If you unintentionally unsubscribed contacts, this guide shows you how to restore their subscribed status for Email and SMS channels. Follow the steps below to get them back as subscribers.
Before You Begin
You are fully responsible for converting contacts to Subscribed status. Make sure these contacts have agreed to receive promotional messages from you.
Do not resubscribe contacts who have organically opted out, bounced, or reported spam. Doing so violates compliance policies and harms your deliverability.
Resubscribing contacts may affect your billing tier. Learn more about billable contacts.
How Contacts Become Unsubscribed
Contacts can be marked as unsubscribed in three ways:
Organically – Contacts click the unsubscribe link in your emails or reply STOP to SMS messages.
Automatically – Contacts bounce or report your messages as spam.
Manually – You (or another account user) unsubscribe them, or you import a file with opt-out dates.
This guide only covers manually unsubscribed contacts. Contacts who opted out organically or were flagged for bounces/spam should not be resubscribed unless they explicitly request it.
Resubscribe Subscribers Who Unintentionally Unsubscribed (Email and/or SMS)
Step 1. Create a segment of manually unsubscribed contacts.
Go to Audience → Segments → Create Segment → Create from Scratch → Add Filter.
Use the filter: Opted out → Reason → Were manually unsubscribed.
Then add a second filter: Subscription status → Is unsubscribed → Select Email or SMS (or both) depending on which channel you want to resubscribe.
Once done, click Save & show contacts.
You can also filter by other opt-out reasons, but only resubscribe contacts if you have documented proof of consent.
Step 2. Export the segment to a file.
After saving your segment, click Export to download the contact list.
Step 3. Import the file back into Omnisend.
Go to Audience → Add contacts → Import contacts from file.
Step 4. Map contact properties.
During the import mapping step, map the contact identifiers (Email address, Phone number, or both).
⚠️ Important: Do not map Email opt-in date, Email opt-out date, SMS opt-in date, or SMS opt-out date. Mapping these fields will prevent the resubscription from working.
Step 5. Select which channels to subscribe contacts to.
In the Subscribe contacts section, check the box for the channels you want to resubscribe:
Import contacts with emails as subscribed to emails – Check this box to resubscribe Email contacts.
Import contacts with phone numbers as subscribed to SMS – Check this box to resubscribe SMS contacts.
You can select both checkboxes if you want to resubscribe contacts for Email and SMS.
💡 If you added additional contact properties to the file, you can import those as well. Otherwise, finalize the import to update subscription status only.
Step 6. Finalize the import.
Continue to the Finalize and Review steps, and click Finish import.
Done! Your contacts are now subscribed to the selected channels.
FAQ
Will resubscribing contacts affect my billing?
Yes. Resubscribing contacts may increase your billable contact count and move you to a higher pricing tier.
Can I resubscribe contacts who unsubscribed due to bounces or spam reports?
No. Contacts flagged for bounces or spam complaints should not be resubscribed. Only resubscribe manually unsubscribed contacts with documented proof of consent.
Can I resubscribe contacts for both Email and SMS at the same time?
Yes. When creating your segment in Step 1, select both Email and SMS in the subscription status filter. In Step 5, check both channel subscription checkboxes.
How do I check if a contact was manually unsubscribed?
Open the contact profile in Audience → Contacts → Find your selected contact. The Details section shows the opt-out reason and date for each channel. Learn more about contact profiles.
Why does the subscription status stay unsubscribed even after I change it in the contact profile?
The contact profile dropdown doesn't support resubscribing unsubscribed contacts. The system requires a valid opt-in date later than the opt-out date, which can only be provided through file import. Use the steps in this guide to resubscribe contacts properly.
I see contacts unsubscribed with the reason "External changes." What does this mean?
"External changes" means the contact was unsubscribed via an API call or third-party integration (e.g., Shopify). This often happens when integrations move contacts between segments or lists and send an unsubscribe event to Omnisend. To resubscribe, filter by Opted out → Reason → External changes, and follow the steps in this guide.
What proof of consent do I need before resubscribing contacts?
You should only resubscribe contacts if you have documented proof they agreed to receive marketing emails, such as:
Signup form submissions with opt-in timestamps.
Checkout opt-in checkboxes (e.g., "Yes, I want to receive offers").
Explicit email replies granting permission.
Integration logs showing opt-in events.
Under compliance rules, you (not Omnisend) are legally responsible for ensuring resubscribed contacts consent. Don't resubscribe contacts who intentionally opted out via unsubscribe links.
Did something go differently than expected? Reach out to the Support Team at [email protected] or via in-app chat.