How to Identify and Manage Unengaged Subscribers in Flodesk
Overview
Maintaining a healthy email list is essential for strong deliverability, high engagement, and better results from your email marketing. Over time, some subscribers may stop engaging with your emails—and continuing to email them can harm your sender reputation.
This guide explains how to find unengaged subscribers using Flodesk filters and what actions you can take to clean your list effectively.
What Are Unengaged Subscribers?
Unengaged subscribers are people on your list who haven’t opened or interacted with your emails in a while. They may have:
Stopped opening your emails
Not clicked on any links
Lost interest or changed email addresses
A large, inactive list can lower your engagement metrics and trigger spam filters. In contrast, a smaller, active list improves inbox placement and overall campaign performance.
How to Find Unengaged Subscribers in Flodesk
Use the Filters feature to locate subscribers who haven’t engaged recently.
Step-by-step:
Go to Audience > All subscribers
Click the Filter button in the top-right corner
Clicking this Filter option will open up your subscriber filter pop-up screen:
In the filter panel:
Under Status, choose Active subscribers (these are not unsubscribed, bounced, or marked as spam)
Under Activity, select a timeframe such as:
Last active 6+ months ago
Last active 1+ year ago
Or a timeframe that makes sense for your business
Click Apply filter to view the results
Tip: If you typically email your list weekly, a 90-day inactivity filter might be appropriate. Adjust the timeframe based on your sending frequency.
What You Can Do with Unengaged Subscribers
Once you’ve identified your inactive subscribers, you have several options:
Action | Description |
|---|---|
Send a re-engagement campaign | Try to win them back before removal |
Move them to a segment | Use a dedicated “Unengaged” segment to separate them from active contacts |
Unsubscribe them | Remove them from future sends while keeping their records |
Delete them | Permanently remove their data from your account |
Remove from specific segments | Keep the contact but exclude them from certain segments |
What is a re-engagement campaign?
A re-engagement campaign is an email (or email sequence) sent to inactive subscribers to encourage them to engage again.
Example goals:
Remind them who you are
Offer a special incentive (e.g., discount or download)
Ask them to update preferences or confirm continued interest
Flodesk resource:
You can use the Subscriber Re-engagement Sequence template to set this up. If they don’t engage after your re-engagement attempt, it’s best to remove them from your active list.
Should I Unsubscribe or Delete?
Action | What it does | Can they be added back later? |
|---|---|---|
Unsubscribe | Marks the subscriber as inactive; they won’t receive emails | ❌ Only if they opt-in again via a Flodesk form |
Delete | Removes the subscriber’s record entirely | ✅ Yes, via an opt-in form, manually or via CSV import |
Note: If you only want to remove a subscriber from a specific segment (not the entire list), use Remove from segment.
Summary
To keep your email list clean and your engagement rates high:
Use Filters to identify inactive subscribers
Try to re-engage them with a targeted campaign
Remove disengaged contacts by unsubscribing or deleting them
Regularly maintain your list to support long-term deliverability
A smaller, more engaged list always performs better than a large, inactive one.