How to reduce disengagement and increase subscribers

Email  is one of the most powerful owned channels, but only when people actually read and engage with your emails. High unsubscribe rates, low open rates, and declining clicks are all signs of disengagement. The good news? Disengagement is fixable. 

In this blog, we’ll break down why subscribers disengage and share practical, proven strategies to re-engage your audience and grow a healthier subscriber list. 

We’ll also cover some top tips on how to increase your subscriber numbers, to bring in new contacts and keep your database healthy and up to date. 

Why email disengagement happens

Before fixing the problem, it’s important to understand what disengagement is. 

Disengagement simply put is when a contact is not interacting (opening or clicking) on your emails for an extended period. In e-shot we determine a contact fully disengaged with no engagement for 6 months. A contact begins to slip away after 3 months of no engagement. 

Common causes of email disengagement include: 

• Irrelevant content that doesn’t match subscriber interests 

• Too many emails, leading to inbox fatigue 

• Misleading subject lines that hurt trust 

• Poor mobile experience 

• Lack of personalisation 

• No clear value in each email 

When subscribers feel your emails no longer serve them, they stop opening or even unsubscribe altogether. 

Top ways to help decrease your disengaged contacts 

1. Improve your subject lines and preview text (without clickbait) 

Your subject line is the first impression. Avoid misleading subjects that damage trust or boring ones that spark no interest. 

Best practices: 

• Keep it concise (30–50 characters) 

• Spark curiosity, not confusion 

• Highlight a clear benefit or key article 

• Test personalisation (first name, location, behaviour) 

Example: 

• ❌ “You won’t believe this deal!!!” 

• ✅ “3 ways to save time on your next project” 

• ❌ “February 2025 newsletter” 

• ✅ “Top places to visit in Surrey this Valentines ❤️” 

2. Send the right amount of emails 

Over-emailing is one of the fastest ways to lose subscribers. Further to this, not emailing enough can also lead to contacts becoming disengaged naturally. 

How to find the sweet spot: 

• Monitor unsubscribe and spam complaint rates 

• Ask subscribers how often they want to hear from you 

• Send on a repeating schedule (weekly or monthly) depending on the amount of content you have. 

Pro tip: Fewer, higher-quality emails often outperform frequent low-value ones. 

3. Ensure your emails are optimised for mobile 

For most audiences nowadays around 50% of emails are opened on mobile devices. If your emails aren’t mobile-friendly, engagement will drop. 

Ensure: 

• Short paragraphs and scannable text 

• Responsive design 

• Large, tappable buttons 

A clean, readable email keeps subscribers engaged longer. 

4. Track, Test, and Improve continuously 

Reducing disengagement is an ongoing process. Track metrics such as: 

• Open rate 

• Click-through rate 

• Unsubscribe rate 

• Spam complaints 

Run A/B tests on: 

• Subject lines 

• Send times 

• Content formats 

• CTAs 

Small improvements compound over time will always make a difference. 

5. Regularly clean your email list and run disengagement campaigns 

A smaller, engaged list outperforms a large, inactive one. 

Best practices: 

• Run win-back campaigns for disengaged users every 3-6 months – Ask if they are still interested in your emails. 

• For the contacts you don't hear back from, either unsubscribe them or temporarily remove them from your sends. They can always resubscribe if interested sparks again. 

• Provide a clear set of preferences for contacts to subscribe to through the preference centre. This leads to less unsubscribes and provides your contacts with more options to receive different emails if they lose interest in something else. 

Overall, sending to more active engaged contacts helps to improve deliverability and ensures your emails reach inboxes, not spam folders. 

Top ways to help increase subscriber numbers 

1. Optimise your sign-up forms and landing pages 

Even great emails fail with poor execution. 

Tips to improve conversion: 

• Keep forms short (name + email is often enough) 

• Use clear headlines and benefit-driven copy 

• Remove distractions on landing pages 

• Ensure it is clear what the contact is signing up to 

• Spread your bets. In some cases, providing several subscriber topics (preferences) can help to convert. 

2. Use popups (smartly) 

Our website popups tool proves extremely beneficial for gaining new subscribers. But only when done right. 

Effective pop-up strategies: 

• Time-delayed pop-ups ensure the reader is active 

• Mobile-optimised designs 

• Show different popups on different website pages e.g., on the homepage show your main/master form but on the waste and recycling page show a dedicated form for waste and recycling news. 

Avoid aggressive tactics. A helpful, well-timed popup feels like assistance, not interruption. 

Learn more about e-shot website popups here.

3. Promote your sign-up form everywhere! 

Don’t limit signup forms to one page on your website or one stream of content. 

Places to promote subscriptions: 

• Website header or footer 

• About page 

• Social media bios 

• YouTube descriptions 

• Email signatures 

• Printed material 

Consistency increases visibility—and signups. 

Top tip: Sign up forms provide you with a unique QR code, upon scanning this takes you directly to fill in the form. Use this QR code in printed materials or display it in popular areas such as a library or a bus stop. 

Conclusion 

That's all for our top tips on reducing disengagement and increasing subscribers. Making small changes over time can really make a difference to your email campaigns. 

If you have any questions or would like further guidance, please feel free to contact us via the live chat where our team are always happy to assist.