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Win-back campaigns
Bring lapsed subscribers back automatically with Sublyra win-back campaigns: a timed email with a SUBLYRA-WINBACK discount code, sent only to customers with marketing consent.
1. What win-back does
Some cancellations are final. Many aren't — the subscriber got busy, stockpiled too much product, or just needed a break. Win-back finds those people: after a subscriber cancels, Sublyra waits a number of days you choose, then emails them a reason to come back — a discount code plus a button that restarts their subscription.
It runs entirely on autopilot. Once the campaign is on, every eligible cancellation gets exactly one win-back email at the right moment, with no list-building or manual sends from you.
2. How a win-back email is sent
1 A subscriber cancels. Their contract is marked cancelled with the date recorded.
2 A scheduled job checks for lapsed subscribers whose cancellation is now older than your Days after cancelling setting.
3 Eligibility is checked: the customer must have marketing consent on their record, and must not have received a win-back email for this cancellation already.
4 If your discount is above 0%, Sublyra makes sure the SUBLYRA-WINBACK discount exists in your Shopify admin (creating it on first use — see section 4).
5 The email goes out: subject "We miss you — here's X% off", the discount code spelled out, a Restart my subscription button, and a note that the offer expires in 7 days.
6 The send is stamped on the contract so the same subscriber is never emailed twice about the same cancellation.
3. Configure the campaign
Go to Retention → Win-back campaign. Three settings control everything:
| Setting | What it does | Range / default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable win-back emails | The master switch. Off means no win-back email is ever sent, whatever the other settings say. | On by default |
| Days after cancelling | How long to wait after the cancellation before the email goes out. 30 days gives them time to miss you. | 1–365, default 30 |
| Discount % | The percentage off their next order. Enough to bring them back, not so much you train people to cancel for it. Set 0 for no discount (section 5). | 0–60, default 25 |
1 Tick Enable win-back emails.
2 Set Days after cancelling and Discount %.
3 Click Save win-back settings. The badge flips to Emails on.
4 Check the Email preview below the settings — it renders the exact email lapsed subscribers receive, built from your saved settings (subject, timing line, discount button).
4. The SUBLYRA-WINBACK discount code
The discount in the email is a real Shopify discount code, not a promise. Sublyra names it after your configured percentage:
SUBLYRA-WINBACK-25How it works:
- Created lazily. The first time a win-back email needs the code, Sublyra creates the code discount in your Shopify admin using the store's saved session, then remembers it. Later sends reuse the same code — you won't get a pile of duplicate discounts.
- One code per campaign. Change the discount percentage and the next send creates the matching code (e.g.
SUBLYRA-WINBACK-15for 15%). You can see and manage these like any other discount under Discounts in Shopify admin. - Never over-promises. If the discount can't be created — say the discounts permission hasn't been granted — the email still sends, but without mentioning a discount. Sublyra never emails a customer a code that doesn't work.
- Short fuse. The email tells the customer the offer expires in 7 days, which gives the campaign its urgency.
write_discounts permission. Sublyra requests every permission it needs on the single consent screen at install time, so new installs are covered. Stores that installed earlier may see an amber "Additional permission needed" banner with a Grant access button — one click fixes it.
5. Running win-back at 0% (no discount)
Set Discount % to 0 and the campaign runs without a code:
- No discount is created in Shopify — 0% mode never touches your discounts list.
- The email's subject and body switch to the no-discount version: "We miss you — come back anytime", with the Restart my subscription button and no mention of money off.
- Everything else is identical — same timing, same consent checks, same once-per-cancellation guard.
6. Consent and compliance
- Marketing consent is required. Win-back is a marketing email, so it only goes to customers who opted in to marketing. The consent badge on the Customers page shows who's reachable.
- Transactional mail is unaffected. Order and payment emails always send regardless of consent — only marketing sends like win-back are gated.
- Withdrawal is enforced by the engine, not the UI. If a customer withdraws consent (Settings → Data protection → Consent), the win-back is suppressed at send time by the billing engine itself — it can't slip through a checkbox somewhere.
- The email says why they got it. Every win-back footer notes the customer is receiving it because they subscribed and opted in to marketing emails.
7. FAQ
How many win-back emails does one subscriber get?
One per cancellation. The send is recorded on their contract, so the same lapsed subscriber is never re-emailed about the same cancellation. If they resubscribe and later cancel again, the new cancellation starts the clock fresh.
Do subscribers who cancelled for failed payments get win-back emails?
Win-back targets voluntary churn — subscribers who chose to cancel. For failed-payment churn, the earlier line of defense is smart retries and dunning, which fights the cancellation from happening at all.
Can I edit the win-back email copy?
The page shows a live preview of the exact email — subject, timing line and discount button — built from your settings. The template itself is fixed; the parts that matter (timing and discount) are the settings. For fully custom win-back flows, subscription lifecycle events can be synced to Klaviyo (Settings → Integrations) and you can build the flow there.
What if the customer never opted in to marketing?
They're skipped — cleanly and permanently for that cancellation. Win-back is a marketing email and only ever goes to consenting customers. Their transactional email (order confirmations, payment notices) is unaffected.
Which plan do I need?
Win-back campaigns are included on every plan, alongside smart retries and cancellation flows. Pro starts with a 30-day free trial.
Related guides
- Cancellation flows & save offers — catch subscribers at the cancel button, before win-back is needed.
- Smart retries & dunning — stop involuntary churn from failed payments.
- Loyalty rewards & store credit — reduce how often subscribers cancel in the first place.
- Referral program — turn your happiest subscribers into a growth channel.