Monica Badiu, Email Copywriter & Copy Coach

There’s one aspect of preparing a successful Black Friday campaign that most people ignore. And that has everything to do with your email list. It’s a tactic that protects your deliverability, boosts the chances of your open rates staying consistent or even going up and reduces the likelihood of getting marked as spam or seeing high unsubscribe rates. If you don’t do this, then even the best sales copy is going to flop.

In this episode of Master The Inbox I invited Martina Viljevac to break down a re-engagement campaign so you can revive your email list and clean it up right before Black Friday.

Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & more

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Black Friday Email Strategy

00:32 Meet the Experts: Monica and Martina

01:18 The Importance of Re-engagement

01:40 Understanding Re-engagement Campaigns

04:18 Real-life Success Stories

06:10 Crafting Effective Re-engagement Emails

08:35 Segmentation and Automation Tips

16:33 Measuring Success and Next Steps

23:10 Final Thoughts and Advice


Hey, this season of Master the Inbox is all about helping you get ready for a profitable Black Friday.


You’ll learn from experts what are the exact steps you should be taking to create a no-brainer offer, build a profitable funnel, keep your list healthy and even write emails that convert without damaging your reputation.


Here’s a glimpse of what you can expect from this episode

In this episode of Master the Inbox, Monica Badiu and Martina Viljevac discuss the critical importance of re-engaging email lists, especially before major sales events like Black Friday. They explore strategies for cleaning up email lists, the significance of maintaining email deliverability, and the best practices for crafting effective re-engagement campaigns. The conversation covers metrics for measuring success, the importance of nurturing re-engaged subscribers, and the overall health of email lists. Listeners are encouraged to take actionable steps to improve their email marketing strategies and ensure a successful Black Friday campaign.

Takeaways

  1. Re-engagement campaigns are essential for maintaining email list health.
  2. A healthy email list improves deliverability and open rates.
  3. Regularly segment your audience into engaged and unengaged categories.
  4. Craft transparent and compelling re-engagement emails.
  5. Nurture sequences are crucial after re-engagement to build relationships.
  6. Use metrics like open rates and click rates to measure re-engagement success.
  7. Aim for a 15% re-engagement rate as a benchmark.
  8. Automate re-engagement processes to save time and effort.
  9. Regularly clean your email list to avoid sending to unengaged users.
  10. Timing your re-engagement efforts is key to maximizing impact.

1. The Strategic Role of Re-Engagement for Black Friday Success

Re-engagement campaigns aren’t just about boosting email opens; they’re vital for overall email deliverability, especially during high-volume times like Black Friday. An engaged list signals to email service providers (ESPs) that your emails are relevant, which reduces the chances of them being marked as spam. By focusing on re-engagement before Black Friday, you can improve inbox placement and visibility, ensuring your offers reach subscribers at a critical moment.

2. The Power of Audience Segmentation and Targeted Messaging

Effective segmentation helps you focus on high-potential subscribers. Martina emphasized that course creators should separate their list into active and inactive subscribers to personalize their re-engagement approach. Dynamic segmentation tools can be used to create “buckets” based on engagement levels, allowing creators to monitor and target different segments with specific re-engagement sequences or incentives tailored to each group’s activity level.

3. Crafting an Effective Re-Engagement Email Sequence

A structured approach is key: Martina recommends a sequence of four emails as the sweet spot. The first two emails could provide valuable content or reminders of previous offers, reestablishing trust. The third email might be a more direct offer, while the fourth would be a final call, letting subscribers know they will be removed unless they respond. Creators can repeat a modified version of this sequence, giving subscribers ample chances to re-engage.

4. Automation as a Tool for Consistency and List Health

Automation plays a crucial role in maintaining a clean, engaged list over time. Martina discussed the advantages of setting up automated re-engagement workflows that run year-round, ensuring your list remains healthy even outside peak seasons. For Black Friday, this ensures you’re reaching a well-nurtured, active audience rather than reactivating cold subscribers all at once.

5. Measuring Re-Engagement Success with Key Metrics

Tracking success metrics is essential to know if your re-engagement strategy is working. Key indicators include open and click-through rates, but the re-engagement rate—the percentage of inactive subscribers who become active again—is a strong benchmark. Martina highlighted that aiming for a re-engagement rate of 15% or higher is ideal, especially leading into Black Friday. This metric helps gauge whether the campaign effectively reconnects subscribers or if further segmentation or strategy adjustments are needed.

6. Transparency in Messaging Builds Long-Term Trust

Being transparent in your messaging shows subscribers they’re valued. Martina suggests using straightforward language about why you’re reaching out and what they stand to gain, which builds trust and reduces spam complaints. Explicitly telling subscribers they’re at risk of being removed if they don’t engage can prompt immediate action, as people may want to stay on a list if they feel they’re valued and not just marketed to.

7. Knowing When to Let Go of Inactive Subscribers

While it may be tempting to keep everyone on your list, Martina stressed the importance of letting go of those who haven’t re-engaged even after multiple attempts. Keeping inactive subscribers hurts deliverability and raises ESP costs. She advised course creators to see this pruning as an investment in their list’s health and effectiveness, especially when preparing for peak sales periods like Black Friday.

