputation.
💡Pro Tip: If you’re already emailing regularly (once a week or at least once a month), your list will naturally stay “self-cleaned” because people who aren’t interested will unsubscribe on their own.
The real problem comes when it’s been months—or years—since your last email. In that case, you’ll need to manually remove the subscribers who don’t re-engage, since they’ve essentially gone cold.
👉 Want help writing these two emails? Grab Babs Your Cold List Whisperer Re-engagement and get AI-powered scripts tailored for your audience.
The Power of Micro Touches
Re-engagement isn’t just about who clicks. Sometimes the value is in the micro touches:
Seeing your name in their inbox again
Skimming a compelling subject line
Noticing a client story or testimonial
Even if they don’t open every email, these small reminders rebuild recognition and trust. When the timing is right, they’ll remember you.
From Re-Engagement to a Sustainable Foundation
Re-engagement is the spark. But without a system behind it, you’ll end up in the same cycle again.
Every business needs four foundational elements:
Opt-in or landing page – your digital front door
Welcome sequence – a warm start for every subscriber
Smart automation – tags and triggers that keep things running
Consistent content rhythm – weekly, biweekly, or monthly
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s consistency and genuine connection.
Your Next Steps
✅ Start with re-engagement. Don’t let another month pass with a dormant list. Your subscribers are waiting to hear from you.
✅ Then build the foundation that prevents this from happening again. When your system works automatically, you can focus on serving your audience and growing your business.
👉 First step: Download Babs Cold List Whisperer Re-engagement to create your 2-email campaign.
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