Flodesk automatically creates a pre-built Unengaged Subscribers segment for every account, so you can find inactive subscribers without setting up any filters. For a full breakdown of how that segment works, see Understanding your pre-built "Unengaged Subscribers" segment.

This article covers what to do once you've found your unengaged subscribers (whether through the pre-built segment or your own custom filter), including how to build a custom filter if you want more control, and why you should be cautious about re-engaging this group at all.

Keeping your list clean improves your email deliverability, increases your open and click rates, and keeps your analytics focused on subscribers who actually want your content.

Best practice: when moving your list from another platform to Flodesk, don't bring your unengaged subscribers with you.

Unengaged subscribers are people who consistently ignore your emails. They're still active on your list (subscriber status: active), but over a set period of time they haven't opened or clicked anything you've sent. They may have:

• Stopped opening your emails altogether

• Never clicked a link in any of your emails

• Lost interest in your content

• Changed email addresses without unsubscribing

When you keep emailing subscribers who never engage, inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook take notice. This can hurt your sender reputation and send more of your emails to spam, including the ones going to your most engaged subscribers.

Cleaning your list regularly signals to mailbox providers that the people you email actually want to hear from you, which makes your emails less likely to get filtered out.

Go to Audience > Segments. Your Unengaged Subscribers segment is pinned to the top, already built and automatically updated. For details on exactly who's included, how often to review it, and how it behaves, see Understanding your pre-built "Unengaged Subscribers" segment.

Use this option if you're comfortable with Flodesk's default criteria. Use a custom filter (below) if you want to define "unengaged" differently, for example a shorter time window, or a lower open rate threshold.

There's no single definition of "unengaged" that fits every account; adjust your criteria based on how often you send.

Note: you shouldn’t use all these criteria at once to filter your list. Stacking all of them can leave you with an empty result.

Adjust based on how often you send emails. For example, if you email weekly, use a 90-day window. If monthly, consider 6 months or more.

Keep in mind: last activity is not the same as last engagement. Flodesk calculates last activity as the most recent of these six events:

• Last email opened

• Last email clicked

• Last unsubscribed

• Last purchase (Checkout)

• Re-import date

• Date added to your list

This filter tells you when something last happened on the subscriber's record, not necessarily when they last engaged with an email.

1. Go to Audience > Subscribers

2. Click the Filter (top right, next to “Add subscriber”)

3. The filter panel will slide out from the right. This is where you’ll build your filter criteria

4. Once you set your filters, hit Apply to view the results

Important: Depending on your audience and sending frequency, you can increase or decrease the time frames and message thresholds. 

NOTE: The below are just examples, not hard rules. 

Example 1: Subscribers who are active, are receiving emails, but have never opened or clicked on your emails.

• Subscriber status: Active

• Emails delivered: more than 5 in the last 90 days (adjust this depending on your sending frequency)

• Emails opened: 0 times over all time

• Emails clicked: 0 times over all time

Example 2: Subscribers who are active and receive emails, but have stopped engaging after a while.

• Subscriber status: Active

• Emails delivered: more than 5 over all time (adjust this based on your sending frequency)

• Last activity: not in the last 6 months

Once you've found your unengaged subscribers (through either method above), select them and choose a bulk action:

Archive: Archiving means they will stop receiving your emails, but their data stays intact. The segments, form history, past purchases, all still there. Select this if you're not ready to unsubscribe or delete those people.

Add to segment: Choose the segment(s) from the drop-down you want to add the selected subscriber(s) to. You can also create a segment by starting to type the new segment’s name.

For example, You can add unengaged subscribers to a dedicated new segment called e.g. “disengaged” or "my unengaged subscribers".

To avoid sending them further emails, exclude this segment from your email campaigns/newsletters and your active workflows.

Remove from segment: Choose the segment(s) you want to remove the selected subscriber(s) from - without deleting them from your entire list

Unsubscribe from your entire list

Delete permanently from your entire list

If you use "Add to segment" to create a custom unengaged segment, exclude it from your campaigns and workflows so those subscribers stop receiving emails.

Before you archive, unsubscribe, or delete unengaged subscribers, you can give them one last chance. A re-engagement (or "win-back") campaign is a one-time email or sequence designed to get inactive subscribers to take action.

Send with caution: these subscribers already show a pattern of not opening or clicking. Emailing all of them at once, even with good intentions, can trigger the same deliverability problems you're trying to avoid: low open rates, spam complaints, and a hit to your sender reputation. If you send a re-engagement campaign:

• Start with a very small test batch first, not the whole segment at once

• Watch your open rate, bounce rate, and spam complaints closely on that test batch before sending to anyone else

• Only expand to a slightly larger batch if that first test comes back clean, and keep repeating in small waves rather than sending to the rest all at once

• If engagement stays low or complaints climb at any point, stop immediately and archive the remaining subscribers instead of continuing to send

• For subscribers who've been inactive a very long time (six months or more), consider skipping re-engagement altogether and archiving them directly

What to include, if you do send:

• A reminder of who you are and why they subscribed

• An incentive (a discount, freebie, or early access)

• A clear call to action (update preferences, confirm they still want emails)

• An easy way to unsubscribe, if they're no longer interested

Note: if you only want to remove a subscriber from one segment (not your whole list), use Remove from segment instead.

Cleaning your list isn't about losing subscribers. It's about keeping the ones who actually want to hear from you.

• Use your pre-built Unengaged Subscribers segment for the fastest path, or build a custom filter if you want your own criteria

• If you re-engage, start with a very small test batch and expand slowly: don't email your entire unengaged segment at once

• Archive, unsubscribe, or delete those who remain inactive

• Repeat this process regularly (monthly for the pre-built segment, or every three to six months if you're using a custom filter)

A smaller, engaged list performs better than a larger, unresponsive one.

Should I use the pre-built unengaged subscribers segment or a custom filter?
Use the pre-built segment if Flodesk's default criteria work for you: it requires no setup. Build a custom filter if you send more or less frequently than average, or want to define "unengaged" using your own thresholds.

Is it safe to send a re-engagement campaign to my entire unengaged segment at once?
No. Sending to a whole segment of already-disengaged subscribers at once carries real deliverability risk. Start with a very small test batch, watch your open rate and spam complaints closely, and only expand in small waves if that test comes back clean. For subscribers inactive six months or more, consider archiving them directly instead of re-engaging.

How often should I clean my list?
Review and archive your unengaged subscribers on a regular cadence, monthly if you're using the pre-built segment, or every three to six months if you're using a custom filter based on your own sending frequency.

What's the difference between archiving and deleting a subscriber?
Archiving keeps their data and is reversible: you can restore them to active status anytime. Deleting permanently removes them from your account and can't be undone.