Keeping it Clean

So, you have a large email list. Congratulations! Your open and click-through percentages must be off the charts…

They’re not?

Are there hundreds of subscribers who haven’t opened, clicked or responded to your message for a long time? These addresses aren’t bouncing and these subscribers aren’t filing spam complaints. Harmless, right?

Wrong.

These unopened emails are costing you money and skewing the accuracy of your open, click-through and conversion rates.

It may be time for a little spring cleaning and remove those dusty names from your list, without removing good email addresses.

Recognize the Non-Responders

Segment your list by using the tracking capabilities available in your email software to isolate email addresses that have had no open activity for a relevant amount of time. – Depending on the nature of your email it may be six months for a weekly message, or two years for a quarterly message.

Create New Groups

Create a new list of your non-responders who will receive a re-opt-in message. When a subscriber clicks to re-opt in, they will be segmented into a new group for tracking and future message purposes.

Your Re-Opt-In Should Include:

• Text Format: It is possible your HTML message has caused a block or triggered a spam filter.
• Subject Line: Your subject line should be clear and to the point. Notice regarding your eSubscription to (Your newsletter here).
• Re-Opt-In Link: Provide a link so your subscribers can let you know they are still interested.
• What’s New: Link to a hosted HTML version of your latest issue.
• Unsubscribe Link: In addition to the unsubscribe link, a statement should be included that informs your subscriber that if they choose not to re-opt-in, they will be removed from the list in 30 days.

Measure Your Success

Monitor your results to track how many re-opt-ins you receive.

Last Call

Three weeks in to your spring cleaning, remind those who haven’t re-opted-in that time is running out and they will be removed in one week.

Remove Non-Responding Subscribers
After your 30 day re-opt-in period has passed, remove the non-responders from your list. Be prepared that it may be your entire re-opt-in list. Once these subscribers are removed from your list you will have a much clearer view of your open, click-through and conversion rates.


You may wonder why these non-responding subscribers remained on your list for so long. A few reasons include:

• They have abandoned or rarely access their email account
• They have left a company but their email address has not been disabled
• The email has been blocked or filtered since day one
• A text-only subscriber may never click a link
• A subscriber has lost interest and chooses to delete you message rather than unsubscribe.