Email Scrubbing: How to Clean Your Email List & Skyrocket Conversions

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. What Is Email Scrubbing?
  3. Importance of Keeping a Clean Email List
  4. How to Clean Email Lists: Step-by-Step Guide
  5. Ongoing Email List Maintenance
  6. Conclusion
  7. FAQs
Shopify - App image

Introduction

Imagine you've spent months or even years growing your email subscriber list, only to find that many of those contacts are not engaging with your content. It can be disheartening. However, maintaining a clean email list is crucial for successful email marketing campaigns. Having invalid or inactive subscribers can drastically reduce your open and click-through rates, increase spam complaints, and even harm your sender reputation. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the importance of email scrubbing, provide step-by-step directions to clean your email list, and discuss ongoing strategies to maintain a clean subscriber list.

By the end of this post, you will understand not just the 'how,' but also the 'why' of email scrubbing, equipping you to optimize your email marketing efforts effectively.

What Is Email Scrubbing?

Email scrubbing is the process of removing unengaged and invalid email addresses from your subscriber list. By doing this regularly, you ensure that your email marketing campaigns are targeted only at those who are genuinely interested in your content. This practice is pivotal for maintaining the overall health of your email list.

Types of Contacts to Remove

  1. Hard Bounces: These are email addresses that are permanently undeliverable due to reasons like spelling errors or non-existent domains.
  2. Soft Bounces: These are temporarily undeliverable addresses. Causes can range from a full inbox to a temporary server issue.
  3. Inactive Subscribers: Contacts who haven’t engaged with your emails over a certain period (e.g., six months to a year).
  4. Spam Complaints: Email addresses that have marked your emails as spam should also be removed.

Importance of Keeping a Clean Email List

You may be tempted to keep every subscriber you’ve gained, but a high subscriber count doesn't always equate to successful email marketing. Here’s why maintaining a clean list is essential:

Better & More Accurate Engagement Metrics

When your email list includes uninterested or invalid subscribers, it skews your engagement metrics. By removing these contacts, your open rates, click-through rates (CTR), and conversion rates will more accurately reflect your actual performance. A clean list ensures that only engaged, interested contacts whom you can effectively target are counted in these metrics.

Fewer Spam Complaints

Regular email scrubbing helps to spot and remove contacts likely to mark your emails as spam. Spam complaints can hurt your sender reputation and cause email providers to ban your messages from reaching other recipients' inboxes. Regularly eliminating disinterested contacts minimizes this risk.

Decrease in Bounced Emails

High bounce rates signal email providers that you might be a spammer, affecting your future deliverability. Removing hard and consistent soft bounces brings down your bounce rate, enhancing your email deliverability.

Improved Sender Reputation & Email Deliverability

A clean email list enhances all the aforementioned metrics, contributing to a better sender reputation. This results in improved deliverability, meaning your emails are more likely to land in the inbox rather than the spam folder.

Reduced Cost

Many email marketing services charge based on the number of subscribers or emails sent. Removing inactive or invalid contacts reduces your costs, thus enhancing your Return on Investment (ROI).

How to Clean Email Lists: Step-by-Step Guide

Cleaning your email list might seem daunting, but breaking it down into manageable steps makes it significantly simpler. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you:

1. Remove Hard Bounces and Invalid Addresses

First, access the reports section of your email marketing platform to locate email addresses that have hard bounced. These addresses should either be corrected for obvious errors (e.g., “gnail.com” instead of “gmail.com”) or removed from your list.

2. Monitor and Clean Up Soft Bounces

Soft bounces are temporary issues, but addresses that repeatedly soft bounce over 1-3 months should be considered for removal. Regular monitoring will help you identify these addresses.

3. Eliminate Duplicate Entries

Most email marketing services prevent duplicates, but occasional slips might happen. Export your email list into a spreadsheet, identify and remove duplicates to ensure each subscriber only receives your email once.

4. Identify Inactive Subscribers Through Email Segmentation

Create an email segment to isolate inactive subscribers. Depending on your platform, you can set criteria for inactivity, typically six months to a year. This helps in identifying contacts who aren’t engaging with your emails.

5. Send a Re-Engagement Campaign

Before purging inactive contacts, send a re-engagement email series to attempt to win them back. If they don’t respond after 2-4 targeted emails, remove them from your list.

6. Set Up a Regular Email Scrubbing Schedule

Regular maintenance is crucial. Schedule bi-annual email scrubbing to keep your list in top shape. Regularly monitor engagement metrics to identify when additional cleaning may be required.

Ongoing Email List Maintenance

After an initial thorough clean-up, maintaining list hygiene becomes easier. Here are a few ways to ensure your list stays clean:

Use an Email List Cleaning Service

If you have a large email list, consider using a specialized email scrubbing service. These services can save you time by automating much of the scrubbing process, though re-engagement efforts will still need to be managed manually.

Implement Lead Verification Strategies

Tools like OptinMonster's TruLead® can filter out invalid email addresses at the point of collection, ensuring only high-quality leads get added to your list.

Utilize Double Opt-ins

Double opt-ins require new subscribers to confirm their subscription, ensuring they are genuinely interested in your content and reducing the chances of inactive subscriptions.

Welcome Emails

Sending a welcome email to new subscribers can set the tone for future engagements, encouraging active participation from the start.

Conclusion

Cleaning your email list may seem counterproductive initially, but the long-term benefits are substantial. From improved engagement metrics and reduced costs to better deliverability and a stronger sender reputation, keeping a clean email list is essential for the success of your email marketing campaigns. Implementing a regular scrubbing schedule and ongoing maintenance strategies will ensure your list remains healthy and effective.

FAQs

What is email scrubbing?

Email scrubbing is the process of removing inactive and invalid email addresses from your subscriber list to improve deliverability and engagement rates.

How often should I clean my email list?

It's recommended to scrub your email list at least twice a year. However, you should monitor your email metrics continuously and consider additional cleanings if you notice a significant dip in engagement.

Can I automate email scrubbing?

Yes, you can use email list cleaning services to automate many aspects of email scrubbing. However, re-engaging inactive subscribers usually requires a manual or semi-automated approach.

What happens if I don't clean my email list?

Failing to clean your email list can lead to poor engagement metrics, high bounce rates, increased spam complaints, and a damaged sender reputation, all of which can significantly affect your email marketing effectiveness.

Are there tools to help with email scrubbing?

Yes, tools like OptinMonster’s TruLead® and other email list cleaning services can aid in maintaining a clean email list.

Ready to optimize your email marketing strategy? Put these email scrubbing tactics into action and enjoy the benefits of a clean, high-quality email list. Sign up with OptinMonster to start converting more subscribers today!