Setup Guide - reengage.email

Before you start

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+

JavaScript runtime to run the automation

Download Node.js

Email Provider

SMTP credentials from SendGrid, AWS SES, or similar

See options below

User Data

CSV file with emails and last activity dates

See format below

1

Download & Extract

Get the automation package and unzip it

Download reengage-email-v1.zip

Unzip the file to a folder on your server or local machine.

Terminal

unzip reengage-email-v1.zip -d reengage-email
cd reengage-email

2

Install Dependencies

Install the required Node.js packages

Terminal

npm install

This installs nodemailer, node-cron, and dotenv.

3

Configure Email Provider

Set up your SMTP credentials

First, copy the example files:

Terminal

cp config.example.json config.json
cp .env.example .env

Then add your SMTP credentials to .env:

Create account at sendgrid.com
Go to Settings → API Keys → Create API Key
Choose "Full Access" and copy the key
Verify your sender email in Sender Authentication

.env

SMTP_HOST=smtp.sendgrid.net
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_SECURE=false
SMTP_USER=apikey
SMTP_PASS=SG.your_api_key_here

Go to AWS Console → SES
Verify your domain or email address
Create SMTP credentials in SMTP Settings

.env

SMTP_HOST=email-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_SECURE=false
SMTP_USER=your_ses_smtp_username
SMTP_PASS=your_ses_smtp_password

Create account at mailgun.com
Add and verify your domain
Go to Domain Settings → SMTP Credentials

.env

SMTP_HOST=smtp.mailgun.org
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_SECURE=false
SMTP_USER=postmaster@yourdomain.com
SMTP_PASS=your_mailgun_password

Note: Gmail has sending limits. Use only for testing.

Enable 2-factor authentication on your Google account
Create an App Password at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords

.env

SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_SECURE=false
SMTP_USER=youremail@gmail.com
SMTP_PASS=your_app_password

4

Add Your Users

Create a CSV file with your user data

Create data/users.csv with this format:

data/users.csv

email,firstName,lastName,lastActivityDate
john@example.com,John,Doe,2024-12-15
jane@example.com,Jane,Smith,2024-12-20
mike@example.com,Mike,Wilson,2025-01-10

Required columns:

email — User's email address
firstName — For personalization
lastActivityDate — Date of last activity (YYYY-MM-DD)

Also update config.json with your business details:

config.json

{
  "business": {
    "name": "Your Business Name",
    "website": "https://yourbusiness.com",
    "supportEmail": "support@yourbusiness.com"
  },
  "trigger": {
    "type": "no_activity",
    "daysInactive": 7
  }
}

5

Run the Automation

Test and start sending emails

Test first (no emails sent)

Terminal

npm test

You should see which users would receive emails without actually sending them.

Run for real

Terminal

npm start

This starts the scheduler. It will check for inactive users daily at 9 AM (configurable).

Run once and exit

Terminal

node automation.js --once

Optional

Keep It Running in Production

Option A: PM2 (Recommended)

Process manager that keeps your automation running

Terminal

# Install PM2
npm install -g pm2

# Start the automation
pm2 start automation.js --name reengage

# Save and set up auto-restart
pm2 save
pm2 startup

Option B: Cron Job

Run daily using system cron

Terminal

# Open crontab
crontab -e

# Add this line (runs at 9 AM daily)
0 9 * * * cd /path/to/reengage-email && node automation.js --once

You're all set!

Your re-engagement automation is now running. Inactive users will automatically receive your email sequence.

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