How can I recover a healthy domain reputation after a drop in opens and engagement due to sending to an unengaged group?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 3 Jun 2025
Updated 17 Aug 2025
6 min read
Sending emails to an unengaged list can be a frustrating experience, especially when you see your open rates plummet and your domain reputation take a hit. It feels like hitting a brick wall, and the path to recovery can seem unclear. Many email senders find themselves in this predicament, often accidentally, by including segments that haven't interacted with their emails in a long time. This can lead to your emails landing in spam folders, or worse, not being delivered at all.
The good news is that a damaged domain reputation is not permanent. While it requires a strategic and consistent effort, it's absolutely possible to regain your sender's trust with mailbox providers and ensure your messages reach the inbox. I've guided many through this process, and I can tell you that understanding the root causes and implementing a structured recovery plan are key.
Understanding the immediate impact
When your engagement drops significantly, mailbox providers like Google and Yahoo interpret this as a sign that your emails are not valued by recipients. This can quickly degrade your domain reputation, leading to poor deliverability across the board.
A common mistake I see is focusing solely on content changes, such as avoiding so-called 'spam trigger words'. While content quality is important, it's a symptom, not the core problem. The fundamental issue lies with sending to an audience that simply isn't engaging. This not only directly impacts your open and click rates but also increases the likelihood of spam complaints and hitting spam traps, which are major red flags for mailbox providers.
The silent destroyers of reputation
Sending to unengaged contacts disproportionately harms your domain reputation. Mailbox providers track how recipients interact with your emails. If a significant portion of your list isn't opening, clicking, or is marking your emails as spam, it tells providers your sending practices are poor, potentially classifying your domain as a source of unwanted mail. This can lead to your domain being placed on a blacklist (or blocklist), making it incredibly difficult to reach anyone's inbox.
This accidental inclusion of an unengaged group acts as a shock to your sending patterns. Mailbox providers expect consistent, positive engagement. A sudden dip due to a large send to dormant addresses disrupts this pattern, signaling a potential problem. It's crucial to understand that even a single large, unengaged send can have a lasting impact.
Immediate actions for recovery
The first step in recovery is to immediately stop the behavior that caused the drop. This means pausing any campaigns to segments with low engagement. You need to segment your audience aggressively, focusing only on your most engaged subscribers. This might feel counterintuitive, especially if you're used to sending to large lists, but it's essential for a quick and effective rebound.
Identify your most engaged contacts. This typically includes anyone who has opened or clicked an email from you in the last 30 to 90 days. For those who haven't engaged in longer, you'll need a specific re-engagement strategy, which we'll discuss. For now, isolate and send only to your active subscribers. This concentrated effort on high engagement will begin to send positive signals to mailbox providers and help to recover your domain reputation.
Example: Segmenting active subscribersSQL
SELECT email_address
FROM subscribers
WHERE last_open_date >= DATE('now', '-90 days')
OR last_click_date >= DATE('now', '-90 days');
During this period, focus on sending highly relevant, valuable content to this engaged segment. Avoid anything that might trigger spam complaints. The goal is to consistently achieve high open and click rates, demonstrating to mailbox providers that your emails are wanted. This positive feedback loop is crucial for reversing the damage and signaling that your domain is a legitimate sender.
Rebuilding trust and engagement
Once your domain reputation shows signs of improvement with your engaged segment, you can cautiously begin to re-engage dormant subscribers. This isn't about sending them the same emails. It requires a tailored approach. Consider special re-engagement campaigns with compelling offers or content designed to illicit a response.
Implement a strict re-engagement flow. Send a series of emails with clear calls to action, such as asking recipients to confirm their interest or update their preferences. If they don't respond after a set number of attempts (e.g., 3-5 emails over a few weeks), it's time to suppress them from your active mailing list. This ensures you're only communicating with those who genuinely want to hear from you, which is fundamental to improving deliverability.
Before: unsegmented list
Broad sending: Emails sent to all subscribers, regardless of recent activity.
Low engagement: Open and click rates suffer due to unengaged recipients.
