If you’ve got a growing list of leads gathering dust in Mailchimp, you’re not alone. Most of us have contacts who stopped opening, clicking, or even noticing our emails a while ago. This guide is for anyone who wants to wake up those dormant leads using Mailchimp’s Journeys automation tools—without burning your list or wasting time on fluff that doesn’t work.
Let’s get into the practical stuff: how to actually build reengagement campaigns that have a shot at working, what to avoid, and how to keep things manageable.
Step 1: Get Real About Dormant Leads
First, let’s define “dormant.” Usually, these are contacts who haven’t opened or clicked your emails in 3-12 months. Some folks say 6 months is the sweet spot, but honestly, it depends on how often you email and what you’re selling.
Why bother?
Reengaging old leads is cheaper than chasing new ones. But not everyone will wake up. If a contact hasn’t engaged in a year or more, chances are they’re gone for good. That’s OK—don’t take it personally or spend hours agonizing over them.
What to avoid:
- Don’t send to your entire list. You’ll just annoy active subscribers and hurt your sender reputation.
- Don’t overcomplicate things with 10-step journeys for people who might not care anymore.
Pro tip:
Accept that some percentage of leads are just dead weight. The goal is to win back the ones who still care, not to chase ghosts.
Step 2: Segment Your Dormant Audience
Before you build anything in Journeys, you need a clear, up-to-date segment of dormant leads.
How to do it: - In Mailchimp, create a segment where “Campaign Activity” is “did not open” (or “did not click”) in the last X campaigns. - Use a time filter—e.g., “did not open in the last 6 months.” - Exclude recent unsubscribes, hard bounces, and people who have complained.
Don’t:
- Don’t just guess who’s dormant. Use real data.
- Don’t combine totally inactive leads with those who only missed a couple of emails—treat them differently if you can.
Why this matters:
Sending to the right list keeps your deliverability healthy. Spam traps and dead emails can get you blacklisted fast.
Step 3: Build a Simple Journey—Don’t Overthink It
Mailchimp Journeys has lots of bells and whistles, but for reengagement, simple wins.
Basic flow: 1. Trigger: When someone enters your dormant leads segment. 2. Email 1: “We Miss You” or similar—remind them who you are and why they signed up. 3. Wait: 5–7 days. 4. Email 2: A clear offer, incentive, or value-added resource (NOT a generic newsletter). 5. Wait: Another 5–7 days. 6. Email 3 (optional): Last chance—“Are you still interested?” with an easy way to opt out or update preferences.
Why not more steps?
If they haven’t engaged after 2-3 emails, more reminders won’t help. You risk annoying the recipient and damaging your sender reputation.
Pro tip:
Keep your emails short, warm, and personal. If your first draft sounds like it’s written by a robot, rewrite it.
Step 4: Write Reengagement Emails That Don’t Suck
The content is what makes or breaks your campaign. Here’s what works and what doesn’t:
What works: - Subject lines that stand out: “Is this goodbye?” or “Still interested?” - Reminding them what you offer, clearly and simply. - Offering something different—a resource, a discount, or just a personal note. - Making it easy to opt out. This sounds counterintuitive, but it builds trust and keeps your list healthy.
What to skip: - Don’t guilt-trip (“Why are you ignoring us?”) or use desperate language. - Don’t launch into a sales pitch right away. - Avoid over-designed templates; plain, personal emails often get better results.
Example Email:
Subject: Still interested in [Your Thing]?
Hi [First Name],
We haven’t heard from you in a while, and that’s totally fine. Just checking in—do you still want to hear from us about [main value]?
If you’re still interested, click here. If not, you can update your preferences or unsubscribe—no hard feelings.
Thanks,
[Your Name]
Pro tip:
If you’re offering a discount or resource, make it something they haven’t seen before. Recycled offers rarely move the needle.
Step 5: Automate, Test, and Monitor
Setting up your Journey in Mailchimp is easy; making it effective takes a bit of trial and error.
Tips for building the Journey: - Use Mailchimp’s Journey Builder to drag and drop your triggers, emails, and wait steps. - Set a clear goal: e.g., “contact clicks any link” or “contact replies.” - Limit the schedule—don’t send reengagement emails on weekends unless your audience expects it.
Testing: - Send test emails to yourself and a colleague. Check for typos, broken links, and weird formatting. - Start with a small batch—maybe 10-20% of your dormant segment—to see how things go.
Monitoring: - Watch open and click rates. If your open rate is under 5%, your subject lines need work. - Keep an eye on unsubscribes and spam complaints. High numbers mean it’s time to tweak your message or segment.
What to ignore: - Don’t obsess over “industry benchmarks.” Your list is unique. Focus on improvement, not perfection. - Don’t chase tiny increases in open rates—focus on actual reengagement (clicks, replies, conversions).
Step 6: Clean Your List—Seriously
After you’ve run your reengagement campaign, it’s time to let go.
- Remove contacts who didn’t open or click any of your reengagement emails.
- Suppress or archive them in Mailchimp to avoid sending future campaigns to dead addresses.
- This isn’t just about vanity metrics. Inactive emails can harm your deliverability and make future campaigns less effective.
Pro tip:
If it hurts to delete contacts, remember: a smaller, engaged list is worth more than a big, lifeless one.
What Actually Moves the Needle (and What Doesn’t)
Works: - Honest, straightforward messaging. - A real reason for people to click—don’t make them work for it. - Removing unengaged contacts after your campaign.
Doesn’t Work: - Fancy automation tricks or endless A/B tests for this audience. - Long-winded copy or cluttered design. - Pretending that everyone will come back. They won’t, and that’s okay.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Reengagement isn’t magic. Most of the time, you’ll win back a small but valuable percentage of dormant leads—and that’s a win. Don’t overcomplicate your Mailchimp Journeys. Set up the basics, test, watch what happens, and tweak as you go. If something works, great—do more of it. If it flops, move on.
Stay honest, keep your list healthy, and don’t let the pursuit of “perfect” slow you down.