8. Importance of a Nurture Sequence Post-Re-Engagement

Once subscribers are re-engaged, a nurturing sequence helps maintain their interest. Martina highlighted how course creators should follow up with a mix of valuable content, educational resources, and relevant offers, maintaining momentum from the re-engagement sequence. This helps build long-term engagement and encourages them to stay active beyond Black Friday.

9. Re-Engagement Timing and the Ideal Campaign Launch

Starting re-engagement too close to Black Friday can backfire; if subscribers are unfamiliar with your emails, they may ignore or unsubscribe. Martina suggested launching re-engagement campaigns at least six to eight weeks before Black Friday, giving course creators ample time to re-establish connections, adjust campaigns based on responses, and build a stronger base of active subscribers before holiday promotions begin.

10. Using Tools and Resources for Optimal Deliverability

Martina recommended using email deliverability tools, like Google Postmaster or GlockApps, to monitor sender reputation and email placement success. These tools allow course creators to track how well their emails reach their intended destinations and adjust strategies if there’s a drop in deliverability. Ensuring high deliverability ahead of Black Friday can make a significant difference in the visibility and success of the holiday campaign.

Meet my guest, Martina Viljevac

Martina is a tech enthusiast and web developer with an eye for detail. She works in project management, focusing on funnel building and automation for online course creators. Her specialty is creating detailed plans and ensuring everything runs smoothly according to those plans.


Quotes

“If half your list hasn’t opened an email in six months, that’s a sign it’s time for re-engagement”

– Martina Viljevac

“You’re aiming for a 15% re-engagement rate, but even 5% is a win—that’s 5% of subscribers you might have otherwise lost”

– Martina Viljevac

“Re-engagement is a set of emails you send to your unengaged audience with the goal of nurturing them back to health, so they become part of your active, engaged list again”

martina viljevac


“It’s very natural for people to become unengaged. That just happens, which is why we recommend doing a re-engagement campaign twice a year” .

“Especially for Black Friday, when you’re going to be sending more emails, you want your list to be healthy, so that your emails reach inboxes, people read them, and your metrics stay strong” .

“I love the idea of ‘should we break up?’ emails because they’re direct and create urgency for re-engagement, even though it might feel risky—it really works” .

“Honesty is the best policy. Tell them: ‘Hey, you haven’t opened my emails in a while. If you want, I have a welcome-back gift for you. If not, here’s the unsubscribe link.’” .

“When nurturing re-engaged subscribers, don’t jump straight to promos. Instead, reintroduce your story, offer value, and hold off on the hard sell” .

“After re-engaging them, send them through a nurture sequence so they really understand your brand. Treat them like new subscribers, build rapport, and they’ll remember why they joined in the first place” .

“If your list health declines during re-engagement, stop the campaign, allow some recovery, and consider segmenting more carefully to avoid blacklist issues” .

Ready to Plan Your Black Friday Campaign?

If you want to run a successful Black Friday campaign but need some guidance, I’ve got something special for you. There is a Black Friday resources vault right here.


Hi. And welcome. My name is Monica Badiu. I am a marketing consultant turned conversion copywriter and copy coach. I help online course creators and info product businesses sell more through persuasive, non-spammy, no fluff copywriting.

I teach about copywriting, digital marketing, and conversion strategies tested in my businesses and with my clients. 

Other links:

Want to learn email copywriting?

Start by analyzing what others are doing. My Email Teardown series showcases some of the best (and sometimes worst) examples of sales emails that have hit my inbox. Here’s the link to the playlist. I publish new email reviews every week.

Are you a course creator?

Email marketing is one of those channels you should be developing early on in your business. Here are The 9 Email Automations Every Course Creator Needs to make bank, enroll students, and nurture audiences.

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Hi! I’m Monica. I help course creators enroll, engage, and educate audiences through customer-centric email copywriting. I’ve been privileged to partner with course creators from all over the world. And I’ve seen this customer-centric approach to email marketing work every time.

The best part? It’s not about the sale.

Email marketing is a fantastic channel because it builds trust, delivers value, and positions the brand as a partner. Read more on my blog or listen to Master The Inbox, the podcast where I share all my conversion secrets.

About the Author

Monica Badiu is a passionate email copywriter and conversion strategist with over 13 years of experience in marketing. With a love for crafting emails that genuinely connect, she’s spent more than 25,000 hours honing her skills in customer-centric copywriting specifically for course creators. In 2023, her tailored strategies helped course creators around the world generate over $3 million in revenue, making her a trusted partner to some of the biggest names in the industry.

But for Monica, it’s about more than just writing emails; it’s about building relationships. She believes in creating value-driven content that doesn’t feel pushy or spammy but rather speaks to audiences on a real, human level. Alongside her work, she mentors and champions ethical marketing, helping course creators not only reach their revenue goals but also grow loyal, lasting connections with their communities.

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