High complaints: Increased spam reports from uninterested users.
Damaged reputation: Mailbox providers view the domain negatively.
After: engaged segments
Targeted sending: Emails focused on recently active subscribers.
Improved engagement: Higher open and click rates, boosting positive signals.
Reduced complaints: Fewer spam reports and better list hygiene.
Reputation repair: Domain reputation gradually improves over time.
List hygiene is not a one-time fix, it’s an ongoing process. Regularly clean your email lists by removing hard bounces, soft bounces, and unengaged subscribers. Automated tools can help identify and suppress these contacts, preventing them from dragging down your sender reputation.
Long-term strategies for sustained health
Beyond immediate fixes, building a healthy, sustainable domain reputation requires continuous monitoring and adherence to best practices. This includes proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), consistent sending volume, and always prioritizing subscriber experience. Mailbox providers value consistency and legitimate sending behavior.
Actively monitor your domain's health. Tools like Google Postmaster Tools can provide insights into your spam rate, IP reputation, domain reputation, and feedback loops. Regularly checking these metrics allows you to catch issues early and respond quickly. Don't forget to monitor blocklists (or blacklists) to ensure your domain hasn't been listed.
Metric
Why it matters
Target range
Open rate
Indicates subscriber interest and content relevance.
> 20%
Click-through rate (CTR)
Reflects engagement with your content and calls to action.
> 2.5%
Spam complaint rate
A critical indicator of unwanted mail. High rates damage reputation.
< 0.1%
Bounce rate
Indicates the quality of your list. High bounces mean stale addresses.
Investing in proper email authentication is also non-negotiable. Setting up DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records helps mailbox providers verify your identity and prevents spoofing, further enhancing your domain's credibility. Consistency in your sending volume also plays a role. Avoid drastic, sudden increases in volume, especially after a period of low activity or a reputation hit.
The path to a healthy domain
Recovering from a drop in domain reputation due to sending to an unengaged group is a process that demands patience and a strategic approach. By immediately halting problematic sends, aggressively segmenting for engaged users, implementing smart re-engagement tactics, and committing to ongoing list hygiene and authentication, you can gradually restore your domain's health. The key is to consistently demonstrate to mailbox providers that you are a responsible sender who respects recipient inboxes.
Remember, a healthy domain reputation isn't just about avoiding the spam folder, it's about ensuring your legitimate communications reach their intended audience, fostering better relationships with your subscribers and driving better results for your email efforts.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Actively suppress unengaged subscribers to prevent negative impacts on your domain's health.
Segment your email lists and send to your most engaged subscribers first to rebuild positive sending signals.
Implement a gradual re-engagement strategy for inactive users, allowing them to opt-in again.
Routinely clean your email lists by removing bounces and non-responders to maintain high quality.
Monitor your domain's reputation using tools like Postmaster Tools for major ISPs.
Common pitfalls
Continuing to send to unengaged lists, which perpetuates low open rates and high spam complaints.
Ignoring signs of a declining domain reputation, leading to deeper deliverability issues.
Relying solely on content changes (like avoiding 'spam trigger words') instead of addressing engagement.
Failing to implement proper email authentication (DMARC, SPF, DKIM) for domain credibility.
Abruptly increasing email volume after a reputation hit, signaling suspicious activity.
Expert tips
A single sending error with good list hygiene can be a momentary blip, often leading to organic recovery.
Focus on sending highly relevant content to engaged subscribers to consistently achieve high open and click rates.
For senders with okay list hygiene, a single error is often a momentary blip and they can recover organically.
Pausing problematic sending and focusing on quality will allow domain reputation to rebound quickly.
Spam trigger words are less about static lists and more about current spam fingerprinting for modern ISPs.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that the best advice in this situation is to stop the problematic sending immediately and return to sending only high-quality content, as domain reputation should recover within a few days, even after a temporary penalty.
2023-08-16 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that the key factor in recovery is whether the erroneous send was a one-off incident or if the poor sending behavior is ongoing, noting that senders with generally good list hygiene often experience a momentary blip and recover organically.
