How to Maintain Email List Hygiene & Its Importance
Proactive email list cleaning is an essential part of any successful email marketing strategy; if you fail proactive email list cleaning you risk your campaigns getting sent straight to the spam box, or worse, your sender address will be blocked altogether.
Why email list hygiene is so important? Because email list hygiene can make or break your B2B email marketing strategy.
By the time you discover that you have an issue with email hygiene, it’s generally too late - you’ve already wasted resources and done significant damage to your sender's reputation.
So, let’s have a closer look at why email list hygiene is crucial and how can you follow this practice.
Why email list hygiene is so important? Because email list hygiene can make or break your B2B email marketing strategy.
By the time you discover that you have an issue with email hygiene, it’s generally too late - you’ve already wasted resources and done significant damage to your sender's reputation.
So, let’s have a closer look at why email list hygiene is crucial and how can you follow this practice.
Why Does Email List Hygiene Matter?
Your email engagement will increase significantly, and your rates for spam and unsubscribes will remain low with a clean email list and consistent email list hygiene. Maintaining your email list thoroughly and regularly will improve the deliverability and engagement of your emails.
Excellent reliability and a better ROI for your email marketing campaign are the results of creating a quality email list.
But it's simple for inactive users and invalid leads to clogging up a list, and before you realize it, you're running afoul of spam emails and ending up in the dreadful junk mail.
Regularly practicing email hygiene will guarantee that you are only mailing those who genuinely want to receive your messages, helping you avoid having your emails flagged as spam.
Excellent reliability and a better ROI for your email marketing campaign are the results of creating a quality email list.
But it's simple for inactive users and invalid leads to clogging up a list, and before you realize it, you're running afoul of spam emails and ending up in the dreadful junk mail.
Regularly practicing email hygiene will guarantee that you are only mailing those who genuinely want to receive your messages, helping you avoid having your emails flagged as spam.
Using an unclean email list can lead to :
a. Bounced emails that harm your brand along with the sender’s reputation,
b. Spam complaints,
c. Unsubscribes.
As there is no additional expense involved in sending emails to additional recipients, several companies overlook the importance of maintaining the quality of their email lists.
But, over time this harm grows and may hinder your capacity to connect with all of your subscribers, including the best and most loyal ones.
b. Spam complaints,
c. Unsubscribes.
As there is no additional expense involved in sending emails to additional recipients, several companies overlook the importance of maintaining the quality of their email lists.
But, over time this harm grows and may hinder your capacity to connect with all of your subscribers, including the best and most loyal ones.
3 Simple Tips to Maintain Email List Hygiene
It's possible that some of your audience subscribed but then experienced a shift in their lives that left your content unhelpful to them. Your engagement rates might well have dipped since they decided to ignore your requests to unsubscribe and just delete your emails.
Additionally, people switch jobs, email providers, and email accounts, which increases bounce rates for your organization.
Because of this, it's crucial to make sure you schedule an email list hygiene routine a couple of times a year. Removing names from your list may seem strange, but it's better to have a smaller, more attentive audience than a larger, more disinterested one.
Additionally, people switch jobs, email providers, and email accounts, which increases bounce rates for your organization.
Because of this, it's crucial to make sure you schedule an email list hygiene routine a couple of times a year. Removing names from your list may seem strange, but it's better to have a smaller, more attentive audience than a larger, more disinterested one.
1. Remove Incorrect, Invalid, and Bounced Email Addresses
Invalid, incorrect, and bounced emails can take a serious toll on your email deliverability and email ROI.
There are several reasons behind bounced emails, including
There are several reasons behind bounced emails, including
The best chance for your emails to reach your users' inboxes is to monitor bounces to keep a positive reputation with mailbox providers.
2. Reconnect With Your Email Audience
If you've determined that your subscriber list contains people of your targeted audience who are likely to find your content interesting, search for strategies to re-engage them.
You might do this by segmenting them into different lists according to their preferences and demographics. Numerous lists will allow you to build successful marketing campaigns
You might do this by segmenting them into different lists according to their preferences and demographics. Numerous lists will allow you to build successful marketing campaigns
Put your attention on interactive elements like surveys and links that will promote click-throughs rather than simply opening. For instance—
One of the best ways to re-engage your audience is by sending an "are you still interested?" email.
