How to Set Up Winback Email Flows the Right Way

Hey it’s Max from The Inbox Newsletter.

Let’s talk about winback flows.

Most brands freak out when they see their winback flow only generating 2-3% of revenue, thinking something's broken.

But the truth is, that’s how much your winback flow should generate.

If you’re sending 3-4 campaigns per week (which you should be), most of your repeat purchases will come from campaigns, not your winback flow.

But that doesn’t mean you can (or should) ignore them. Here’s how to make sure yours actually works:

Key Takeaways:

• "We miss you" emails don't work if customers already hear from you weekly

• Test your offers, plain 10% off won't reactivate dormant customers

• Target customers 90-180 days post-purchase depending on purchase frequency

• Suppress non-engagers after 2-3 winback attempts to protect deliverability

Reality Check on Winback Flows

Your winback flow isn’t underperforming if it’s only generating 2-3% of revenue.

Your regular campaigns are already hitting your “dormant” customers 3-4 times per week.

They don’t need a separate “we miss you” email to convert. They’re either buying from your campaigns or they’re checked out.

So what’s the point of a winback flow?

Customization, personalization, and catching the people who genuinely forgot or fell out of the buying cycle.

You should not think of your winback flow as a revenue generating cash-cow.

You should think of it as a retention tool to keep your customer base engaged long-term.

How Far Back Should You Target?

This depends on your product's purchase frequency.

High-frequency products (supplements, consumables, subscriptions): Target customers 75-90 days after their last purchase. If they haven't reordered by then, they're probably churning.

Medium-frequency products (apparel, accessories): Target 120-180 days post-purchase. People don't buy new shirts every month.

Low-frequency products (furniture, high-ticket items): You might not even need a winback flow. These customers aren't expected to repurchase quickly. Maybe around 180.

Set your trigger based on when a customer should be thinking about repurchasing, not some arbitrary 90-day window.

Don’t Just Rely On "We Miss You" Emails

If you're sending 3-4 campaigns per week, a "we miss you" email isn’t going to do much. You can still set it up as it is personalization for the customer, but without an offer it likely won’t convert.

What DOES work:

Give custom offers. And TEST THEM.

A plain 10% off won't reactivate someone who's been ignoring your 20% off campaigns for two months.

Try:

• Store credit: "$25 credit waiting for you" (feels like a gift, guarantees return)

• Bundled offers: Higher perceived value than a percentage off

• Survey + incentive: "Why'd you stop buying? Tell us and get 25% off"

• Free Gift w/ Purchase: Give somebody some sort of free gift!

The key is to give them a reason to buy that they haven't seen yet.

What to Do With Non-Responders

When someone goes through your winback flow (2-3 emails over 2 weeks) and still doesn't engage, it’s time to hit them with the ban hammer (suppress their profile).

Continuing to send to people who never open is killing your deliverability. Gmail sees zero engagement and starts treating all your emails like spam.

Here's the cleanup strategy:

1. Run your winback flow (2-3 emails over 2 weeks)

2. If they don't open or click anything, potentially suppress them from future campaigns

3. Keep them on your list, but stop sending unless they re-engage organically

You can always run a "Hail Mary" campaign once or twice a year to this suppressed segment. But don't keep hammering people who clearly aren't interested.

Your deliverability score will thank you.

Final Thoughts

Winback flows aren't sexy, but they are important.

They're important for long-term retention and keeping your list healthy.

Don't freak out if winback revenue is low. Focus on testing new offers that spice things up and clean up the dead weight on your list.

Your campaigns will always be the main source of repeat purchases. Winback flows just catch the stragglers.

If you want help building an email strategy that actually reactivates dormant customers (without tanking your deliverability), my team has generated $200M+ in email revenue for clients. Book a call here.

Email Inspiration Of The Day

Brand:
SULT

Email Design:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ILo-tAmx8wdXSOJ2GzKdlS5Rvr6qZ-Ma/view?usp=sharing


Notes:
A very bold, in-your-face image with a strong offer. Could easily work as a old customer reactivation campaign and catch people by surprise.

Template of The Day

If you want access to a bank of 134 mix and match templates like this equating to over 5,000+ possible email designs, click here » 

Reply to this email if you have any questions or further content you want covered.

Cheers,

Max | Well Copy Email & SMS Marketing

PS - If you run a 7-9 figure ecommerce brand and you want to have a free email strategy consultation, book a call here » 

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