How to re-engage your email list
Don’t be like the one old friend who wants to rehash the last decade
A few weeks ago, I ran into a couple old high school friends at my Thursday night workout class. The three of us used to be track & field buddies, giggly and goofy, laughing through sprints and never listening when our coach said to eat clean protein after practice.
I haven’t seen them in seven years, and now suddenly, by happenstance, we’re taking workout classes together in a crowded studio, doing squats and burpees and pushups and trying not to die.
It’s funny how relationships fizzle and fade, and then come back to us.
Last week, we decided to catch up over pizza. At first I was worried the conversation would be awkward. After all, where do you start after seven years of not seeing each other? (Adult friendships are hard, am I right)?
But it was as if no time had passed. Instead of trying to fill each other in on the past seven years, we started in 2023. We talked about our jobs, our families, mutual friends and new friends. And then we worked backwards.
Katie explained how she ended up in New York City after college. Tori told us how she met her boyfriend. I told them about my COVID wedding.
It was so refreshing and not at all awkward.
If you run into an old high school friend you haven’t seen in a decade, you wouldn’t start off by asking them to fill you in on the past 10 years of their life.
You’d meet them where they were at. You’d ask them about their kids, or what they’re doing for work, or where they’re living now.
And those same principles apply to your business, as you re-engage with old contacts.
Oftentimes, business owners and leaders are unsure how to re-engage their email list after a long time of simply not sending emails. So they start sending emails as if no time has passed.
But that’s like running into an old high school friend and asking them why they broke up with their prom date in 2010. You can’t feign a relationship if there hasn’t been one in years.
Instead, be honest about the fact that you’ve been silent for a while. Fill them in on what your business is up to now. Express interest in learning more about what’s changed in their lives or business since you last reached out.
It doesn’t matter if you have 8,000 contacts or 80.
Invite them into a new relationship; one that might look different than before.
And you just might end up reconnecting with someone who can make a difference for your business.
If you need help writing an email sequence… we have one opening left for April.
