Definition
Engagement tiers group subscribers by their recent interaction history. Each tier gets a different sending strategy: active subscribers receive full frequency, at-risk subscribers receive reduced frequency with re-engagement content, and lapsed subscribers receive sunset campaigns before removal.
Typical Tier Structure
- Active (engaged in last 30 days): Full send frequency, all campaign types
- Warming (engaged in last 60-90 days): Full frequency but monitor for decline
- At-risk (no engagement in 90+ days): Reduced frequency, re-engagement content
- Lapsed (no engagement in 180+ days): Sunset sequence then suppression
- Dormant (no engagement in 365+ days): Suppressed or removed
Why It Matters
Tier-based sending protects your sender reputation by ensuring inactive subscribers do not drag down engagement metrics. ISPs use individual subscriber engagement to filter mail, so removing disengaged subscribers improves deliverability for the rest of your list.
Related Glossary Terms
Announcement Email
An announcement email is a dedicated campaign that communicates a specific update, milestone, or change to subscribers, from product launches and feature releases to company news and events.
Attention Rate
Attention rate is the percentage of email opens that last longer than 5 seconds, distinguishing genuine reads from passive opens, preview-pane views, or Apple MPP auto-loads.
B2B Email Marketing
B2B email marketing targets business professionals and organisations with longer sales cycles, educational content, and relationship-driven campaigns compared to B2C email.
B2C Email Marketing
B2C email marketing focuses on sending targeted promotional and transactional emails to individual consumers, emphasising personalisation, urgency, and direct response.
Buyer Persona for Email Marketing
A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of an ideal email subscriber based on data, research, and behavioural insights used to target and personalise campaigns.
Campaign Payback Period (Email)
The campaign payback period is the number of sales or amount of revenue needed to recover the full cost of creating, producing, and sending an email campaign.