10 Best Win-Back Email Examples that Retain Customers

Win-back email examples show us how to reconnect with customers who’ve slipped away.

Customers drift off, open rates drop, and sales stall. It’s frustrating, like trying to start a conversation with someone who’s no longer listening.

A great win-back email turns inactivity into engagement, reignites interest, and reminds them why they chose you in the first place.

In this blog, learn all about win-back emails and how to write a high-converting one with our list of 10 best win-back examples. We have also listed 5 steps to create a win-back email campaign.

Let’s dive right in.

What are Win-Back Emails?

Win-back emails are a type of email marketing campaign sent to re-engage inactive or lapsed customers and regain their interest in the brand.

The purpose of a win-back email is to “win back” inactive customers by reminding them about your brand, products, or services and encouraging them to make another purchase or become active customers again.

But, when to consider the customer inactive and lapsed?

There is no universal definition of inactivity, as it can vary based on the business and industry. However, here are some common scenarios that may qualify a customer as inactive:

• No purchases for a certain period
• No engagement with emails or marketing communications for an extended time
• No activity or interaction with the brand across any channels for a defined timeframe

A lack of insights into the reasons behind customer churn makes it challenging to address those issues in customer win-back emails.

Here are the major reasons why customers become inactive or lapsed.

Why Should You Send a Win-Back Email Campaign?

Win-back campaigns are one of the most important email campaigns you send as part of your ecommerce email marketing.

Here are the reasons why:

• Success rate: Reactivating just 10% of an email list’s inactive subscribers can increase revenue by as much as 30%.
• Lapsed customers are not lost, yet: When the customers become inactive, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should consider them a lost cause.
• Customer retention: Sending a win-back email campaign can increase customer retention and lifetime value significantly.

As they have shown interest in your brand, they don’t have to be nurtured like new customers. Spending on increasing customer lifetime value will increase revenue in the long term.

Rather than writing off lapsed customers as a lost cause, you should view them as an opportunity to strengthen their customer relationships, gather valuable feedback, and drive retention rates.

10 Best Win-Back Email Examples

These effective win-back email examples show you the important elements to include, how to address the objections and how to write a win-back email that converts more.

1. The promise of improvement and new features

Subject line: Check out what’s new!!

Most customers lapse when they feel the product or service no longer meets their evolving needs or expectations.

Showing the newly launched products or features in the re-engagement email will work as a huge green flag and an effective win-back strategy.

Even if they have lapsed, their pain point remains the same. So, reiterating the benefits of your product reminds customers how you can still help them solve their pain points.

This win-back customer email example uses concise and straightforward messaging like “We’ve leveled up – Come see what’s new!” to pique the user’s interest and convey the improvements without being too wordy.

Key Takeaways:

• Addressed the objection of lack of new products or improvement.
• Catchy tagline
• Included benefits of rejoining

2. Highlighting how the customer had a good time with you.

Subject line: You made Duo sad 😢

We all love this win-back email example because it uses a friendly, conversational tone that makes it feel more personalized and engaging, rather than a generic mass email.

They have also used subtle proof of how learning with Duolingo is effective.

The CTA “Take a 5-minute lesson now” provides a low-commitment incentive to re-engage with the app.

This personalized win-back email template is a great example of keeping the brand personality intact. Duolingo is known for making the learning experience fun and engaging. This customer win-back email doesn’t fail to reflect the same.

The CTA “GET BACK ON TRACK” button is clear and actionable, making it easy for the user to take the desired step of resuming their language learning.

Key Takeaways:

• Used conversational language
• Shown brand personality
• Strong and clear CTA

3. Giving them a choice – stay or unsubscribe

Subject line: Pssst…we have a question for you.

The cute egg illustrations add visual interest, and a touch of brand personality makes this win-back email template more engaging and memorable.

The “Customize” and “Unsubscribe” buttons provide straightforward actions for the recipient to take and reduce friction.

By giving the option to unsubscribe without judgment, this great win-back email example respects the recipient’s autonomy and avoids being perceived as pushy or intrusive.

