You work so darn hard to get people to opt-in to your email list so you have a big list of email subscribers, but what if you have a crummy open rate? What if you have a lot of emails that aren’t being delivered to your subscribers?
….What if you’re emailing people that don’t even open your emails, and haven’t for more than 10 of your last email campaigns?
It’s a deafening silence in your business.
You wonder if it’s something you’re doing wrong, and anxiety can set in.
The Solution
Scrub your email list. What’s that? It means getting rid of the dead weight in your email list – move the people out of your email list so they no longer get your emails.
I know, I know… scary! But it’s only scary if you don’t understand the reasoning behind cleaning your email list on a regular basis (How often? keep reading…).
Why Scrub Your Email List?
- If you are emailing 1000 people that never open your email, you’re spending unnecessary money to keep them in your account. It can be a $10/mo difference depending on the size of your email list and the email management system you use.
- The average email list depreciates by about 30% a year (people switch jobs, email providers, or unsubscribe – source). Cleaning out your list will decrease the bounce rate, the number of unsubscribes, and the number of spam complaints.
- With more spam complaints comes way more problems for you (whether your email subscribers mark you as spam, or someone’s email filter is putting you in the spam folder). Here’s why: Many spam filters are set to detect if someone is sending recurring emails to a user who isn’t opening them. If your people aren’t opening your emails, the email account will consider you spam. This can:A) hurt your domain’s reputation
B) decrease your deliverability rates
C) cause fewer people to see your emails
The Short Version: Why Scrub Your Email List
- Increase deliverability
- Increase open rates
- Only email people that engage with you (these guys are the real prospects anyway)
- Reduce your risk of getting caught in the spam trap
- Improve your domain’s reputation for ISPs
- Lower your email management costs by only keeping people who want to be on your list
Many people recommend a good scrubbing every 3-6 months.
I know it hurts the ego big time to do it, but it’s between emailing a bunch of people with only some who want to engage with you or emailing a list of people who all want to engage with you.
HOW to Scrub Your Email List?
How to remove inactive email subscribers
How to remove inactive email subscribers
How to remove inactive email subscribers
Is your email management system not listed? Contact your email management system’s support desk for step-by-step instructions.
But Wait! How to Save the Silent Email Subscribers
Before you go on a deleting spree, take a step back and think about how you may be able to save those people.
A more advanced strategy is to “segment” your list. You’d have your primary email list, then a segment email list of your inactive email subscribers.
Create a “revival” campaign that goes out to the inactive segment to try and stir up engagement. As people respond, you can add them back to your primary list.
If you still can’t get them to engage, then it’s probably time to cut ’em loose.
Also remember, their lack of engagement (opens and clicks) doesn’t mean your content sucks – though it’s always a good idea to survey your audience and ask what they want in your emails so you’re more on target. Their lack of engagement could be due to changing email addresses, job changes, etc.
