17 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
17 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

I culled the crap out of my list...

by Tim_Carter
13 replies
I mean that figuratively and literally.

I have been building my list since 2005, so I had a fairly big list. The problem was my click and open rates weren't very good (<20%).

Anyway I decided to move from Aweber to Getresponse for a few reasons that I won't bore you with. Personal preference.

So I could have imported all my lists and been done with it. I did import my buyers lists but that is all.

I then set up a form on my blog for people to resubscribe if they wanted to. I sent an email out to my Awebwe lists (not the buyers lists).

Basically I just said I was moving autoresponders and if they wanted to continue to follow me to re-subscribe.

I sent it out twice, and then a goodbye email when I closed my account.

So basically my list is now one third the size it was, which more or less jives with my open rates.

Theoretically I now have people that want to hear what I'm doing business wise etc. The uninterested and inactive are now gone.

Haven't sent out anything yet, but I expect much higher open and click rates. Not to mention I am saving a bunch of money being able to take a lower tier on Getresponse.

Anyone else done this?
#crap #culled #list
  • Profile picture of the author Marketing Fool
    I'll be curious to see what happens when you DO send something out...will you update us?
    Signature
    Learn to CODE at Codemy.com - It's Pretty Awesome!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871566].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
      An old mentor of mine moved his 23k list from another
      provider TO AWeber.

      Before doing so, he initiated a migration e-mail campaign
      to maximize the number of people moving over to his new
      provider.

      After a month, his list had shrunk to around 9k.

      However, although his list shrunk massively, he didn't
      notice a significant drop in his monthly sales figures
      in the months after the migration.

      So, in his case, the migration process filtered out the
      people who were interested (vs. uninterested) and he
      ended up with list of people who actually cared about
      hearing from him.

      Dedicated to mutual success,

      Shaun
      Signature

      .

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871590].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Tim_Carter
    Yes I'll come back and update. I don't hammer my list so won't be until month end.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871572].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
      I done it yesterday with 9 month inactives. It's liberating and it was well overdue.

      A lot of people only clear out their unsubs, but it's important to consider the inactives too since they fill your list full of dead weight and costs money.

      The more cautious amongst us might wish to consider segmenting the inactives first, hitting them with a broadcast of some sort (as a final test) to see if any can be salvaged.

      Failing that, dump em'.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871594].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Alex Blades
        Sounds more like spring cleaning, I imagine your list will be more responsive now, that you got rid of the tire kickers and only have people that want to be on your list. I think this could work out great for you
        Signature
        " I knew that if I failed, I wouldn't regret that.
        But I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. "

        ~ Jeff Bezos

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871623].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author WillR
          Originally Posted by Alex Blades View Post

          Sounds more like spring cleaning, I imagine your list will be more responsive now, that you got rid of the tire kickers and only have people that want to be on your list. I think this could work out great for you
          A list doesn't just become more responsive because you cull it.

          I mean sure, the open rates and click through rates might jump up now but what does that really mean? You still have the same number of people opening the emails as before. You have just removed those who didn't open the emails. So is the list actually more responsive? As a percentage, yes. But in terms of actual opens, click throughs and sales, they shouldn't have changed much at all.
          Signature

          .


          .

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871755].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Alex Blades
            Originally Posted by WillR View Post

            A list doesn't just become more responsive because you cull it.

            I mean sure, the open rates and click through rates might jump up now but what does that really mean? You still have the same number of people opening the emails as before. You have just removed those who didn't open the emails. So is the list actually more responsive? As a percentage, yes. But in terms of actual opens, click throughs and sales, they shouldn't have changed much at all.
            That's true it does not make it more responsive, you are right. He atleast he has their interest, so it will be up to him to build a better relationship with them, to make it more responsive.
            Signature
            " I knew that if I failed, I wouldn't regret that.
            But I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. "

            ~ Jeff Bezos

            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871794].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author J Bold
    Yes many do this, some to subscribers who don't open an email for a couple months. A majority of emails on your list will eventually quit opening, won't see your emails as they're getting sent to spam, don't use that email address anymore, etc.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871618].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
    Think my list is due a clean up too.
    Signature
    ATTENTION WARRIOR: INCREDIBLE NEW POST AT NICHEHACKS.COM
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871638].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    I love doing this and I've removed as many as 23,000 subscribers before "without harm".

    I think it's smart to occasionally go through and remove the dead leads from your list. Plus most major autoresponders make it pretty easy to do so.

    Cheers,
    Coby
    Signature
    .
    .
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871833].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Alex Blades
    I love doing this and I've removed as many as 23,000 subscribers before "without harm".
    23k of dead weight I assume, since you are paying alot for them to be on the list. If they won't bother opting in again, I guess it's safe to assume they weren't opening your emails to begin with.
    Signature
    " I knew that if I failed, I wouldn't regret that.
    But I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried. "

    ~ Jeff Bezos

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7871855].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JasonBennet
    Erm it is good to have higher open rate and click through rate but does it covert to more sales? But it is a good ideal to cull the list once a while so that we will not be paying for unnecessary subscribers who did not open email.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7872025].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Malcolm Thomas
    I think you did great by removing the dead weight from your list. It was just costing you money that you could otherwise invest into building your business
    Signature
    Learn How To Make $100 Per Day Using This Dead Simple Method!

    The Easiest & Most Realistic $100 Per Day Method Ever Revealed!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7872099].message }}

Trending Topics