An old email list can either be a goldmine... or a deliverability disaster. Here’s how to revive it the right way—without wrecking your sender reputation.

In this episode of Send It!, Jimmy Kim and Chase Dimond dive deep into the art (and science) of list reactivation. Whether you’ve got 6-month-old inactives or 5-year "ancient" leads, they break down exactly how to segment, re-engage, and carefully approach dormant subscribers without blowing up your sender reputation.

From compliance pitfalls to re-permission flows to quick wins you can launch today—this is your guide for turning forgotten contacts into found revenue.

EP 28: List Reactivation Playbook: How to Approach Aged Email & SMS Leads

Here's what we're diving into:

- Why aged leads are worth the effort (and when they're not)

- How to segment dormant subscribers by timeline (3 months, 6 months, 2+ years)

- Re-engagement campaign ideas that actually work

- Multi-email sequencing for higher reactivation rates

- Protecting your domain reputation during list warmups

- Compliance rules you can’t afford to ignore (GDPR, CASL, CAN-SPAM)

- How to decide when it’s time to sunset unresponsive contacts

- Quick win vs. long-term nurture strategies to maximize ROI

Thank you our friends at Omnisend, Raleon and eCom Email Certified for sponsoring the podcast!

Omnisend is an all in one eCommerce email and SMS marketing automation platform that enables marketers to engage customers and drive sales through personalized experiences. https://eemtrk.com/omnisend-sendit

Raleon is your AI-powered retention team—built to help Shopify brands increase LTV and save hours every week. From segmentation to campaign planning, Raleon automates the grind so you can focus on strategy that scales. https://eemtrk.com/sendit-raleon

eCom Email Certified is a hands-on, results-driven program with a step-by-step guide to mastering retention marketing and driving serious results. Access over 25 hours of learnings and become a certified email & SMS marketer. https://eemtrk.com/eec-sendit

Join our community of 320+ Retention marketers! https://eemtrk.com/eecc-sendit

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04:58 Segmenting Your Email List

05:47 Reactivating 3-6 Mo. Dormant Subscribers

08:01 Reactivating 6-12 Mo. Lapsed Leads

10:03 Reactivating 1-2 Year Almost Lost Leads

13:44 Reactivating 2-5+ Year Ancient Contacts

17:18 Re-engagement Campaign Tactics

26:52 Building a Re-engagement Email Series

29:11 Protecting Your Domain and IP Reputation

33:18 Metrics, Compliance and Legal Considerations

39:17 Recommended Tools for List Activation

41:18 Quick Wins and Long-term Nurture Strategies

42:48 Hypothetical Scenario: Re-engaging Inactive Subscribers

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Enjoying the pod? Subscribe to The eCom Email Marketer Newsletter for your weekly dose of retention strategy, actionable insights, & exclusive industry news! http://ecomemailmarketer.com/

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Follow Jimmy & Chase on social!

Follow Jimmy Kim at:

https://x.com/yojimmykim

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yojimmykim/

https://www.instagram.com/yojimmykim/

https://www.tiktok.com/@yojimmykim

Follow Chase Dimond at:

https://x.com/ecomchasedimond

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasedimond/

https://www.instagram.com/chasehunterdimond/

https://www.tiktok.com/@chasehunterdimond

Contact us at [email protected] for sponsorships, appearance requests, interviews, or general information!