The idea of resending emails to people who didn't open the first one is a tactic many marketers consider, and for good reason. On the surface, it seems like a straightforward way to boost engagement and ensure your message reaches a wider audience. We often hear about statistics showing significant increases in open rates after a strategic resend.
However, diving deeper into the nuances of email deliverability reveals that this strategy isn't as simple as it appears. While the immediate boost in open rates can be appealing, there are underlying complexities that can impact your long-term sender reputation and overall email program health. It's crucial to understand what non-opener truly means and the potential pitfalls involved.
The allure of the resend
Many marketers are drawn to resending emails to non-openers because it offers a second chance to capture attention. It's a low-cost, potentially high-reward strategy that leverages existing content to increase reach. Industry studies often cite impressive gains, with some reports indicating up to a 30% increase in open rates from resending, as highlighted by Hellowalla.
The direct benefits are clear: more opens, potentially more clicks, and ultimately, more conversions from a campaign that's already been created. This efficiency can significantly boost return on investment, making it an attractive tactic for optimizing marketing efforts. It gives you another opportunity to engage with recipients who might have simply missed your initial email in a crowded inbox or during a busy moment.
From a practical standpoint, it makes sense. People are busy, inboxes are overflowing, and the timing of the first send might not have been optimal for everyone. A strategic resend, perhaps with a different subject line or at an alternative time, could genuinely catch the eye of someone who was interested but simply overlooked the original message, giving your content a second life.
The challenge of defining "non-opener"
One of the biggest challenges with resending emails to non-openers is accurately identifying who a non-opener actually is. Most email platforms track opens using a tiny, invisible image pixel. If this image doesn't load for any reason, the email is registered as unopened. This can be due to privacy settings, email client configurations, or even slow internet connections preventing images from loading.
The reality is that an email can be read and engaged with without registering an open, especially if the recipient has images blocked by default. Conversely, an open might be registered via a proxy open (common with Apple Mail Privacy Protection, for instance), even if the human recipient never actually saw the email. This makes the open metric an imperfect indicator of true engagement.
The implication here is that if you resend to a segment based solely on image pixel data, you might be sending a duplicate email to someone who already read the original. This can lead to annoyance, increased complaints, or even unsubscribes, all of which negatively impact your sender reputation. It's a delicate balance between reaching potentially missed recipients and irritating those who have already engaged.
Traditional view
Focuses on the immediate upside of increased reported open rates and click-through rates. Sees resending as a way to maximize existing campaign assets and reach subscribers who might have missed the initial email due to timing or inbox clutter.
Metric-driven: Primarily looks at open rate and click rate boosts.
Opportunity focused: Believes subscribers genuinely missed the email.
Deliverability and reputation view
Emphasizes the potential for negative impacts on sender reputation, increased complaints, and unsubscribes. Questions the reliability of the non-opener definition and advocates for a more cautious, segmentation-driven approach.
Long-term focus: Prioritizes list health and inbox placement.
Risk-aware: Considers the risk of annoying subscribers.
Potential risks to sender reputation and deliverability
While increased open rates are a tempting outcome, indiscriminately resending emails to a broad non-opener segment can have detrimental effects on your sender reputation. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Gmail and Yahoo use various engagement signals to determine your sending legitimacy. Repeatedly sending to recipients who show no engagement, regardless of whether it's their first or second email, can signal a lack of interest, leading to lower inbox placement over time.
A crucial factor is the potential for increased complaints and unsubscribes. If recipients receive a second email they either didn't want or already read, they are more likely to mark it as spam or unsubscribe. Even if the immediate open rate goes up, a rise in negative feedback can severely damage your domain and IP reputation, impacting all future email campaigns.
Ultimately, a persistent pattern of low engagement or high complaint rates from resends can lead to your emails being directed to the spam folder, or even worse, getting your sending domain or IP placed on a blocklist (or blacklist). This can be a long and arduous process to recover from. Focusing solely on short-term open rate gains without considering these long-term deliverability consequences can be a costly mistake.
The danger of over-resending
Repeatedly sending to non-openers can mask true disengagement and lead to serious deliverability issues. It's vital to prioritize list hygiene and genuine subscriber interest over inflated open metrics.
Hidden complaints: Recipients might mark as spam without opening, which hurts reputation.
List decay: Annoyed subscribers may unsubscribe, shrinking your engaged audience.
Blocklisting risk: High complaint rates can lead to getting on a blacklist.