Key Takeaways:

• Creative email copy
• Giving a choice to the recipient

4. Creating FOMO

Subject line: Check out what’s new!!

By showcasing a few specific recent products, this re-engagement email example provides examples of the new content users have been missing out on.

The inclusion of upvote counts (e.g.,+1427) for the featured products adds social proof and reinforces their popularity and relevance.

Asking for feedback in your re-engagement campaign signals a commitment to improving your product or service and can change the customer’s mind if they encountered any problems earlier.

Key Takeaways:

• Included subtle social proof about new products
• Asked for feedback

5. The promise of a better experience

Subject line: Smiles Davis, getting back into Venmo? Here’s a refresher.

This great win-back email example brings users who may have been inactive for some time up to speed on the latest developments and makes a strong case that the platform is worth revisiting.

Each new feature is explained concisely yet clearly, highlighting the specific benefits to the user.

The re-engagement email also acknowledges the recipient’s absence with “Since you’ve been gone”. It makes the win-back email copy feel more personalized and relevant.

This personalized win-back email template showcases new, valuable features like cash-back offers and integrated app payments by providing a strong value proposition for users to return to Venmo.

Key Takeaways:

• Explained each new feature concisely
• Acknowledges the absence of the customer

6. Addressing the objections

Subject line: Since you have been gone…

This great win-back email campaign example directly highlights that Asana is now “2x faster than before,” implying they have improved the performance of their platform, which could have been a pain point causing customers to churn.

By stating they have made major changes, it aims to re-engage those who felt the product was stagnant.

This win-back email copy is concise and gets to the point quickly about the key benefit (faster speed) that Asana hopes will resonate with lapsed users.

This win-back email template has a clear call-to-action button, “Try It Now,” that makes it easy for recipients to promptly re-experience the upgraded product.

Key Takeaways:

• Addressed the objections right away
• Short and concise copy but also compelling

7. New and improved features

Subject line: Let’s catch up, Smiles Davis

In this win-back email example, the headlines “Always new, always improving” and “This is our best AllTrails+ yet” immediately capture attention and convey a message of continuous improvement.

Mentioning the accolade “iPhone App of the Year” adds credibility and reinforces the app’s value.

This re-engagement email clearly communicates the value of rejoining AllTrails+ by emphasizing the added benefits, such as better planning, never missing a turn, and outdoor experiences.

Key Takeaways:

• Addresses the objection of lack of new features and improvement. 
• Emphasized benefits clearly.

8. Incentive to re-engage

Subject line: Was Avocode too slow for you?

This example of win-back email directly addresses a common pain point, shows that they understand previous user frustrations, and have worked on a solution.

This win-back customer email is an example of how customer-centric messaging should be. It makes a strong case for the customer to try their product again. Rather than just stating that it is better, it provides more than one reason why it is better.

By suggesting that users give the product another try, this win-back email template subtly encourages re-engagement without being pushy.

Key Takeaways:

• Addressed the frustration that would have led to inactivity.
• Spot on customer-centric messaging.

There you have it. 8 best examples of win-back emails and what makes it high-converting.

Win-Back Email Best Practices to Increase Retention Rate

Successful win-back emails are judged by how many customers they retain and turn into active ones. You can send high-converting win-back customer emails with the help of these best practices.

Here are the win-back email best practices to increase the retention rate.

Addressing objections

Understand why customers have become inactive. Was it due to poor product quality, customer service issues, or better offers from competitors? Address these concerns directly in your win-back messaging.

This is the most effective win-back email strategy that will change the customers to choose your brand again.

In your reactivation campaigns, highlight improvements made since their last interaction. For example, if slow service was an issue, mention faster delivery times or improved customer support.

Automate win-back emails

Modern email marketing platforms offer user-friendly email automation features and pre-built templates to launch your reactivation campaign with minimal effort from your end.

This win-back automation simplifies the process and saves you time and effort compared to manually sending individual win-back emails.

