Need To Get More Emails Opened?

Resending an unopened campaign is like walking a tightrope.

It’s a delicate balancing act.

Sway slightly to one side by executing it poorly, and you risk offending your subscribers. Your deliverability rates will plummet because of unusually high spam reports. Unsubscribes will soar as people leave your list because they feel you are spammy, irritating them with duplicate messages.

But if you hold steady, stay balanced, and tread with the utmost care, you can reap the rewards of a well-executed resend campaign. You could get higher open rates and click-throughs, and ultimately boost your email marketing return on investment (ROI).

In this article, I will show you eight best strategies for resending an unopened email campaign that drives results. But before we get into the details, let’s answer a fundamental question:

Should You Resend Unopened Emails?

No’s the answer in most cases.

Here’s why:

1. Most people who don’t open emails are the least engaged subscribers. 

Since these people haven’t shown interest in your previous (and current) campaign, what makes you think they will suddenly get interested if you send another email? Perhaps you might as well leave them and focus on responsive segments of your list.

2. You may have caught non-openers at the wrong time. 

An unopened email doesn’t mean they don’t want to open your campaign. People are uber busy. They may have traveled and will check their inboxes when they get back. Maybe they told themselves they would open it in a day or two. Sending another email will come across as being spammy. Many of these contacts on your email list will respond by hitting unsubscribe.

3. Some subscribers have switched privacy settings on. 

Some people switch on privacy settings, so you won’t know if they’ve opened your email. You then send a repeat email to people who have already opened your email. The result? High spam reports that hurt your deliverability rates and sender reputation.

Besides, in most cases the conversion gains of remailed campaigns is marginal.

The above advice comes from a team that has worked with heavyweights in the email newsletter space. Most of them feel resending unopened emails is bad, so they don’t do it. Does this mean you must not resend campaigns?

Not at all.

It’s a friendly warning to refrain from being trigger-happy with resending campaigns. Otherwise they can backfire and have grave consequences. If you decide to run an unopened email campaign, you better know what you are doing. Please give it a long hard thought first.

With the above caveat in mind, here’s how to run an effective resend campaign.

8 Best Strategies For Resending An Unopened Campaign

Here are the eight best strategies for crafting high-converting repeat emails to non-openers.

1. Reserve Resending For Crucial Campaigns.

Let’s be honest.

Emails campaigns don’t carry the same weight. Some matter more than others. Avoid resending emails every other day, otherwise you will fatigue your audience. You don’t want to be known as the brand that always resends emails.

Only run a resend campaign for vital campaigns like a product launch or a massive sale. That way, it’ll have a more significant impact.

2. Avoid This Deadly Rookie Mistake…

Most novice newsletter content creators make a fatal mistake when resending unopened emails.

How?

By resending it to everyone on their list. Remember, this is an unopened campaign. Therefore, you only send it to subscribers who didn’t open the original email. Making the blunder of sending it to your entire list will offend subscribers because they will receive the same email twice. Some may even unsubscribe from your email list in droves.

Be smart.

Only send an unopened campaign to:

1. Subscribers who didn’t open the initial email.  

For this group, you change the subject line only.

2. Subscribers who opened but didn’t click your call to action links. 

In this case, you must tweak the email’s subject line and the body.

3. Tweak Your Email Subject Line.

Your email subject line can make or break your campaign.

Research shows up to 69% of email recipients decide whether to open an email based on the quality of the subject line alone. With this eye-opening data in mind, it’s worthwhile to rework your subject line to tease non-openers to open your repeat email.

There are so many proven ways to make your subject more engaging.

You could:

• Personalize the subject line with the recipient’s name.

• Add an emoji that piques interest if it suits your industry.

• Optimize your email campaigns for mobile.

• Shorten your subject line to around 6 to 10 words.

• Make your subject line more specific.

• Make sure your subject line applies to your audience’s needs.

• Use scarcity and evoke the fear of missing out (FOMO).

4. Rework The Content of Your Resend Email.

If your goal is improving click-throughs, not just the open rate, you should resend your campaign with a twist.

First, adjust the subject line for higher opens. I have already covered that, so I won’t belabor the point.

You should also tweak the email’s content. Find a better angle to bring the point home. Add high-quality visuals to grab attention. Make sure the content is focused and aligned with the campaign goal.

In particular, polish up the call to action. Make it clear and direct. A simple template you can use to get it right is to complete this sentence:

I want subscribers to ________. E.g., download an ebook, schedule a call, browse products, etc.

Your answer becomes the CTA.

5. Tell Subscribers You Are Resending the Email.

Since you are remailing, telling subscribers you are resending an email makes sense.

Being upfront about your resend campaign will make your subscribers trust you more because you are not being sneaky about the whole thing. Plus, transparency will minimize unsubscribes if people have already opened the original email. They’ll understand if you tell them plainly that it’s a resend campaign.

How Do I Say I Am Resending an Email?

You can use subject lines such as:

• Did you see it?

• You may have missed this…

• Here we go again…

• Knock, knock, anybody home?

In your email’s opening sentences, you can include these expressions that clarify that they are receiving an unopened campaign.

• X days back, I sent you an email. You may have missed it.

• I’m resending this email because you might have missed the one I sent last week.

• Here’s the email I sent five days back.

That’s how you tell someone professionally you are resending an email.

6. Optimize for Different Sending Time Zones.

Missing the best sending time for your audience can tank your open rates.

Many people might not have opened your email because you sent it at the wrong time.

The perfect time to send an email is when the recipients are more likely to engage with it. These days, as a content creator, you serve a global audience. When it’s breakfast in one part of the world, it’s bedtime elsewhere.

To reach everyone and maximize your open rates, send your remailing campaign on the perfect day or time slot for your audience segments’ region and country.

For instance, here are email open numbers by the time of the day for the United States.

Source: Litmus

According to this study, if you primarily target an American audience, send your email between 9 am and noon local time to get the most opens. As for the best day for sending a newsletter, most studies give Tuesday the nod.

Start with what the research recommends, and test to see the times that work best for your particular audience.

7. Don’t Resend Unopened Emails Immediately.

People receive a deluge of emails.

Not only that–they have jam-packed schedules. So some will only check their email after a day or two. If you send your remailing campaign immediately, they’ll receive duplicate emails, which will rub them the wrong way.

Wait for several days.

Anything from four to seven days is a good rule of thumb to work with.

8. Automate Your Resending Campaigns.

Thanks to intelligent newsletter platforms, you can automate re-mailing campaigns.

It’s pretty easy.

After you’ve reworked the original campaign, set up triggers for the following:

• Who receives the email, e.g., non-openers.

• Which event kickstarts the campaign, e.g., completing a webinar registration form.

• When do they receive the email, e.g., after six days.

That’s it. Let your platform do the rest.

Resending An Unopened Campaign

Resending an unopened campaign isn’t an everyday occurrence.

When you do it, make it count. Leave no stone unturned to make your resending campaign a worthwhile effort. The key is dissecting the original email. Identify areas you can improve. In particular, fine-tune your headline and CTA because a lot rides on them.

If you play your cards right, you can get a significant conversion boost from your second-try email campaign.

Want to get more emails opened? Then set up a free beehiiv account and get started right away.