Home » B2C Marketing » Three Ways to Re-Engage Your Least Engaged Subscribers

How do you re-engage a sleeper?

A sleeper is a subscriber who hasn’t been active in awhile. It seems like the sleeper may have forgotten they subscribed at all.

Many subscription business owners like to let sleepers sleep — and keep paying — even when they’re not getting any value from their subscription.

But here’s the thing. Even if you keep that sleeper for an extra month or two, sleepers are eventually going to cancel. And when they do, they’re going to be annoyed about the months they have subscribed without getting any value.

I have worked with over 100 subscription-based businesses, and I have seen, time and again, that when sleepers cancel, they become detractors.

You might benefit from a few extra periods of revenue, but you’ll pay for it in the angry comments you’ll get from former sleepers, and the badmouthing your former sleepers will do with their friends. Ultimately, it will cost you.

sleeper typing

*A sleeper is a subscriber who hasn’t been active and seems like they may have forgotten they subscribed at all

Netflix is so against “sleeper revenue” that they will automatically cancel a subscriber who’s gone a year without logging in.

I believe that people who aren’t getting value from a subscription shouldn’t have to pay. So first, try to re-engage them. And if you can’t get them to use your offering — make it easy for them to cancel.

Here are a few tips on how you can re-engage sleepers:

1.Remind your sleepers of the value they’re entitled to.

Send them emails with information on new benefits, content, and best practices being enjoyed by other similar subscribers. It’s important that your subscribers make your products and services a habit. Even if they are using your product, encourage them to use all the features and benefits they’re entitled to. The more value they get, the less likely they are to want to cancel.

2. Forget “set-it-and-forget-it”.

Many subscription programs seem to rely on members forgetting that they even subscribed. Not only is this unethical, when subscribers realize how long they’ve been paying for a service they don’t value, they’ll be angry. And they’ll shout their displeasure from the (social media) rooftops.

3. If they really aren’t getting value, make it easy for them to leave.

Sometimes, a subscriber really doesn’t need the subscription — they’ve moved away, or changed jobs. Or maybe they’ve “used up” all the value, watched all of your videos, learned all the skills you teach. If someone really isn’t getting value, ask them if they want to cancel. Many subscribers’ needs change over time and acceptable churn is just that, acceptable. While they might leave a few periods than they would have without the reminder, they will feel better about it, be more willing to come back when their needs (or your services) change, and may even refer a friend or two.

For a successful subscription model, consistency is key. Building habits among your subscribers will result in higher engagement, higher satisfaction and lower churn. Make it a goal to consistently track whether your subscribers are actually getting the value that they came for. You don’t need zombie revenue — you need happy active subscribers.