What To Do When You’ve “Ghosted” Your Email List
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So… you went ghost. 👻
Kind of like dating, when someone disappears and then suddenly thinks about texting back three months later. Except this time, it’s your email list.
When you haven’t emailed your list in a while, it feels weird. You may feel the need to overexplain. You may worry that people will unsubscribe if they hear from you (they will, and that’s a good thing!), or feel a pull of desperation since email is a top sales channel.
It is totally fine to feel these things! I definitely have.
Luckily, emailing your list is much less intense than a complicated ghosting situationship. 🫠
In this post, I’m going to walk you through 5 simple steps to reconnect with your ghosted email list AND figure out how to stop it from happening again.
Step 1: Re-evaluate Your Capacity for Email
Before you write anything, take a second to zoom out.
Ask yourself:
👉 What time do I really have to give to email marketing?
And I bet a follow-up question you have is…
👉 How often do I have to email? (one a week at least :) )
Running a business solo vs having a team are two different levels of capacity. Figure out what you can realistically do to get an email out once a week. With that minimum, you’re developing a consistent practice without overextending yourself.
Once you get clear on this, it becomes a lot easier to figure out how to come back to your dormant list.
Think of it as a chance to reset. We often romanticize “resetting” when something isn’t working. So, reframe this in your mind as a reset and romanticize it!
You can simply show up for your email list again with a clearer sense of what you want your emails to do moving forward. I’m giving you permission. 🤗
If you’d like more direction, book Your Email Comeback, a 1-hour session where we can find your email bottleneck and come up with a plan to fix it!
Step 2: Create a Newsletter Template
Wanna know how long it takes me to write my newsletter?
20 minutes.
(I actually have a whole post that goes in depth about it!)
Part of the reason for that is that I have a simple template that I can just duplicate and fill in!
Not only did I become consistent in writing, but they look consistent too.
‼️ And if you’re a Flodesk user, I have a free newsletter template that you can download! ‼️
It even has some email copywriting guidelines so you can write your newsletter in a way that drives sales.
(If you want to start using Flodesk for your email marketing, I can offer you 25% off your first year!)
Step 3: Write a Simple Re-engagement Campaign
You don’t have to do this, but it can be helpful!
A re-engagement campaign is just a short series of emails that lets your list know you’re back and gives them a chance to decide if they want to stay.
It serves two purposes at once:
It reconnects you with people who are still interested.
It helps you identify who is no longer engaged, so you can clean your list.
And yes, people will unsubscribe.
That’s a good thing.
Actually, repeat this affirmation: My email list only attracts those who are interested in reading what I have to say.
Good, moving on…
You want people to opt out if they’re not interested anymore. It helps your deliverability, keeps your list healthy, and makes your engagement more accurate. Plus, from a legal and ethical standpoint, it’s important to make that option clear and easy (Email service providers (ESPs) already take care of this.)
A simple re-engagement flow could look like:
Email 1: A quick re-introduction of who you are and wht you do
Email 2: What you’ll be sharing moving forward
Email 3: A clear option to stay or unsubscribe
In all of these emails, don’t overexplain or apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. 😌 People are busy and aren’t as concerned about your absence as you think they are.
This is also why I emphasize a welcome email sequence. It actually gets ahead of you by introducing you to a new subscriber even if you miss a week or two of emails.
It’s exactly why I created Welcome Email Lab. If you miss a week or two, your welcome sequence ensures people are still aware of what they need to know about your business.
And again, my 1:1 sessions are always there to help you, too. 🙏
Step 4: Start Talking About Your Email List Again
This one seems obvious, but sometimes we need to be reminded.
Once you’ve reintroduced yourself, you need to remind people that your email list exists.
You should mention your email list whenever and wherever possible: on social media, in blog posts, at networking events, to your friend’s mom’s brother who’s your ideal client…you get the picture.
A lot of business owners feel weird about this part, especially if they’ve neglected their list for a while. You minimize it because you think, I should have been doing this already.
How do I know? I did that. My emails felt directionless, and I didn’t bring up my list because I felt like an imposter.
Want in on another secret? I still feel like this sometimes! But we can change that together.
After you follow the first three steps I laid out, your email list will become easier to talk about because you’ll have renewed confidence.
You’re running a business and marketing is just one piece of it. Let yourself off the hook and use this opportunity to breathe new life into your email list so it’s something you want to tell everyone about. 😁
Step 5: Set Up Key Email Sequences
Once you write them, email sequences (automated emails triggered by a specific action) work for you in the background.
If you don’t have any written, I recommend at least writing a welcome sequence. This will introduce you to new subscribers and set expectations. That way, if you miss an email or two, you know that your list is still working for you!
Don’t focus on a whole email funnel right now, especially if your capacity is tight. A welcome sequence will take you far, which is why I love them and chose to specialize in writing them!
And if you need help with your welcome sequence, Welcome Email Lab is just the thing for you! I use my 4C approach to write you a welcome email sequence that introduces you, sets expectations, AND sells your offers.
You might be thinking: What if people don’t engage when I start emailing again?
This is more of a mindset issue than anything, and it’s a really common thought. On a human level, we want our efforts to be noticed and we want to “belong.” It’s a basic survival instinct.
This is where a lot of business owners get paralyzed. That basic instinct kicks in and it feels safer to do nothing at all than for the potential for a wasted effort.
Think of it this way: you are building a list of people who are excited to hear from you and buy from you. So, you don’t need everyone to engage. You need the right people to engage.
The only way to find out who “your people” are is to send the email.
This Is How to Plan Your Email Comeback
If you’ve been avoiding your email list, here’s your way back in:
Re-evaluate the role email plays in your business
Create a newsletter template (or download mine!)
Write a simple re-engagement campaign
Start talking about your list again
Write or refresh your email sequence(s)
You don’t need to come back perfectly, you just need to come back in a way that makes sense for you.
When you do this, email stops feeling like this looming thing you’re avoiding and starts feeling like something you can actually use again.
And if you want help figuring out what this looks like for your business, plan Your Email Comeback WITH me! We look at what’s going on, we clean things up, and build a plan you can stick to.
If you’re ready for more, Welcome Email Lab is the way to keep your business top of mind with every new email subscriber. Apply here!
Ready For the Next Step?
If you want help making your email marketing feel simpler and more doable, make sure to subscribe to my emails! I send a newsletter every Tuesday.
And don’t forget about that Flodesk template. :)
In case we haven’t met…
👋 I’m Dom—an email marketing strategist who believes email can be simple & profitable for your business!
If you enjoyed this post or got something out of it, here are other ways we can connect:
📧 Subscribe to my newsletter. I send a short email every Tuesday to help you build an email marketing strategy you can feel good about.
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