The Difference Between Active and Inactive Subscribers, and Why It’s Important

April 04, 2011

Sometimes, you have to really pour on the charm to win an inactive email subscriber back. But before you can determine what needs to be done to situate yourself firmly in that individual’s good graces, you have to first be able to identify the inactive members on your list from the active ones. If you’re using an email marketing solution that collects information on who’s opening your emails and who’s not, this is an easy thing to do.

What’s the Difference Between an Inactive Subscriber and an Active Subscriber?
An inactive subscriber isn’t someone that’s removed themselves from your opt in email marketing list—it’s someone who isn’t “active” (for lack of a better word) in opening the messages you’re sending in your bulk email campaign, and hasn’t clicked through to any of the links provided within the body of that email. Active subscribers, on the other hand, do a combination of both, although mathematically it’s far more likely that you’ll see higher numbers of opened emails than you will bona fide click-throughs.

Why is it Important to Get Subscribers Active?
The reasons are two-fold. First of all, the success of your bulk email campaign depends greatly on your recipients taking desired actions, like clicking through to your website, participating on message boards or commenting on your blog, and most importantly, making purchases. In addition to that, if your subscribers are inactive, the messages you send them could be misidentified as spam by ISPs who look at certain engagement metrics as a way of cutting back on spam email. And spammers are the last people you want to be lumped in with.


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