Throughout the year, schools invest significant time and resources into attracting new families—advertising, marketing, campus events—you've done it all.

And yet, as you sit here today, there might still be seats to fill, prompting a gut reaction to either double down on those efforts, or to find additional ways to bring new families into the funnel.

But before you ramp up spending on new campaigns, it's crucial to pause and consider a valuable, often overlooked asset: the prospective families already in your database.

These are families who showed initial interest perhaps months ago but have since become less active.

While the instinct may be to continually seek new inquiries, do not overlook the potential of those seemingly dormant contacts.

According to HubSpot, it takes between 11 to 33 touchpoints with a prospect before they are ready to make a decision.

This insight highlights the often lengthy process involved in converting an inquiry into an enrollment. Niche.com’s parent survey further supports this, revealing that most families apply to 3+ schools and typically take 6+ months to decide on enrollment.

This data suggests that many families in your database may still be considering their options—quietly observing, but still very much interested.

A strategically timed email reactivation campaign is your key to tapping into this reservoir of potential.

Such a campaign can accelerate decision-making processes or, at the very least, clarify families' intentions regarding moving forward with your school.

Here’s how you can implement such a campaign effectively.

Step-by-Step Blueprint to Re-Engage and Enroll

1. Segment Your Audience Strategically

Effective reactivation starts with precise audience segmentation. Use your admissions CRM to identify families who have not engaged with your emails for the last 30 days or more. Understanding their past interactions can help tailor your approach—whether they were interested in specific programs or had attended school events.

If you don't have these segmentation capabilities with your CRM, I would encourage taking a look at AiMS.

Inside AiMS, you can build Smart Dashboards of "inactive" families and build an automated reactivation workflow to email, or text, those families.

In fact, we have this campaign prebuilt for you inside AiMS. Just add your branding and hit send!

2. Craft Emails That Connect

Your emails should be personalized, poignant, and persuasive:

• Reintroduce Your School: Remind them of their last engagement and update them on new developments and successes.

• Create Urgency: Highlight the limited availability of seats and any deadlines you have.

• Deliver Rich Content: Share video tours, testimonials, and unique program highlights that cater to their interests.

3. Employ Multi-Channel Retargeting

While email is a powerful tool, complementing it with retargeted ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram can significantly enhance your campaign's reach.

This ensures that prospective families see your message, whether they're checking their email or scrolling through their social media feeds.

Need some help launching a retargeting campaign? We can help you build your campaign at NO ADDITIONAL COST (meaning zero agency fees). Learn more about AiMS' advertising capabilities here.

4. Optimize Timing and Frequency

Timing your emails correctly can drastically improve their effectiveness. Here's an example of a consistent email sequence proven to get responses:

Detailed Email Sequence Example

• Email 1: Still Interested?

  • Sent immediately, this a simple, one-liner email designed to get a yes or no response: "Hi <<FIRST NAME>>, are you still interested in <<SCHOOL NAME>> for <<STUDENT NAME>>?

  • It's that easy. Don't overcomplicate this email. Your goal is to get a response, that's it.

• Email 2: Highlighting Urgency and Opportunity

  • Sent 3 days after the first, stressing the limited seats and benefits of early decision.

• Email 3: Rich Content Engagement

  • Sent 5 days after the second, featuring engaging multimedia content.

• Email 4: Incentive to Act

  • Sent 4 days after the third, inviting them to events or webinars.

• Email 5: Last Call Before Decisions

  • Sent 3 days after the fourth, serving as a final push to encourage application submission.

5. Monitor, Adapt, and Clean

Utilize the data from your campaign to monitor engagement levels. Who re-engaged? Who didn't?

After the campaign, clean your email list of those who remain disengaged to maintain a robust, active subscriber base.

Conclusion: Maximizing Potential Within

Before you consider pouring more funds into attracting new prospects, remember the untapped potential lying dormant within your existing database.

These families have already shown interest in what your school has to offer; they just need that extra nudge to take the next step.

By implementing a thoughtful email reactivation campaign, you're not just filling seats—you're rekindling interest and strengthening your school community.

This approach not only optimizes your existing resources but also reinforces the value of every single inquiry and interaction that comes your way.

So, let’s reach out, re-engage, and revitalize those connections.

Together, we can transform latent interest into active engagement, ensuring that your school’s seats are filled with enthusiastic students and that your community continues to thrive.

Related Resources

• Get a 1:1 demo of AiMS to see learn how you can use AiMS to run your admission campaigns and build automations like the ones described in this article.

• Join a Group Demo Day event