# Re-engagement and win-back emails: bringing people back

Re-engagement emails reach subscribers who went quiet; win-back emails reach customers who lapsed. How each works, and how to build both as flows in Mimeo.

**Definition:** Re-engagement emails go to subscribers who have stopped opening or clicking, to win back their attention or let them go. Win-back emails go to customers who have lapsed, to bring them back to buying.

## How it works

The two are cousins with different goals.

**Re-engagement** is about attention. It starts when someone has gone quiet for a set number of days. A short series asks whether they still want your email, sometimes with your best recent work. Anyone who still doesn't respond is unsubscribed. That last step is often called re-permission.

**Win-back** is about buying. It starts when a customer cancels, or when a subscription is about to end without renewing. It reminds them what they had, sometimes with an offer, and stops the moment they buy again.

## Why it matters

- **Quiet subscribers weigh on delivery.** Google's sender guidelines suggest periodically checking that people want to stay subscribed, and unsubscribing those who don't open or read your mail.
- **Letting people go is a result too.** A clean "no" is better than years of unread email.
- **Lapsed customers already know you.** They bought once, so a well-timed reminder starts from trust.

## How Mimeo handles it

Both are [flows](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/flows) in Mimeo.

**Re-engagement** uses the [inactivity trigger](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/flows#inactivity): a set number of days without a human open or click. People enter a daily batch at a time, and you can preview who qualifies first. The usual shape is a "still want these?" email, a 14-day wait, then a [prune step](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/flows#prune), which unsubscribes them with the reason *inactive*. Anyone who opened or clicked since entering the flow is skipped and stays.

**Win-back** starts on an event such as `subscription_cancelled` ([money events](https://mimeohq.com/docs/api/events#money-events)), or on the [subscription ending approaching](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/flows#ending-approaching) trigger for people who aren't renewing. A gate waits for a `purchase` event with an expiry: people who buy take the **Criteria met** path and can exit, and the rest take **Gave up** to the next email. See [Mimeo terms](https://mimeohq.com/docs/glossary#working-in-mimeo) for pruning and triggers in Mimeo's own words.

## Sources

1. [Email sender guidelines](https://support.google.com/a/answer/81126), checked 2026-11-09
2. [Flows](https://mimeohq.com/docs/usage/flows), checked 2026-11-10
3. [The event contract](https://mimeohq.com/docs/api/events), checked 2026-11-09

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This is the Markdown copy of https://mimeohq.com/glossary/re-engagement-and-win-back.