Win Back or List Clean-Up Automation

What is Win Back or List Clean-Up Automation?

This is a time- and behavior-based sequence that gives every contact a fair, hands-off evaluation of their engagement. It waits a certain period after the day a contact joins a list; checks whether they’ve clicked any email, and, if not, sends one direct re-engagement attempt. Based on the activity, another condition is checked before finally tagging inactive contacts.

*Inbox placement and re-engagement figures based on Return Path’s analysis of 33 retailer win-back programs across roughly 300 million emails sent to more than 100 million subscribers

Use Cases

• Newsletter Publishers: Keep subscriber lists healthy without manually auditing engagement
• Ecommerce Brands: Re-engage dormant contacts before they count against deliverability
• SaaS & Membership Sites: Identify genuinely inactive users for a separate nurture path
• Agencies Managing Multiple Lists: Standardize list hygiene across every client account
• High-Volume Senders: Protect sender reputation by automatically isolating unengaged contacts

Automation Overview

How it Works

The purpose of this automation is to protect your sender reputation and keep your list accurate without reviewing engagement by hand. It gives every contact a fair time window, follows up with one direct chance to reconnect, and only tags someone as inactive after two separate opportunities to engage have gone unanswered.

• The automation starts the moment a contact is created.
• It waits 180 days, giving the contact a long, fair window before judging engagement.
• It then checks whether the contact has clicked any email during that period.
• Contacts who have clicked exit the funnel immediately; no further action needed.
• Contacts who haven’t clicked receive a direct re-engagement email.
• The automation waits 10 more days, giving the contact time to respond.
• It checks whether the contact clicked this specific email.
• Contacts who click exit the funnel, the same as an engaged contact.
• Contacts who still don’t click are tagged as Inactive Customer for easy segmentation.

Why it Works?

• A full 180-day window avoids flagging contacts who are simply slow, seasonal, or occasional openers
• Checking email clicks, not just sends, measures real engagement, not just delivery
• A single, direct re-engagement email gives disengaged contacts one more clear chance before any tagging happens
• Tagging instead of deleting keeps the data available for suppression, segmentation, or a future win-back push
• Accurately tagged, clean lists protect inbox placement for your actively engaged contacts

Used Assets

Asset	Role in Automation	Benefit
Contact Created	Starts the automation	Applies list hygiene consistently to every new contact
Delay (180 Days)	Timing control	Gives contacts a fair window before judging engagement
Check Condition (Email Click)	Filters engaged vs. unengaged contacts	Measures real engagement, not just delivery
End This Funnel Here (Engaged)	1st Exit point	Stops the automation for contacts who are already active
Send Re-engagement Email	Win-back touch	Gives disengaged contacts one more direct chance to reconnect
Delay (10 Days)	Timing control	Gives contacts time to respond before the final check
Check Condition (Re-engagement Email Click)	Filters responders vs. non-responders	Confirms whether the win-back attempt worked
End Here	Exit Point	Stops the automation for contacts who responded
Apply Tag	Segmentation	Flags confirmed-inactive contacts for suppression or a separate list-hygiene workflow

Required Email Templates

Use the ready-made emails as a starting point; customize the bracketed placeholders, recheck the smartcodes, and adjust the tone to match your brand before adding them to the automation.