3 reasons why I hate targeting non-openers

I have an unpopular opinion: I don't like targeting non-openers for email campaigns. A lot of people consider it an aggressive email strategy that will instantly get you more revenue, and more engagement. But have you considered why they are non-openers? Because they are not engaged. 

Here are the 3 reasons why I don’t like resending to non-opening email subscribers:

1. It’s bad for deliverability. 

Inboxes notice when you continue to send campaigns to email subscribers who consistently don’t engage with your emails. At some point, they’ll send you straight to the Spam Folder.  

2. Spam rates and bounce rates will increase. 

I’m sure you’ve consistently received emails from a sender whose emails you haven’t opened or clicked in a long time. One random day you get fed up, and mark them as Spam. You're more likely to be marked as Spam from a resend targeting non-openers than to bring in revenue.

3. Your email KPIs will drop. 

Non-openers don’t open! So your open rates and click rates will be scary low, and bring down your overall email performance.

Can you ever target non-openers?

Yes, but they have to have recently engaged with your email campaigns in order to avoid deliverability issues, spam complaint increases, and a drop in KPIs. If you’re going to target non-openers, make sure to create a tight segment of subscribers who have clicked an email in the last 15-30 days.

When should you target non-openers in your email strategy?

I’d recommend only targeting a recently engaged segment of non-openers during important sales and promotions that have a big impact on your overall annual revenue.