Summary
Cleaning an email list with steadily decreasing open rates requires a comprehensive strategy involving multiple tactics. A core element is identifying and removing unengaged subscribers (typically inactive for 3-12 months), along with invalid addresses and unsubscribes, to maintain good list hygiene and improve deliverability. Re-engagement campaigns should be used to attempt to revive interest before removal. Implementing double opt-in from the start and validating email addresses at signup helps prevent low engagement. It's also vital to address the root cause of declining open rates, considering content relevance, audience expectations, and general list hygiene practices. Segmentation, suppression lists, and sunset policies are valuable tools. Remember, fixed audiences naturally decline, so continuous subscriber acquisition is essential.
Key findings
- Engagement-Based Segmentation: Segmenting lists based on engagement allows for targeted re-engagement campaigns and more relevant content.
- Inactive Subscriber Removal: Removing unengaged subscribers (3-12 months) significantly improves deliverability and sender reputation.
- Double Opt-in: Using double opt-in prevents low engagement by ensuring subscribers genuinely want to receive emails.
- Email Validation: Validating email addresses upon signup prevents deliverability issues and reduces bounce rates.
- Root Cause Analysis: Declining open rates may stem from issues beyond list hygiene, such as irrelevant content or unmet audience expectations.
- Audience Decay: Fixed email audiences naturally decline over time, requiring continuous acquisition of new subscribers.
- Sender Reputation: Maintaining a clean list is essential for preserving a positive sender reputation, impacting deliverability.
- Suppression Lists: Using suppression lists ensures that you don't email known complainers, unsubscribes, or spam traps.
Key considerations
- Relevance and Expectations: Ensure email content is relevant and meets the expectations of your subscribers to maintain engagement.
- Sunset Policy: Implement a sunset policy to gracefully remove unengaged subscribers, giving them one last chance to interact.
- Subscriber Acquisition: Prioritize consistent efforts to acquire new, engaged subscribers to offset natural audience attrition.
- Frequency of Cleaning: Establish a regular schedule for cleaning your email list to maintain optimal deliverability.
- Reconfirmation Campaigns: Consider running reconfirmation campaigns to ensure subscribers still want to receive your emails.
What email marketers say
9 marketer opinions
Cleaning an email list with steadily decreasing open rates involves a multi-faceted approach. Strategies include running re-engagement campaigns, removing unengaged subscribers (those who haven't opened or clicked in 3-12 months), implementing double opt-in, and validating email addresses at signup. It's also important to look at the root cause of declining open rates, such as content relevance and recipient expectations. Segmentation and targeted re-engagement efforts are recommended before removing subscribers. Utilizing a suppression list and sunset policies are also effective practices.
Key opinions
- Re-engagement Campaigns: Sending targeted re-engagement campaigns to inactive subscribers can help revive interest.
- Subscriber Removal: Removing unengaged subscribers (3-12 months inactivity) improves deliverability.
- Double Opt-in: Using a double opt-in process prevents low engagement from the start.
- Email Validation: Validating email addresses upon signup prevents issues later on.
- Root Cause Analysis: Declining open rates may be due to content relevance or recipient expectations, not just list hygiene.
- Segmentation: Segmenting lists based on engagement and sending targeted emails enhances relevance.
- Suppression Lists: Using suppression lists helps avoid sending to known complainers or unsubscribes.
Key considerations
- Content Relevance: Ensure your email content meets recipient expectations to maintain engagement.
- Sunset Policies: Implement a sunset policy to gradually decrease email frequency before removing unengaged subscribers.
- Confirmed Opt-in: Consider implementing a Confirmed Opt-in or reconfirmation campaign.
- Root Cause: Look at the root cause of the problem and address issues with content or list hygiene methods.
Marketer view
Email marketer from StackOverflow responds that validating email addresses upon signup prevents issues later on. They also use a suppression list to avoid sending to known complainers or unsubscribes.
27 Feb 2025 - StackOverflow
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if you've been steadily mailing the list, then hygiene is unlikely to be your issue and you should look to see if you're meeting recipient expectations.
27 May 2023 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Maintaining a clean email list with declining open rates involves understanding that audience decay is natural and proactively managing subscriber engagement. Key strategies include focusing on engagement-based segmentation, removing inactive subscribers (typically those unengaged for 6-12 months), implementing sunset policies to gradually reduce email frequency before removal, and continuously adding new subscribers to counteract audience attrition.
Key opinions
- Audience Decay: Fixed audiences naturally decline over time if new subscribers aren't added.
- Engagement-Based Segmentation: Segmenting based on engagement allows for targeted strategies for different user groups.
- Inactive Subscriber Removal: Removing subscribers who haven't opened or clicked in 6-12 months improves deliverability.
- Sunset Policies: Gradually decreasing email frequency to unengaged subscribers before removal minimizes negative impact.
Key considerations
- Subscriber Acquisition: Continuously acquire new subscribers to offset natural audience decay.
- Engagement Definition: Define what constitutes 'engagement' for your audience to determine inactivity thresholds.
- Sunset Policy Implementation: Design a clear and gradual sunset policy to provide opportunities for re-engagement.
- Deliverability Impact: Understand how removing inactive subscribers positively impacts your overall email deliverability.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource shares that a key method is to implement a sunset policy, where you gradually decrease the frequency of emails to unengaged subscribers before ultimately removing them. This provides an opportunity for re-engagement while minimizing negative impact on deliverability.
2 May 2025 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that it's important to focus on engagement-based segmentation and removal. They suggest identifying subscribers who haven't opened or clicked in a significant period (e.g., 6-12 months) and removing them from active sending.
13 Oct 2024 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Maintaining a clean email list with steadily decreasing open rates is crucial for preserving a positive sender reputation and ensuring deliverability. Key actions involve removing invalid email addresses (hard bounces), unsubscribes, and users who haven't engaged for a period of time. Sending unwanted mail negatively impacts domain reputation and can lead to emails being marked as spam. Regularly suppressing unengaged subscribers and providing easy unsubscribe options are also important practices to avoid spam traps and maintain list hygiene.
Key findings
- Domain Reputation: Consistently sending unwanted mail harms domain reputation and leads to spam flagging.
- Invalid Address Removal: Removing hard bounces is critical for protecting sender reputation.
- Unsubscribe Options: Providing easy unsubscribe options is essential for compliance and user experience.
- Engagement Matters: Sending only to engaged users improves deliverability.
- Inactive Removal: Regularly removing inactive addresses improves sender reputation.
Key considerations
- List Hygiene: Prioritize consistent list hygiene practices to maintain a healthy email program.
- Sender Reputation: Understand the importance of sender reputation and how list cleaning impacts it.
- Compliance: Adhere to email marketing regulations and best practices for user consent and opt-out options.
- Spam Traps: Regularly clean your list to avoid hitting spam traps.
Technical article
Documentation from Validity (formerly ReturnPath) shares that maintaining list hygiene is essential for good deliverability. They recommend regularly removing invalid email addresses and suppressing unengaged subscribers to improve your sender reputation and avoid spam traps.
15 Aug 2024 - Validity
Technical article
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that good list hygiene involves removing invalid email addresses, unsubscribes, and users who haven't engaged in a while. This helps maintain a good sender reputation and avoid being listed as a spam source.
24 Nov 2023 - Spamhaus
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