Should You Resend An Email Message To Those Who Didn’t Open Your First Message?

You put a lot of effort and energy on your email marketing campaigns. You put in the time to share something you think is valuable to your audience, and it’s frustrating when half of your subscribers don’t open the first message.

What can you do to get them to open your emails?

First of all, don’t expect everyone on your list, even the most active subscribers, to read every message you send. This brings up a big question: should you resend an email to those who didn’t open your first message?

The answer is yes, you should. Having said that, make sure you resend effectively to avoid bombarding people with the same message. Send the message again to non-openers with a carefully designed campaign, and take advantage of your quality email list to boost the open rate in the second round.

Why You Should Resend

 Resending email campaigns offers you a second chance to engage your subscribers by:

  • Giving non-openers a chance to engage
  • Testing new ways to send emails with different copy or images and see which version performs best

Yes, breathing new life to an email campaign can improve your open and click-through rates, but have a bigger goal behind your second try. A better open rate and more clicks are good, but an email campaign should be about solid engagements that result in conversions; not just open rates. It’s critical to think about the long-term value you want to offer your customers as well as the connection you want to create with time. It’s not just about the one-time open or click value you want.

The value should be resending emails that provide:

  • Free content download for being a frequent customer
  • Product suggestions with special discount codes so that they get more value
  • A note that appreciates them as customers

If your email doesn’t contain at least one of these, resending isn’t your best option.

When you do decide to resend, here are a few tips on how to take advantage of resending to non-openers

1. It’s all about timing

Although these subscribers didn’t open your first email, they may recognize you in their inbox from your “sender name.” Sending too quickly after the first send could make you look like a spammer and lead to complaints or unsubscribes. Therefore, wait for 4-5 days before you hit resend. This makes sure you resend the email to someone who’s more likely to open it.

2. Choose Your Campaign Wisely

Resending to non-openers is an effective tool, but don’t resend every campaign you send out. Be selective about which emails you choose to resend. Think of a resend as a follow-up for time-sensitive messages.

For example, if you’re holding a week-long promotion, email on the first day of the promotion and then send a slightly changed version of the same email on the last day of the promotion to those who didn’t open your first message.

3. Modify the Subject Line

If the subject line didn’t grab their attention the first time, why use it again? When resending non-openers, you have a second chance to think of a catchier subject line that will attract them and stand out. Look at your past emails. Were there any subject lines that got massive positive responses from your audience? Use similar subject lines when resending your campaign.

Re-sending emails to those who didn’t open initially is all about keeping your list engaged. It presents you the perfect opportunity to keep dialogue going or to open a new conversation so don’t waste it on emails that don’t provide value. If you use your re-sending tactic wisely, you’ll find that your customers not only appreciate you more but also will be more likely to take action.