I just deleted 95% of my marketing email list. What??
I wanted to start with a cleaner list, with emails only from the last 3 years and in my case, only those that I knew who they were. Now, in the business I’m in (marketing and web development) this is pretty easy to do. If you’re a commerce business (and I am, too), I wouldn’t be so callous, but I might delete emails older than 8 years or more. The reason? Your list is stale. I promise it is. Mine was especially stale and I wanted to start with ONLY those that I KNEW – and even better, that I LIKED. Yes, I actually deleted people on my list that I knew I didn’t really want to do business with again. I was THAT choosy. So, if you’re reading this because I sent you an email about it then, well, I really like you. Thank you for being here. I deleted people who were not at their jobs (more than a few I knew for certain were retired) and I even had to delete a few dead people (knew that they’d passed), rest their souls.
In the process of cleaning the list, it was a little cathartic, actually. I exited a bad business partnership a decade ago, and some of those contacts were legacy from the time when I did that. It felt great knowing it’s JUST the people I’ve worked with in the last decade that I like, that still are in my orbit (even if I helped them, sent them on their way and watch their success from a distance now.)
Truthfully, even if you don’t do this from a highly personal way like I did it, there’s a really good reason to clean out your email list.
Stale lists = problems with deliverability to the real people on it
That’s right, those old emails which aren’t attached to people (they moved jobs, they retired, it was a fake email to begin with to get your content), these HURT your deliverability to the real people on your list. And you can largely do this by date (there are other strategies for list cleaning, below) – anything older than 5-8 years is probably degraded. Yes, there are those of us who ARE, in fact, using emails from 25 years ago (with really good spam filters!) but we are rare. And you can employ some “email list validator” tech to clean lists using your email service and the ever-effective breakup email.
Breakup emails are some of the most effective emails out there
You can, if you want to do this with a bit more precision, send everyone on your list an email telling them they’ll be deleted if you don’t hear from them (the breakup email) – and breakup emails have TONS of engagement. They do! It’s a crazy statistic, but it’s true. A good breakup email, well written, with a little humor and good content can actually reengage users to your email, especially at a time where social media kinda sucks, really. The people that reengage with your emails (click a button, resubscribe, etc.) THAT is your new list.
Are you delivering quality emails?
At the heart of list cleaning, you need to ask if you’re delivering value to your clients. Is your email helpful enough to them that they want to read it. Is it engaging enough that they want to read it? I’m going to begin doing something very different that I’ve never done before and lean in pretty heavily to not just the helpful marketing tips I’ve always used, but the mindset of a business owner – posts authentically written about the challenges, the bliss and the difficulties of owning a business. Very personal emails that pull heavily from my almost 37 years as an entrepreneur working with clients all over the world. The business world today for entrepreneurs is difficult, at best (I’m writing this in Q1 2025 and while I hope to update this in 3-4 years with better news, that might not exactly happen.) Economic “policy”, late-stage capitalism, a planet in peril, everyone glued to their phones but seeing nothing of value, a degradation of connection – it’s hard. BUT, entrepreneurship STILL affords business owners a remarkable life: flexibility to grab onto those personal connections, to spend time with your kids and family, to navigate life with aging parents (who may have run businesses themselves), to sip that cup of coffee on your front porch because you CAN (and nobody can tell you not to), to really be an amazing leader and boss for your staff. That kind of content – the connection kind, whatever that means for YOUR business and YOUR customers is what AI cannot replicate.
Understand the most crucial use of your email marketing list
I also have to directly communicate with clients that I host on my web servers (or manage their websites) to let them know of critical important information related to security and stability. So it’s crucial that I also update those emails regularly so I can ensure clients know I’m keeping their most important business and marketing asset safe and up to date. If you are a retailer, product updates are crucial information, as is emergency/weather closures and other pertinent data that your customers need to connect with you. Make sure THOSE emails are sent when necessary.
Reconnection with my current and recent clients (including adding clients in from the last year of work – something I forget to do on occasion) is important to me and I want to kick off this new content series with those clients that I would consider friends as well as clients. People I’d enjoy a cup of coffee with, at least, and maybe even an afternoon visit over tea. THAT is what we’re trying to achieve – real and deep connection with customers.
I also run a very transactional e-commerce business – so transactional that many customers might never NEED to buy from me again (boat registration stickers stay on their boats for the life of it) – although some do, when they get new boats! For that list, I leave the customer names (but only the purchasers, I don’t collect any email otherwise.) And they only hear from me once or twice, to sell them boat names or other fun stickers. For those that are repeat-customer commerce (most of you!) or service businesses, use the breakup email method, or you can run your list through a validation service to ensure those emails are the most up to date as they can be. There are a lot of list validators and even many email services offer this feature. At the least, remove your hard bounces from your email list (your service WILL do this for you.)
As social media degrades in quality, as people leave to “get off their screens”, as the algorithm hurts us more and more, email marketing is a valid and viable business asset that is worthy of your time to clean and maintain.