Segment your lapsed customers

Not all inactive customers are the same. Some would have been purchasing frequently, and some made a purchase and disappeared. You can’t treat all these customers the same and send them a similar re-engagement campaign.

The effective win-back email strategy is to use email segmentation and group your lapsed customers based on their purchase history.

With email marketing tools, you can segment these customers with ease and send personalized win-back customer emails.

The criteria for segmenting customers to consider are:

• Frequent Buyers: Customers who used to purchase frequently but haven’t made a purchase recently.
• One-Time Buyers: Customers who made a single purchase and did not return.
• Who gave negative feedback: Customers who left negative reviews or provided feedback indicating dissatisfaction.

You should focus on different things while targeting these segments in your win-back campaign:

• Frequent Buyers: Provide exclusive discounts and early access to new products and acknowledge their value.
• One-Time Buyers: Provide a discount and emphasize the benefits of your products.
• Who gave Negative Feedback: Start by acknowledging their previous feedback and highlight specific improvements made in response to those.

Send a win-back email series

Rather than sending a single win-back email, use a series of emails to gradually re-engage customers and increase your chances of winning back.

Sending a series of emails that address different pain points over the period is a proven email marketing strategy that you can use for re-engaging campaigns, too.

With email marketing automation software, creating a win-back flow is easier.

Here is a win-back email flow you can consider:

• Email 1 – The Gentle Reminder
  • Remind the customer about your product/service
  • Highlight new features, updates, or improvements
  • Offer a small incentive (e.g., 10% discount)
  • Use a friendly, personalized tone
• Email 2 – Urgency and social proof
  • Include customer testimonials or social proof
  • Offer a significant incentive (e.g., 30% discount, free upgrade)
  • Highlight the risk of missing out on the value
• Email 3 – Last chance and final offer
  • Clearly state that this is the final email in the series
  • Say it is the last chance to avail the offer
  • Emphasize the benefits of taking action now
  • Include a clear call-to-action (CTA) and deadline

Tailor your offers based on why they left

Identify the main reasons for churn and tailor your win-back offers to address those pain points, expectations, and needs.

For example, if customers leave due to poor service, offer a free trial of improved support features in your reactivation campaign.

Don’t be desperate

Frame your win-back message as a friendly invitation. This helps to build trust and encourages customers to return.

How to Create a Win-back Email Campaign?

With the best email marketing software that supports email automation, you can create a win-back flow and launch your win-back email campaign in 5 simple steps.

Step 1: Choose an Email Marketing App

To create a win-back email campaign, select an email marketing app that offers email automation, segmentation, and pre-designed email templates.

Ensure the software integrates with your e-commerce platform.

Step 2: Identify Inactive Customers

Determine what qualifies as an inactive customer (e.g., no purchases or engagement in the last 3, 6, or 12 months).

Step 3: Craft the win-back email copy

Create compelling win-back email subject lines that grab attention.

Use personalization (e.g., the customer’s name and past purchases) to increase the open rates of your win-back campaign.

Here is a structure of the win-back email copy:

Step 4: Set up email automation

Use email automation to create an automated win-back email workflow in your email marketing app. Schedule the win-back email sequence to be sent over a period at well-timed intervals.

Space out the win-back email flow to avoid overwhelming the customer. For example, send the first email, followed by a reminder after a week, and a final follow-up after another week.

Step 5: Test and optimize

Test different win-back email subject lines, email content, and CTAs to see what resonates best with your audience.

Use the analytics tools in your email marketing app to track open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates of your win-back campaigns.

Wrapping up!!

Win-back emails show your customers that you care, that you’re paying attention, and that their presence matters to you.

Our list of best win-back email examples has shown you how to address your customers’ reasons for lapsing and objections and show them that you care.

Don’t let your lost customers stay lost by creating a successful win-back email campaign using email marketing software like Retainful.

Learn more about how to do email marketing:

1. 10 Best Email Marketing Examples and Templates
2. 10 Marketing Automation Workflow Examples