How to write irresistible win-back emails

When a customer, client, user, or subscriber doesn't open or reply to your emails, it doesn't mean they've disappeared off the face of the earth. Instead, it means you have to change your approach. Win-back emails are an effective way to turn those disengaged recipients into loyal fans again.

In this blog post, you will learn…

• What is a win-back email
• Why are win-back emails important
• When to send a win-back email
  

And get a dose of inspiration from…

• Best win-back email subject lines
• List of win-back email best practices
• Win-back email examples
  

When you're done reading, you'll be ready to reactivate your audience to improve customer loyalty, retention, and lifetime value.

If you want to send personalized win-back emails at scale, here's a little secret: Flowrite can write fully customized emails for you, like this:

What is a win-back email?

A win-back email is sent to old customers, inactive users, or subscribers who have stopped opening your emails. Essentially, someone who used to engage with your business but for some reason have stopped doing so. Whatever the case, the goal of a win-back email is to get them to interact with you again.

The best win-back emails yield results on their own. Still, often you need to invest the time and energy to send a win-back email campaign that re-engages the recipient with different email marketing strategies. Writing those emails can be burdensome, but that's where Flowrite can help.

Why are win-back emails important?

A win-back email campaigns are vital because it costs many times more to acquire new customers, users, or subscribers than keeping the ones you already have.

Thus win-back emails are a great way to increase the retention and lifetime value of those you are doing business with.

When to send a win-back email?

There is no one size fits all answer regarding the perfect time of sending win-back emails. It depends on your business, products and services, and your customers, users, or subscribers. You should reach back out to dormant people when it naturally makes sense and gauge what works; examine the sales cycle, user behavior, and other behavioral factors around your business.

For example, suppose you sell expensive one-time purchases. In that case, the customer likely doesn't need to buy again from you any time soon, if ever.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you sell toilet paper or haircuts, there's a natural cadence in people's buying behavior. 

10 win-back email best practices

So, how do you write an engagement email? Now that we have covered the basics, it's time to move on the art of writing an email that re-engages your inactive audience.

The approach is the same for b2b win-back emails as you would be dealing with consumers and the devil's in the details – the win-back email copy from the subject line down to the closing of your email will make or break the campaign.

Here are win-back email best practices that you can put into action to write an irresistible win-back email campaign.

1. Write a non-skippable subject line

It's extra hard to get your email opened when you're approaching someone who hasn't engaged with you in a while. 

2. Keep it simple and straightforward

No one wants to read lengthy emails, but especially when reaching out to passive recipients, you should keep things brisk and to the point to get your message through.

3. Remind them that you exist

A friendly reminder email can be all it takes to herd home the lost sheep. People are busy, and a "hello" email will get some to re-engage or at least to remember that your company exists. 

4. Remind the recipient of your value

You should recap your value proposition when trying to win back customers. Aim to answer a simple question in all your win-back emails: What's in it for them? 

5. Let the recipient know what they'll lose

Sometimes the best approach for communicating the benefits of your product or service is to tell the story through what the email recipient will miss out on if they don't continue to engage with you. This is highly effective with subscription-based business models, newsletters, and podcasts.

6. Offer incentives such as discounts

At times people need little more than a gentle nudge to bring them back to you. Discounts and other offers such as free shipping can be great ways to win over customers on the fence.

7. Include only one call-to-action

Your email should always have only one clear CTA. So, don't ask the recipient to reply, fill a feedback survey, or shop with a discount code in the same email. There's time and place for all these win-back strategies. Make it a campaign.

8. Send more than one email

The best win-back emails can achieve their goal on their own, but you often have to follow up with a client a couple of times before you hear back from them. Instead of sending one message, build a win-back email flow.

9. Ask for feedback

Even if you're not able to win back the person, you might get valuable insights out of them. People like giving their opinions, so you should aim to solicit feedback on what has gone wrong with your previous engagements and how you could improve.

10. Give them a last chance

The last follow-up email you send is known as a breakup email. The purpose of sending is to let the recipient know that they're not going to hear from you again unless they respond to this email and give them one last chance to act. 

10 best win-back email subject lines

The email subject lines that win back customers hook them to hear you out. Many businesses have found success using language that refers to how much they are missing the recipient or how long it has been since they last engaged.

The best win-back email subject lines are always personalized and use identifiers such as the recipient's first name. Overall, companies tend to favor a friendly tone that immediately reminds the recipient that they're receiving a message from an old friend.

• It's been a while <First Name>
• Let's reconnect <First Name>
• Let's start over <First Name>
• We want you back <First Name>
• Where have you been <First Name>?
• I know we have both been busy <First Name>
• We miss you… & here's <offer> to prove it! 
•  <First Name>, did you forget about your <Company Name> account?
• Come back to <Company Name>
• Try <Company name> again today
  

Win-back email examples

Now it's time to bring to life everything you've learned thus far through customer win-back email examples. These examples represent the characteristics of the best win-back emails so examine them carefully to spot the best practices and to draw inspiration for your own emails that aim to re-engage your audiences.

Win-back email examples 1 – Reminder email for inactive user

Win-back email examples 2 – The fear of missing out

Win-back email examples 3 – Asking for a feedback

Win-back email template by Flowrite

Writing a personalized customer win-back email can be difficult and time-consuming. We at Flowrite, however, believe it shouldn't.

That's why we have created an AI writing assistant that turns short instructions into an engaging win-back email, saving you time and mental effort spent on writing.

Don't believe us? See our AI email template in action below.

Conclusion

By now, we all probably agree that win-back emails are an essential strategy for any company to implement.

No matter if you're in eCommerce, SaaS, or consulting, emails are effective ways to engage inactive people you used to be in business. You've now learned what win-back emails are, why they are important, when to send them, and accumulated best practices and best email subject lines for win-back emails.

With the help of win-back email examples and our win-back email templates – and of course Flowrite – you're now armed to implement the strategy in your own business.

Start to write the best win-back emails your audience has ever seen today.