If a subscriber becomes inactive you have a choice of either investing in methods to become active or else investing in a campaign to gain new ones. If you follow these five simple steps for those not responding you might find it the better option.

1. Identify
It is not a simple case of setting up a system whereby someone who hasn't clicked through onto a landing page for two months is highlighted in red. The time period will vary according to your product. Software updates will be annual, office supplies will be frequent and items such as England flags will be event generated.
Check whether they are making their purchases via other routes, such as the website or via counter sales. If so, then as long as this suits your business model, let them be.

2. Separate
Remove those you have identified from the main email marketing list and onto a separate one. We don’t want them pestered with too many emails as this might make them unsubscribe. Further, we don’t want to offer the same product at two different prices.

3. Contact
If their history suggests they might be worth the investment of time, phone the subscriber and ask them why they are not buying. You can do the same via an email for those who are not quite so valuable to you.

4. Offer
Produce a special offer, one that they can’t refuse, based on their previous history, say an add-on for something they have purchased from you. The idea is to get them back into the buying habit, or at the very least clicking through. Further, they could well be encouraged to open marketing emails from you in the future.
On the assumption they have reacted to the email, list them for the next email marketing campaign. If they respond to that, all well and good. If not, then see below.

5. Decide
The question is whether you retain the address. If they were only interested in ultra cheap offers, then perhaps not. Leaving them on the main email marketing list might well distort your stats. You could place them on a separate list and check back later.