Sunset Policies: When and How to Remove Inactive Subscribers

A sunset policy is a set of rules that automatically identifies and removes subscribers who have stopped engaging. The policy defines what counts as inactivity, triggers re-engagement attempts, and ultimately removes non-responsive subscribers from your active list. Sunset policies are essential for maintaining list health and protecting sender reputation.

Define inactivity thresholds appropriate for your business. For e-commerce, 90 days without engagement is appropriate. For B2B with longer cycles, 180 days may suit better. For seasonal businesses, consider a 12-month threshold. Balance removing truly disengaged subscribers against prematurely cutting off potential re-engagers.

“

The re-engagement phase should include graduated attempts. A standard approach is three emails over four to six weeks. The first uses a curiosity subject line. The second offers a preference center link. The third makes a compelling final offer. Subscribers who engage at any point graduate back to the active list.

After failed re-engagement, suppress the subscriber from your active list. Suppression means they will not receive standard campaigns but remain in your database. Suppressed subscribers can be contacted again if they explicitly re-subscribe through your signup process.

Automate your sunset policy through your ESP to run continuously. Set the workflow to check engagement weekly and trigger re-engagement for any subscriber past your inactivity threshold. Continuous automation ensures timely removal of inactive subscribers, maintaining list health between manual cleanups.