Are you still with us?

The Dragons asked if I was still with them and offered two options. I clicked both. Re-engagement emails push quiet members into a decision they were never going to make.

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Steven Kryger

The St George Illawarra Dragons asked if I was still with them.

It's the most dangerous email a club can send.

The subject line: "Are you still with us?"

I'm not sure what triggered it. Apparently my fire was burning low. Great dragon pun.

I was given two options:

Stay
Leave

I clicked both.

Clicking 'Leave' unsubscribed me.
Clicking 'Stay' triggered a follow-up email.

The follow-up thanked me for keeping the Fire Within burning, and said they wanted to make sure I was getting the updates that mattered most to me.

The only fans who see that email are the ones who already clicked Stay.

This is the email they should have sent first. And it should have offered three options, not two:

Stay (no action required)
Stay (and update your preferences)
Unsubscribe

With only Stay or Leave in the first email, fans who would rather change their preferences just click unsubscribe.

Most dormant fans never decide to leave. They just stop opening. "Are you still with us?" pushes them into a decision they were never going to make on their own, and one of the two answers is permanent.

Support in sport is cyclical. The fan who ignored every email through a bad season is the one who opens the first email after a big signing.

Inactive contacts do eventually hurt your deliverability, so there is a real reason to act. But you can act without asking anyone to leave. Move the quiet ones to a quieter list. Once a month. Season launch only.

You can always start emailing them again. Once they unsubscribe, you can't.

The St George Illawarra Dragons asked if I was still with them.

It's the most dangerous email a club can send.

The subject line: "Are you still with us?"