Email Marketing & Klaviyo

Sunset Flow

An automation designed to phase out unengaged subscribers to improve deliverability.

1 min readLast updated Apr 2026

An automation designed to phase out unengaged subscribers to improve deliverability.

Why It Matters

Unengaged subscribers hurt deliverability—ISPs see low engagement as a signal to filter your emails to spam. Sunset flows give unengaged subscribers a final chance to re-engage before suppression. This protects your sender reputation and improves metrics for engaged subscribers.

Practical Example

Scenario

A lifestyle brand sunsets subscribers who haven't opened in 120 days. 3-email flow over 2 weeks: 'Do you still want to hear from us?' If no engagement, auto-suppress.

Calculation

Sunsetting 15,000 unengaged subscribers from 100,000-person list

Result

List drops 15%, but open rates rise from 18% to 24%, deliverability improves, and revenue per send actually increases because engaged subscribers see more emails.

Pro Tips

  • 1Set clear criteria: no opens in 90-180 days is typical
  • 2Give 2-3 chances to re-engage with increasingly direct messaging
  • 3Use compelling subject lines: 'Should we stop emailing you?' often gets opens
  • 4Suppress (don't delete) so you have the record and can reactivate if they purchase

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Never sunsetting anyone, letting dead subscribers accumulate and hurt deliverability
Only sending one sunset email—give multiple chances before suppressing
Deleting instead of suppressing (losing purchase history and ability to reactivate)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Terms

Winback Flow

An automated sequence targeting customers who haven't purchased in a defined period.

List Hygiene

Regular maintenance of email lists by removing invalid addresses and unengaged subscribers.