Strategic approaches to resending
If you decide to resend emails, it's paramount to adopt a highly strategic approach. The key is to segment your audience beyond just non-openers to truly target those who are likely to engage. Consider only resending to recipients who have shown some form of engagement with your emails in the past, but simply missed this specific one. This could mean recent clicks, website visits, or other positive interactions. Tools and tactics for re-engagement campaigns can be very helpful here.
Another effective strategy is to modify the resend. Don't just hit the send again button with the exact same message. A fresh, compelling subject line is crucial, as that's often the primary reason an email goes unopened the first time. You might also consider tweaking the email's content, adding a new call to action, or even a different visual to make it feel fresh. Constant Contact advises changing the subject line and potentially the preheader text, or even the sender name, to increase the chances of the second email being noticed.
Timing and frequency are also critical considerations. Waiting 24 to 48 hours after the initial send is generally recommended, as noted by DailyStory. Sending too quickly can appear spammy, while waiting too long might make the content irrelevant. Also, limit resending to once per campaign. Multiple resends to the same group of non-openers are likely to lead to negative feedback and diminishing returns. Remember, the goal is to gently nudge, not to annoy. More advanced strategies involve splitting your email lists into engagement cohorts for more refined targeting.
Good resend practices
Bad resend practices
Segment your list: Target only genuinely active but non-opening subscribers.
Broad resends: Sending to all non-openers without further segmentation.
Modify content: Change the subject line, preview text, and minor body text.
Duplicate content: Resending the exact same email without any changes.
Optimal timing: Wait 24-48 hours before sending the second email.
Immediate resends: Sending too quickly after the first, which appears aggressive.
Measure impact: Track not just opens, but also clicks, unsubscribes, and complaints.
Ignoring metrics: Only focusing on open rate without considering other feedback.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Always segment your list to target only those who have demonstrated recent engagement, excluding true inactive subscribers.
Consider a modified subject line and email preview text for the resend to offer a fresh appeal and avoid repetition.
Analyze the performance of your resends beyond just opens, looking at click-through rates, unsubscribes, and spam reports.
Implement a frequency cap to avoid over-sending, typically limiting resends to once per campaign and waiting 24-48 hours.
Maintain a clean email list, regularly removing disengaged subscribers to protect your sender reputation.
Common pitfalls
Resending the exact same email with the same subject line to all non-openers can lead to annoyance and negative reactions.
Relying solely on image pixel opens to define 'non-openers' can lead to sending duplicates to already engaged subscribers.
Ignoring increased complaint rates or unsubscribes in favor of higher reported open rates after a resend.
Sending multiple resends for the same campaign, which can quickly degrade your sender reputation.
Not considering the long-term impact on deliverability and brand perception from aggressive resending tactics.
Expert tips
Use A/B testing on your resend strategies, particularly with subject lines and send times, to optimize engagement.
Consider using a different sender name for the resend to create a sense of urgency or newness.
For crucial campaigns, test a smaller segment first to gauge reaction before a wider resend.
Explore alternative re-engagement strategies for truly inactive subscribers rather than just resending the same content.
Leverage other engagement signals, like website activity, to inform your resend targeting, not just email opens.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says that resending emails to people who didn't open the original one works well for increasing opens, especially if they might have just missed it.
2024-08-15 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that opens do not necessarily mean people are reading the mail, and that some people block image loads so it's hard to tell actual engagement.
2024-08-15 - Email Geeks
Striking a balance for email success
Resending emails to non-openers can undoubtedly offer a short-term boost in engagement metrics like open rates. However, it's a tactic that requires careful consideration and a nuanced approach to avoid damaging your sender reputation and long-term deliverability. The key lies in understanding the limitations of open tracking and strategically segmenting your audience.
Rather than a blanket resend, focusing on re-engaging genuinely interested but temporarily missed subscribers with a modified message and careful timing is the optimal path. Prioritize overall list health, subscriber satisfaction, and robust email deliverability practices to ensure your emails consistently reach the inbox.
Apple Mail Privacy Protection, for instance), even if the human recipient never actually saw the email. This makes the open metric an imperfect indicator of true engagement.
Gmail and 
Yahoo use various engagement signals to determine your sending legitimacy. Repeatedly sending to recipients who show no engagement, regardless of whether it's their first or second email, can signal a lack of interest, leading to lower inbox placement over time.
Constant Contact advises changing the subject line and potentially the preheader text, or even the sender name, to increase the chances of the second email being noticed.
