Prevent an email from being sent to zero contacts

Reasons why an email gets sent to zero contacts and how to prevent it from happening

The number one cause of sending an email to zero contacts is because a contact, group of contacts, or contact list was deleted before the email was sent. There are also less apparent reasons why your email never reached anyone, especially if your list size is on the smaller side:

• When sending to an empty list
• While using Resend
• When sending to a segment
• While using tags
• When sending to contacts with no permission set

You'll know you've sent an email to zero contacts when you receive an email notification from us or when your email is marked as "Sent" but has no send statistics available on the Email Details page. Don't worry, though—your email isn't a lost cause! By making the necessary adjustments, you can try sending it again to get it in front of the right contacts.

Did you know? Before you make changes to your contact lists, it's always a good idea to check for scheduled emails in your account first. This way you can either wait until the email is finished sending before you make the changes, or you can unschedule the email and reschedule it after you're done with your list maintenance.

When sending to an empty list

There are safeguards in place to prevent you from sending to an empty list. First, lists without contacts aren't options on the Schedule Page when you're choosing the list to send to. Second, if you try to delete a list while an email is actively sending to it, you'll have to unschedule the email before you can delete the list. However, if you scheduled your email to send at a later date and time, it's possible to delete the list before the email is actively sending, causing the email to be sent to zero contacts.

To prevent this from happening:

• Check the Email Details page for each scheduled email to make sure it isn't going to send to the list you want to delete. If you see the list you want to delete, unschedule the email to remove the list and add a new one.
  
  

While using Resend

Our Resend feature lets you resend an email to all the new contacts who have joined your list since you originally sent your email. Problems can arise when:

• A Resend is scheduled and there are no new contacts on the list.
• A Resend is scheduled and then the list is deleted before the resend happens.
• A Resend is scheduled and all the new contacts are removed from the list before the resend happens.

To prevent this from happening for:

• No new contacts - Add the "Date Added" filter to your contacts table and look for contacts added within the date range you want to use. If all of your contacts fall outside of the date range, you'll need to wait a little longer for new contacts to join your list.
  
  
   
• Deleted list or contacts - A "Sent" email goes back into "Scheduled" status when you resend it. Check your Emails page for scheduled emails before deleting lists or contacts. You can wait for the email to send or unschedule the email before you delete your contacts.
  
  

When sending to a segment

Our segmentation dashboard lets you create segments of contacts based on the lists you have in your account, your contacts' engagement history, and the contact details you have on record. You can choose to send your email to a specific segment, and the segment is refreshed at the time your email sends so that you're sending to the most up-to-date group of contacts. Problems can arise when:

• No contacts meet the criteria for your segment at the time the email sends. (Smaller list sizes are especially prone to this.)

To prevent this from happening:

• Before scheduling your email, refresh your segment to make sure that there are eligible contacts to send to. If there are no contacts in your segment, create a new segment or edit the segment to be less restrictive.
  
  
   

While using tags

Our tagging feature helps you send more targeted emails to specific portions of your list by sending an email only to tagged contacts or excluding tagged contacts from receiving the email. Problems can arise when:

• An email is scheduled to send to contacts with a tag and no contacts on the list are tagged with that specific tag.
• An email is scheduled to send to exclude contacts with a tag and all contacts on the list are tagged with that specific tag.
• An email is scheduled to send to contacts with a tag and the tag is deleted before the send happens.

  To prevent this from happening for:

• No tagged contacts - Check your list to make sure there are contacts with the tag you want to use. 
• All tagged contacts - Check your list to make sure not all the contacts have the tag.
  
  
   
• Deleted tag - Check your Emails page for scheduled emails before deleting tags. Let the email send or unschedule it before deleting the tags.
  
  
   

When sending to contacts with no permission set

Contacts are labeled as "No Permission Set" if you've added them through an Event campaign but they haven't given you permission to email them outside of the event. This usually happens when someone registers but doesn't check the box on your registration form to receive your newsletters.

To prevent this from happening:

• Make sure your list doesn't contain only "No Permission Set" contacts. You won't be able to resend the email to them.
• Remove the contacts labeled as "No Permission Set" from your account. This won't affect your event reporting.
  
  
   

Questions?