Cleaning Your E-mail List?

by ovidiu
6 replies
Ok, I've searched the forum but I couldn't find anything on this.
Do you guys clean your email lists regularly?

For instance, i have the following stats on my last newsletter:

Opened 312 23.1%
Not opened 1041 76.9%

The only thing i remember reading about this is that you should never remove users that didn't open your emails, even if you may save money (email points in my case).
This has to do with brand awareness.
Users may not open it but they do remember your company name and in the long run it helps.

However, removing at least users who haven't open any newsletters in the last 3 monts could be a good choice.

What do you guys do about this?

Thanks
#cleaning #email #list
  • Profile picture of the author Scott Ames
    I went back and forth on this then decided to clean my list anyway. I got rid of a ton of old subscribers, but I suspect most were simply throw away email boxes and were not getting read. It seemed like everytime I sent a broadcast someone else on my list would bounce back with "mailbox full".

    How did I do it? I told the list that I was changing lists and offered them a gift to change to the new one. I gave them enough time and kept telling them it was coming.

    Another way to do it is keep the large list of goodies and duds and make a list of those that respond.
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  • Profile picture of the author winebuddy
    Good idea Scott! That's EXACTLY what I am going to do.

    I have 8700 with 800 opening.
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    • Profile picture of the author Scott Ames
      Originally Posted by winebuddy View Post

      Good idea Scott! That's EXACTLY what I am going to do.

      I have 8700 with 800 opening.
      Good job! I know there are two schools of thought on this. Some will say keep your list of 8,700 and dont' worry about nixies. Others are like me and want them gone.

      I suppose three months from when you sent it a few of the non-openers will suddenly decide to look at the email and click on something. Not everyone looks at email instantly.
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      • Profile picture of the author ovidiu
        Originally Posted by Scott Ames View Post

        Good job! I know there are two schools of thought on this. Some will say keep your list of 8,700 and dont' worry about nixies. Others are like me and want them gone.

        I suppose three months from when you sent it a few of the non-openers will suddenly decide to look at the email and click on something. Not everyone looks at email instantly.
        Maybe Google Analytics can help us here by comparing the number of clicks it reports with the number of opens reported by the email marketing software...
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  • Profile picture of the author davtom
    Don't forget that many email programs will not automatically open images in emails, which is how open rates are determined. Therefore this stastistic will not be completely accurate, like for example a click-through rate could be.

    The idea of offering a gift to people and telling them you will be changing lists is a good one.
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  • Profile picture of the author jacktackett
    Davtom is exactly right - open rates are a bit skewed so don't just think they're a bad addy because your system didn't record an open. Most hosted solutions will mark those that constantly bounce so you should consider deleting them. Mail box full - same thing. And every so often using other methods - such as Scott's is definitely in order.

    Good luck,
    --Jack
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