# How to Retarget Recipients With Unopened Emails

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## Table of contents

- Why do recipients ignore your emails?
- How to retarget unopened emails using Mailmodo
- Final thoughts

Even the most carefully planned [email campaigns](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/email-marketing-campaign/) can fall short when a large portion of your audience doesn’t open your messages.

If you are someone struggling with low [open rates](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/good-email-open-rate/) and want to make every send count, this guide is for you.

In this guide, you’ll learn why emails go unopened, how to retarget those non-openers effectively, and step-by-step methods to boost engagement using Mailmodo — without spamming your list or starting from scratch.

## Why do recipients ignore your emails?

Before jumping into tactics, it’s worth understanding why emails go unopened in the first place:

-   Timing mismatch: You may be sending emails when your audience isn’t active.  
      
    
-   Uninspired subject lines or preview text: If the [first thing they see isn’t compelling](https://www.mailmodo.com/email-subject-lines/), they won’t click.  
      
    
-   Inbox overload: Your message might get buried under dozens of others.  
      
    

Despite these challenges, retargeting non-openers can improve your overall engagement and help you get more out of every campaign  but it needs to be done right.

## How to retarget unopened emails using Mailmodo

  

You have two options in Mailmodo to retarget non-openers, each designed to fit different workflows. Let’s go through them one by one:

### Method 1: Manual retargeting with segments

  

This works best when you want to re-engage non-openers from a very specific campaign. Just make sure to wait at least 7 days between sends to avoid over-emailing.

  

1.  In your Mailmodo dashboard, go to Contacts → Create Segment → Create with builder.
    

  

2.  Start from scratch or pick a prebuilt template.
    
![Screenshot 2025-09-08 100443.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1757306346/strapi/Screenshot_2025_09_08_100443_912fd967d5.png)
  

3.  Then name your segment, select your contact list, and choose your segmentation type. Mailmodo offers two types of segmentation: dynamic and [static](https://support.mailmodo.com/articles/682978-how-to-create-a-static-segment).
Use [dynamic segmentation](https://support.mailmodo.com/articles/994375-how-to-create-a-dynamic-segment) so the list updates automatically as contacts meet your conditions.

  ![Screenshot 2025-09-08 100425.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1757306346/strapi/Screenshot_2025_09_08_100425_10280e4884.png)
    

4.  Next add segmentation conditions like campaign activity → user has not opened.


5.  Once your segment is ready, you can individually send a follow-up email to the group.
    

  

### Method 2: Automated retargeting with journeys

  

If you want to retarget non-openers automatically, Mailmodo’s Journey Builder makes it simple.

  

1.  From your Mailmodo dashboard, go to Journeys → Create New Journey.
    

  

2.  Set up your trigger and add your original campaign email as the first step.
    

  

3.  Insert a conditional block: “If the user has not opened Email A within 2 days.”
    

  

4.  Add a follow-up email that only goes to those who didn’t open the first one.
    

  
  

## Final thoughts

Unopened emails represent missed opportunities, keeping your campaigns from reaching their full potential and limiting engagement with your audience.

With Mailmodo, you can manually segment non-openers or set up automated Journeys to retarget them effectively, improving opens and clicks without overwhelming your list. Sign up with [Mailmodo](https://manage.mailmodo.com/auth/signup?utm_content=inline-s&utm_term=/solutions/target-unopened-email-recipients/) to retarget unopened emails, boost campaign performance, and make every send count.

