Delete Unopens From Email List?

I would not delete anyone. Aweber is not 100% reliable, and I would not assume any other autoresponder is either. The suggestion to segment the list is a good one.

If cost is a concern, such as paying Aweber for the subscriber numbers, maybe try segmenting, then export and make an account somewhere else. Although I prefer Aweber's functionality, GetResponse for example has better rates I think. Or grab one of the many free self-hosted things and put this list there.

I overlapped the post asking about weeding out deadbeats. Let me suggest a different question: "How do I identify the best subscribers and how should I treat them differently". Instead of thinking about a problem, maybe you can look for an opportunity.

In Aweber, you can see opens and clicks for HTML messages - I don't know how reliable Text messages are, and maybe someone else can chime in here. But the only solid information you have is what Aweber shows you on the positive side. You may be missing some positives (opens, clicks), but you can be certain of the openers and clickers you do see. So, given that this is the most accurate information you have, I would say this is what you should act on. Make a segment of openers and clickers, and give them some extra value. It will pay off.

One last thing, the non-openers and non-clickers can also have value. These are the people you are not too concerned with. That makes them an excellent resource for trying out different things, split testing, etc. Make it a challenge to get a response from them, and any success you have will be extremely valuable.

Rather than weeding out the dead e-mails which would
be inaccurate, instead focus on identifying your most
active subscribers.

Make them offers to do something. E.g. to click on a
trackable link, or invite them to join another list to get
a free report or buy a paid product.

That way you'll find out who your most active subcribers
are and that's where the real money is and therefore that's
where you should focus your resources on.

That said, you can never tell if or when some of your other
subscribers will become active again.

Dedicated to mutual success,

Shaun

Another consideration may be to ask is it worth to keep inactive subscribers for 90days, 6months, or years? My cutoff is 90days, because what I found after testing is that less than 5% actually buy after 90 days. Your mileage may vary, but I do generate tons of leads and my model is to quickly sort buyers, not to cultivate.

Most of the advice in this thread is well intentioned but wrong, dated
information from 3-4 years ago or more.

I'd recommend everyone here review our site for topics on re-engagement
campaigns and overall subscriber engagement.

In 2011, culling inactive subscribers is essential to healthy email delivery
and overall campaign performance. Use segments to divide your subscribers
based on their recency of engagement and deliver your messages to them.

Email inbox providers measure your reputation based on subscriber
engagement with opens, clicks, replies, deletes, spam complaints,
etc. Fail to act upon what your subscribers are doing or not doing
when they receive your emails and you *will* get relegated to the
spam folder eventually.

Don't believe me? Do some reading on the Google Priority Inbox for
a bit of public information on how Gmail is changing their algorithms
to filter wanted emails.

Email in 2011 isn't just about what people originally requested, it's
about what they continue to want and request more of based on their
behavior.