Does it feel like the email apocalypse is here? Is your email list crawling with . . . zombies?

Not the flesh-eating kind, of course. 

We’re talking about zombie subscribers. They’re email subscribers who were once-lively contacts, but now have stopped opening, clicking or converting . . . but somehow, they haven’t unsubscribed.

They’re not totally dead. But they’re very unengaged. They’re lurking in your email list, hurting your deliverability and haunting your engagement rates. And just when you think your email marketing program is safe, you learn that 32% of marketers do not remove unengaged subscribers from their lists. This suggests that many lists contain a significant proportion of inactive—but still subscribed contacts—and you have a one-in-three chance of being infected.

But fear not! This guide will teach you how to identify a few unique types of email list zombies, understand why they fell off your radar and how to (safely) bring them back to life.

5 Types of Zombies On Your Email List (& How to Defeat Them)

Subscriber Type #1: The Sleepwalker

Symptoms: These people occasionally open emails, but they never click . . . and they definitely never convert. They're technically there, but this subscriber type is not really there.

Reasons Why They Died: 

• Your marketing content lost relevance in their eyes.
• Your email content has perhaps become repetitive. 
• They’re skimming, but not finding anything engaging enough to entice them.

Here’s How to Revive Them:

• Use dynamic content or behavior-based segmentation. Rather than sending the same email to your entire list, tailor content within your emails. You can also customize who gets what based on their past behavior. This type of behavior-based segmentation gives disengaged subscribers something they actually care about, ultimately increasing the odds they’ll re-engage.
• Send dynamic content blocks. Instead of sending 5 different versions of an email, let one email’s content adapt itself depending on the subscriber’s traits. For example, you can send a re-engagement campaign with a hero image and CTA that changes based on geo-location, time since last purchase, etc.
• Experiment with your email subject lines. Use tools like our AI email subject line generator to discover new ways to peak curiosity or craft value-driven messages.

An Extra Zombie-Busting Tip: Offer a small, exclusive perk or incentive for engaging again. An “unlockable” coupon that’s only available if they click is an option here!

Subscriber Type #2: The Ghost

Symptoms:They haven’t opened an email in months. They may not even remember who you are.

Why They Died: It could be due to inbox fatigue, irrelevant sends (again) or your emails are landing in spam or iOS 18’s pesky Promotions folder.

How to Revive Them:

• Send a winback campaign with a strong "We miss you!" message. It’s a classic move.
• Experiment with your sender name, but make sure it’s recognizable. Up to 42% of email users say the sender name is the first thing they look at when deciding whether to open an email, and simply changing the sender name led to a 57% increase in open rates. So if you’re always sending from your brand’s name, try sending an email from your CEO, an in-house stylist or designer or your mascot. Just make sure you get permission to use their “from” name, of course. 😉

An Extra Zombie-Busting Tip: Consider using humor, nostalgia or a really bold subject line like: “Still alive out there? 👀” Bold content can definitely win attention! Just make sure you A/B test and track which types of bold, humorous subject lines win, so you can keep their momentum going.

Subscriber Type #3: The Inbox Hoarder

Symptoms: They subscribed to every brand during a Black Friday binge. Now they’re drowning in tons of emails . . . and they definitely haven’t opened yours in ages.

Why They Died: They have too much going on in their inboxes. And most of those messages don’t offer enough personalization. You're lost in the noise.

How to Revive Them:

• Send less. Yes, it sounds counterintuitive, especially in a world that shouts “send more to sell more!” Sending less can give certain segments of your email list the space to breathe . . . and the choice to re-engage on their terms.
• Send VIP-style offers. This piggybacks off our last point of sending less to these subscribers. When you do choose to send to Inbox Hoarders, leverage the scarcity principle. Share messages that tout “early access,” or “just for you” bundles, or “limited time offers.” Scarcity increases your offering's perceived value and the fear of missing out promotes urgency and action from your disengaged subscribers.

An Extra Zombie-Busting Tip: Create a dynamic list of subscribers who haven’t opened or clicked in a while, such as over the last 60–90 days. Suppress them from your usual campaigns and add them to a new low-frequency nurture flow. Then your subscribers receive a better experience and you receive better deliverability rates and inbox placements.

Subscriber Type #4: The Data Doppelgänger

Symptoms: They may seem like a real subscriber at first, but their behavior doesn’t match. 0 opens. 0 clicks. And their address looks like a bot or it’s full of typos.

Why They Died: You got dirty data at sign-up. Or—less maliciously—this email address is old and unused.

How to Revive Them:

• You don’t. You cleanse your list and say goodbye!
• Run regular email list hygiene processes to remove these phantoms. There are a variety of benefits to maintaining superb list hygiene! For example, clean email lists ensure messages reach people who want to hear from you, driving higher engagement rates. It protects your brand’s reputation, with lower bounce rates and fewer spam complaints. And in the simplest terms of all, you waste less budget and resources when you’re not emailing large lists of disengaged people.

An Extra Zombie-Busting Tip: Maintaining email list hygiene by axing disengaged accounts may hurt at first, but it creates a better subscriber experience and better metrics for you, as the reengaged people you do win back are more likely to stick around.

Subscriber Type #5: The Bride of Frankenstein

Symptoms: She made one beautiful, loving purchase—like a birthday gift, anniversary splurge, or holiday haul—and then disappeared into the mist. Zero opens, zero clicks and absolutely no engagement since.

Why She Died: Her purchase was for someone else, not herself. Therefore, your emails are not her vibe and they don’t often connect with her interests or needs.

How to Revive Her:

• Re-introduce yourself. Send a “Hey, remember us?” email that nods to her past purchase, sparking her memory and rebuilding your brand recognition.
• Share personalized gifting guides. Position your product as something she might love next . . . or at least something she’d like to gift again. (And be sure to complement her great taste!)
• Use date/seasonal triggers. Send her messages when birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays are coming up. Nudges focused on selling “another unforgettable gift” can be an easy, automated win-back campaign to continuously run.

An Extra Zombie-Busting Tip: Make her feel seen, not stalked. Segment her as a gift-giver, and not a product user. Speak to that identity by setting up an automation that messages her during key times based on when she made her previous purchase.

A Highly Engaged Email List Means Your DTC Brand Will Survive & Thrive

Even in a zombie-infested inbox, there’s hope. With the right tools, strategy and content, you can bring these subscribers back from the (mostly) dead and protect your metrics from the undead horde.

Of course, we suggest that you don’t go it alone! AI email tools like Backstroke help you detect early zombie activity, personalize content to re-ignite their engagement and automate personalized DTC email campaigns that work while you sleep (just not like they sleep).