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MailChimp will not let me use list

by Oberoth
8 replies
Hi,

I recently started working in marketing. My boss told me to create a newsletter, and I registered on MailChimp, using the contact details of several thousand relevant customers in the company database to create a list. My boss told me that I must use this list.

When I was going to send the newsletter MailChimp ranked the addresses too low.I would guess that a lot of the addresses are not active, and most of the recipents probably have no idea why they would receive the newsletter.

After telling my boss about this, he told me that they always just used the addresses in the database, and then anyone who do not wish to receive the newsletter would unsubscribe. Now I am wondering, should I switch to some other service which would allow me to use the list, or work on getting the list sorted? If so, how can I clean the list to make it more relevant?
#list #mailchimp
  • Profile picture of the author RichBeck
    Originally Posted by Oberoth View Post

    Hi,

    I recently started working in marketing. My boss told me to create a newsletter, and I registered on MailChimp, using the contact details of several thousand relevant customers in the company database to create a list. My boss told me that I must use this list.

    When I was going to send the newsletter MailChimp ranked the addresses too low.I would guess that a lot of the addresses are not active, and most of the recipents probably have no idea why they would receive the newsletter.

    After telling my boss about this, he told me that they always just used the addresses in the database, and then anyone who do not wish to receive the newsletter would unsubscribe. Now I am wondering, should I switch to some other service which would allow me to use the list, or work on getting the list sorted? If so, how can I clean the list to make it more relevant?
    If the list is a list you own and didn't buy, I would switch service providers.....
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  • Profile picture of the author nizamkhan
    Originally Posted by Oberoth View Post

    Hi,

    I recently started working in marketing. My boss told me to create a newsletter, and I registered on MailChimp, using the contact details of several thousand relevant customers in the company database to create a list. My boss told me that I must use this list.

    When I was going to send the newsletter MailChimp ranked the addresses too low.I would guess that a lot of the addresses are not active, and most of the recipents probably have no idea why they would receive the newsletter.

    After telling my boss about this, he told me that they always just used the addresses in the database, and then anyone who do not wish to receive the newsletter would unsubscribe. Now I am wondering, should I switch to some other service which would allow me to use the list, or work on getting the list sorted? If so, how can I clean the list to make it more relevant?

    If it's your own list, then you need to change your email service provider. I can suggest you to go with GetResponse.

    And if you want to verify emails, then you can check out this site:

    Verify Email Address Online - Free Email Verifier - Free Email Address Verification


    - Nizam
    Signature
    [FREE DOWNLOAD] My list of 101 FREE Tools and Services for Online Marketers!
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
      It would be surprising to see that any of the big A/R firms let you import a list like that.

      How were they mailing before? Bcc? It used to be that you could run a list like this through Outlook. Set up groups with tags and relatively bulk email (small groups)

      Since Microsoft has been pushing going to Outlook dot com, this is not an option.

      Last campaign I ran like this for a client, i used a Thunderbird installation with some addons and extensions, to group mail.
      Signature


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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Michael Shook View Post

        It would be surprising to see that any of the big A/R firms let you import a list like that.
        This.

        I doubt very much whether you'll find a home for this list among the hosted autoresponder service industry. Not without starting with just a re-confirmation request, anyway. (GetResponse may be willing to test a random sample of the list for you, but don't get your hopes up too high.)

        Some kind of "self-hosted" solution may be better for you? But those have some risks attached, too, if recipients start hitting the "spam" button inside their own email client software.

        .
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        • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          Some kind of "self-hosted" solution may be better for you? But those have some risks attached, too, if recipients start hitting the "spam" button inside their own email client software.

          .
          Not just some risks..... MASSIVE risks.. more risks than somehow sneaking into Mailchimp or another service and sending.

          However, you may want to look into using Amazon SES with Sendy or another platform to clear your list of bounces. Usually though, when mailchimp gives you a warning about your list, that's because you have massive bounce rates expected.

          How many emails are there? You could always test the emails first if its a low number.
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  • Profile picture of the author Oberoth
    I want to say that the list is not bought, it is a list of customers who bought products, and whenever a customer bought a product, they would be added to a certain category for those products in the database. From that database, the list of email adresses is taken. I want to add that the company I work for delivers very expensive systems for industries, so the list of email adresses in the database do not belong to individuals.

    What I do believe to be the case however, is that a lot of those email adresses are very old, and the database is made up of entries for old customers, not up-to-date contact details.

    In the past, an email marketing software delivered by our email hosting provider was used, called Interspire Email Marketer. Around 17% of the emails sent were opened, and before trying MailChimp I tried CounterMail, and I was able to use the list there. The results were the same, with around 17% of the emails opened, out of a list of around 3000 email addresses.

    I think what I am going to have to do is find some way to verify the email addresses. What kind of software is usually used for this? The software in the link from nizamkhan seems rather simple. A company called Clickback also sent me a PM, saying that they have a software that can help, but I hope there would be a simpler way than using some expensive software?
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    • Profile picture of the author nizamkhan
      Originally Posted by Oberoth View Post

      I want to say that the list is not bought, it is a list of customers who bought products, and whenever a customer bought a product, they would be added to a certain category for those products in the database. From that database, the list of email adresses is taken. I want to add that the company I work for delivers very expensive systems for industries, so the list of email adresses in the database do not belong to individuals.

      What I do believe to be the case however, is that a lot of those email adresses are very old, and the database is made up of entries for old customers, not up-to-date contact details.

      In the past, an email marketing software delivered by our email hosting provider was used, called Interspire Email Marketer. Around 17% of the emails sent were opened, and before trying MailChimp I tried CounterMail, and I was able to use the list there. The results were the same, with around 17% of the emails opened, out of a list of around 3000 email addresses.

      I think what I am going to have to do is find some way to verify the email addresses. What kind of software is usually used for this? The software in the link from nizamkhan seems rather simple. A company called Clickback also sent me a PM, saying that they have a software that can help, but I hope there would be a simpler way than using some expensive software?
      Well, I don't know if you checked it or not. But, the link I gave you they have the API or Bulk verify option. You can check it by going to their plans & pricing section.

      - Nizam
      Signature
      [FREE DOWNLOAD] My list of 101 FREE Tools and Services for Online Marketers!
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
      Originally Posted by Oberoth View Post

      I want to say that the list is not bought, it is a list of customers who bought products, and whenever a customer bought a product, they would be added to a certain category for those products in the database. From that database, the list of email adresses is taken. I want to add that the company I work for delivers very expensive systems for industries, so the list of email adresses in the database do not belong to individuals.

      What I do believe to be the case however, is that a lot of those email addresses are very old, and the database is made up of entries for old customers, not up-to-date contact details.

      In the past, an email marketing software delivered by our email hosting provider was used, called Interspire Email Marketer. Around 17% of the emails sent were opened, and before trying MailChimp I tried CounterMail, and I was able to use the list there. The results were the same, with around 17% of the emails opened, out of a list of around 3000 email addresses.

      I think what I am going to have to do is find some way to verify the email addresses. What kind of software is usually used for this? The software in the link from nizamkhan seems rather simple. A company called Clickback also sent me a PM, saying that they have a software that can help, but I hope there would be a simpler way than using some expensive software?
      Lots of companies built lists of emails like this before there were so many rules and regulations and TOS about SPAM; there is nothing wrong with what they have done, its the email landscape that has changed.

      If you still have a relationship with your email provider, if you haven't already, you could try mailing the list of people an incentive email and see who takes you up on it.
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