Before removing someone for inactivity, several brands find success in sending an email that simply asks for consent to receive future emails from the recipient.
Before removing someone for inactivity, several brands find success in sending an email that simply asks for consent to receive future emails from the recipient.
3. Get Rid of Inactive Subscribers
A smaller, more attentive audience of your targeted customers is always preferable to a vast email marketing list of people who hardly read them anyhow, as odd as it may appear to weed out people from your email list.
Inactive subscribers are individuals who never open, click, or otherwise engage with your emails.
It is mandatory (by rule and by all credible ESPs) that you include an unsubscribe option in your emails, but usually, individuals may opt out of using it.
It is mandatory (by rule and by all credible ESPs) that you include an unsubscribe option in your emails, but usually, individuals may opt out of using it.
7 Benefits of Regular Email List Cleaning
1. Increase email deliverability
Email deliverability is the star of email statistics-- it is the rate at which emails actually make it to subscriber inboxes. It deserves greater attention, though; a high deliverability rate implies that you are doing many critical things in the correct way.
As your deliverability rate lowers when an email went to the spam folder or was blocked by the ISP that means your reputation with internet service providers (ISPs) is also gets lowered. A poor reputation will bring down your deliverability much further. Stay away from this death winding by cleaning your email list regularly to take out invalid email addresses and keep your VIP stat looking cleaned and healthy.
As your deliverability rate lowers when an email went to the spam folder or was blocked by the ISP that means your reputation with internet service providers (ISPs) is also gets lowered. A poor reputation will bring down your deliverability much further. Stay away from this death winding by cleaning your email list regularly to take out invalid email addresses and keep your VIP stat looking cleaned and healthy.
2. Reduce your bounce rate
Bounce rate is an imperative sign demonstrating the general health of your email list.
List cleaning keeps your bounce rate lesser by expelling the invalid, suspended, and counterfeit emails that are responsible for most of the hard bounces and recognizing risky ones that could prompt extra hard or soft bounces.
If your bounce rate goes over 3 to 5%, you will quickly observe a negative impact on your deliverability and inboxing rates. At 8 to 10%, your delivery rates will begin to drop drastically.
List cleaning keeps your bounce rate lesser by expelling the invalid, suspended, and counterfeit emails that are responsible for most of the hard bounces and recognizing risky ones that could prompt extra hard or soft bounces.
If your bounce rate goes over 3 to 5%, you will quickly observe a negative impact on your deliverability and inboxing rates. At 8 to 10%, your delivery rates will begin to drop drastically.
Also, a few systems utilized by email service providers, similar to Omnivore via MailChimp, will suspend your account if surpass the standard bounce rate for your industry.
3. Reach the targeted inbox
Because your deliverability rate looks great, it doesn't really mean you're on right track. If your email cleanliness isn't outstanding, a portion of those emails is in all likelihood being “delivered “to spam mail
folders.
As indicated by research by Return Path, 79% of emails overall found their way to their target inbox in and a full 13% of all emails sent ended up in the spam folders. Of all that mail delivered to the spam folders, just about 1% of them were found by the user and moved to the inbox. If you’re expecting a strong engagement with your campaign, then you’ll have to find your own specific manner to the inbox.
Email marketing best practices play a role in reaching out the targeted inboxes however email list cleaning is essential for a successful inboxing strategy as well. Regardless of how significant your subject line, if your business is known for sending emails to unresponsive, closed or inactive accounts then there's a higher possibility that your emails will get flagged and redirected to the spam folder.
folders.
As indicated by research by Return Path, 79% of emails overall found their way to their target inbox in and a full 13% of all emails sent ended up in the spam folders. Of all that mail delivered to the spam folders, just about 1% of them were found by the user and moved to the inbox. If you’re expecting a strong engagement with your campaign, then you’ll have to find your own specific manner to the inbox.
