It’s easy to get into the trap of overvaluing your subscriber numbers when you spend a lot of effort into expanding your email list. But if your other metrics aren’t growing, what use is a large subscriber base?
Data like open rate… clickthrough rate ROI.
advantages of cleaning email lists
The truth is that email marketing is a fantastic way to stay in touch with your prospects and customers—but only if you can find active, worthwhile contacts who like your communications.
So that you can receive the results you desire, we’re going to share 10 strategies in this piece to assist you to clean up your email marketing list.
Let’s first examine why it is so crucial.
Why should my email marketing list be cleaned?
Running a monthly email list cleanse is a smart practice for email marketing that will improve your KPIs, insights, and ROI. This is how:
more profound communication A clean email list is segmented based on the preferences, professions, hobbies, etc. of your subscribers, enabling you to send personalized communications with focused messaging.
increased involvement. Unsurprisingly, more tailored communication results in higher open and click-to-open rates.
additional optimization You may learn more specific information about your subscribers via campaigns and A/B tests, such as their preferred content themes and the most effective call-to-action phrases, the more interaction there is with your emails. This helps you to improve the experience even more and keep their interest and loyalty over the long run.
Avoid using spam filters. Spam complaints, unsubscribes, and high bounce rates are all signs to email servers and filters that your company is unreliable. Your reputation and deliverability will suffer as a result of your emails being marked as spam.
10 suggestions for cleaning up your email marketing list
Email generates an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent, according to Litmus. That is higher than any other channel, but it does not represent a promise. You need a clean, high-value email list if you want to accomplish this aim and others. To assist you to get a higher ROI, check out these nine email cleaning suggestions.
1. Eliminate any hard-bounced emails.
An email that fails to reach the sender owing to a persistent problem is known as a hard bounce. This can be because the domain has restricted email delivery or the recipient’s email address is invalid.
Hard bounce emails cannot be resolved, in contrast to soft bounce emails, which are momentarily undeliverable.
Your sender reputation and email deliverability will suffer if spam filters and email servers determine that your hard bounce rates are too high, marking you as potential spam and blocking your IP address. Always keep an eye out for hard bounces and get rid of them right once.
email bounce rates: hard vs. soft
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2. Eliminate redundant emails
Some users might have several subscriptions to your list, especially if you import contacts. These receivers will receive numerous copies of the same email, thus this is a big no-no.
The accuracy of your campaign’s performance indicators will be harmed, and duplicate emails will frequently end up in the spam bin. Their intrusiveness may even cause users to fully unsubscribe.
3. Identify the inactive subscribers you have.
You should be able to see metrics for specific subscribers from your email service provider, such as their email open, click-through, and conversion rates. You can use this data to identify your inactive subscribers and focus re-engagement campaigns on them (more on that in a minute).
However, it could occasionally be worthwhile to instantly delete inactive subscribers. It’s definitely simpler to just remove the address and move on if a person has never interacted with your business after their initial subscription—especially if it’s been a while.
4. Picture the perfect subscription.
The subscriber that interacts with each and every email is your ideal one. But who are they specifically?
By developing subscriber/customer profiles, you may define your ideal subscriber more precisely and produce hyper-targeted, customized content. A subscriber persona is a fictionalized portrayal of your ideal subscriber that is based on statistics and market research.
A higher-quality email list is produced as a result of using subscriber personas to find higher-quality leads. As a result, you can devote more time to honing your email style guide and developing campaigns that produce results rather than spending as much time on meticulous monthly email cleaning.
5. Use a suitable list management program.
You can efficiently manage your email lists with the aid of email automation software. ActiveCampaign, Moosend, Mailchimp, and SendinBlue are a few of the well-known solutions. They offer you the data and tools you need to segment your email lists depending on the interests, behavior, engagement, etc. of your subscribers in addition to your market research.
With list segmentation, you can develop individualized and focused email marketing campaigns that increase ROI and encourage engagement. segmenting email marketing lists Image Origin
Contact categorization and two-way data syncing between apps are two additional beneficial aspects of email list management software that keep your lists organized and current.
It should work seamlessly with your other communication tools, including your CRM and call center software. For instance, you could design triggered emails that go out as soon as someone engages with your chatbot or virtual receptionist service.
6. Make unsubscribing simple
The reputation of your company may suffer if the unsubscription process is complicated or drawn out. 33% of consumers will privately tell their peers about a negative encounter, according to a Qualtrics study. 15% of people will post about their bad encounters on social media. detrimental to your reputation
Users occasionally want to unsubscribe, whether it’s because their interests have changed or they unintentionally subscribed when making a transaction. You can naturally maintain good email hygiene while maintaining your good reputation by giving them a simple method to opt-out.
Usually, a straightforward link in the footer of your email and a lighthearted confirmation message suffice. Example of email unsubscribe Image Origin
7. Launch a campaign to re-engage dormant consumers.
You have three basic choices when you’ve determined who all of your inactive users are. The first option, which we have covered, is to remove the addresses from your list. The second is to launch a re-engagement effort with them in mind.
Campaigns for user re-engagement target inactive users with highly tailored, enticing offers. Discounts and coupons are frequently used, but you may also reactivate inactive customers by posing questions and displaying new features. example of we miss you re-engagement email image Origin
8. Track down inactive users and provide them the choice to unsubscribe
You may try contacting your inactive users with an opt-out email first if you’re worried about prematurely removing them.
One of three actions will often be triggered by opt-out emails. Either the user will politely unsubscribe from your emails (resulting in less manual email cleaning on your part), they won’t react (which is a surefire indication that their address should be deleted), or they’ll re-engage, particularly if you add some humor and emotion. example of an inactive email campaign Image Origin
9. Examine the opt-down choice.
You may also provide your consumers the chance to opt-out of receiving future emails from you. Users can choose the type and frequency of the emails they receive by simply choosing to opt-out. Users will only receive content that interests them thanks to our customer-centered strategy. email opt-out illustration Image Origin
They might also favor another form of communication, like phone or SMS, in place of email. Get an 800 company number for phone communications to prove your legitimacy.
10. Develop the skill of letting go.
This is a psychological email marketing tip more than anything else. Even though you are aware of how crucial it is to let go of inactive customers, it can still be difficult. The ability to let go can help you manage your email list more assertively, putting quality and worth above subscriber count. 1000 disinterested readers are preferable to 100 active readers.
