Sticks and Stones...

...may break your bones, but inactive subscribers may hurt you.

At the MarketingSherpa Email Summit a few weeks back, Rich Crossett, Newsletter Manager, for CNET’s Tech Republic suggested that questioning your newsletter recipients can help scrub your database of names that aren't able to see the relevancy in your content.

"We asked inactives why the remained on our list even though they hadn't opened or clicked in 90 days. Some of them responded that they didn't want to hurt our feelings by unsubscribing."

So, while these subscribers may not want to hurt your feelings, they are unintentionally hurting your KPIs. Open rates are generally calculated by dividing the number opened by the number delivered. Subscribers who receive your message, but haven't opened it in quite some time are negatively affecting your open rate.

Consider Rich's advice. Survey your inactive subscribers. Find out why they haven't unsubscribed. Perhaps you could find the key to better open rates by asking what they are looking for in content. If it makes sense for your newsletter, implement the suggestions your subscribers provide you. However, if they are truly ready to go, set them free.