Email marketing best practices play a role in reaching out the targeted inboxes however email list cleaning is essential for a successful inboxing strategy as well. Regardless of how significant your subject line, if your business is known for sending emails to unresponsive, closed or inactive accounts then there's a higher possibility that your emails will get flagged and redirected to the spam folder.
4. Keep your reputation
Undelivered emails and spam traps will put your sender reputation on risk. Once you get an awful reputation, you will soon find yourself blocked from the inboxes you need to reach.
What's more, you don't have only one reputation to secure. Quite a long time ago, your email sender reputation was about server (or IP) reputation. While server reputation is still imperative, today it's critically important to keep an eye out for your domain reputation.
Your domain reputation reflects your all-time business image and will follow you wherever you go—regardless of whether you change servers or switch email service providers —and it plays an undeniable role in deliverability. A bad domain reputation doesn't simply affect your marketing endeavors: your sales and customer service teams may begin finding their day by day communications lost in customers' spam folder too.
Clean your email list consistently to get rid of any hazardous addresses and counteract pointless harm to your reputation.
What's more, you don't have only one reputation to secure. Quite a long time ago, your email sender reputation was about server (or IP) reputation. While server reputation is still imperative, today it's critically important to keep an eye out for your domain reputation.
Your domain reputation reflects your all-time business image and will follow you wherever you go—regardless of whether you change servers or switch email service providers —and it plays an undeniable role in deliverability. A bad domain reputation doesn't simply affect your marketing endeavors: your sales and customer service teams may begin finding their day by day communications lost in customers' spam folder too.
Clean your email list consistently to get rid of any hazardous addresses and counteract pointless harm to your reputation.
5. Avoid Complainers and Spam Traps
There are some squeaky wheels on the Internet— individuals who routinely report business email as spam and the individuals who go to such an extreme as to call up your company or ESP to complain about unwanted emails. They may even threaten to sue. Another key threat is spam traps, otherwise called honeypots, are valid email addresses made explicitly to catch spammers at work. They are like kryptonite for your sender reputation and can even get you blacklisted by ISPs.
The best email verification services refresh their databases of known spam traps persistently, to enable you to abstain from being entangled by one. No service can honestly guarantee to expel all spam traps from your lists. Be that as it may, following a regular email list cleaning best practices will keep you off the ISP hit list.
6. Lower your sending costs
Would you change email service providers to spare 22% on your yearly bill? Assuming this is the case, at that point for what reason would you say you are squandering money sending to an email list that hasn't been cleaned?
At an estimated rate of around 22% per year as people switch jobs, change addresses or otherwise disappear from the digital space.so that you have to ensure your list is clean. If you haven’t cleaned your email list, at that point you are paying to send emails to accounts that are no longer active. We definitely don’t recommend this; neither does your accountant.
At an estimated rate of around 22% per year as people switch jobs, change addresses or otherwise disappear from the digital space.so that you have to ensure your list is clean. If you haven’t cleaned your email list, at that point you are paying to send emails to accounts that are no longer active. We definitely don’t recommend this; neither does your accountant.
7. Increased accuracy for clear decisions
It feels incredible to hit benchmarks for email collection. Your company database simply hit a large portion of a million contacts? That is extraordinary! In any case, if you're clinging to dead leads in your database just to pad your stats it is only vanity. Furthermore, it's unquestionably harming your deliverability.
The good strategy sometimes involves making tough decisions. Swallow your pride and chop your list down to its actual size by dispensing with invalid addresses, at that point you can begin settling on
better strategic decisions for your business dependent on accurate information.
The good strategy sometimes involves making tough decisions. Swallow your pride and chop your list down to its actual size by dispensing with invalid addresses, at that point you can begin settling on
better strategic decisions for your business dependent on accurate information.
Bottom Line
Now you are aware of the importance of regularly cleaning your mailing lists, you should always execute an email list cleaning before your next bulk email send-out. Freshly cleaned lists will guarantee that you are just sending your messages to solid leads. Also, bring out prompt positive outcomes that bring you more noteworthy profits for the time, productivity, creativity, and money that you put resources into your mailing efforts. Keeping this up regularly won’t ever need to stress over getting blacklisted by ESPs for sending your campaigns to “bad” addresses.
