Email List Management: 7 Best Practices for 2024

Email list management is not about cleaning your list of inactive subscribers. While you may be tempted to mass-delete inactive email addresses from your list to see an instant (and admittedly impressive) rise in open rates, many experts discourage this practice. 

Dela Quist, CMO of Alchemy Worx, explains that even unopened emails influence recipients and have revenue-generating potential, and this is what we’ve seen in practice. Those seemingly disinterested people could come back to engage with your emails after several months, even without you lifting a finger. 

Plus, this inactive group provides a learning opportunity about how to effectively re-engage subscribers.

Let us help you revamp your email marketing strategy with these list management best practices that don’t involve removing inactive subscribers.

What is email list management?

Email list management is the practice of maintaining a high-quality list with segments so you can send more targeted emails and enjoy converting email marketing campaigns.

Email list management: 7 best practices

Include a double opt-in

Although large contact list numbers look impressive, they only bring up the costs in your email marketing campaign reports if there’s no value behind them. Double opt-in ensures that only explicitly consenting valid recipients join your list. 

A double opt-in requires an additional confirmation from your new subscribers. Below is a basic example of what that can look like. Remember to notify your new contacts in your initial opt-in form that they need to verify their email by clicking the link you sent them.

Another advantage of this method is improving your sender reputation score. It signals ISPs that you're a trustworthy sender and keeps you away from spam folders. Studies show that over 6% of emails sent end up in junk. That's part of the average 14% that get lost or undelivered. Keeping up a high reputation helps you improve your email deliverability which is the first step of your campaign's success.

Sometimes incentivized signups and gated content can be a great way to encourage people to opt in for your newsletter. Many companies use them in their signup form. However, we advise caution with overusing them. Some people don't want your emails, no matter the alluring freebie you give them.

Explain exactly what to expect in a welcome email

New subscribers are often at their most engaged level. After all, they've just taken action to start a relationship with you. Take advantage of this eagerness and make an immediate good impression by sending out solid welcome emails. Here's how Kate Spade did it, clearly setting expectations for newcomers. The discount doesn't hurt either, but notice how they didn't make it the center point.

Source: HubSpot

Here are some ideas for other things you can include in your welcome emails:

• A confirmation that the person is now a part of your subscriber list
• A simple thank you note
• Information about the frequency and topics of emails you'll send
• Any promotions or freebies you promised before the signup
• Links, videos and tips on how to use your site or services
• An introduction to your brand and its values
• A request to add your address to their safe sender list

Track your subscriber behavior and segment them

We've arrived at the part where email analytics software like SEINō comes in super handy. This tool gives you near real-time insights about unengaged subscribers and other email marketing KPIs that need improving.

It's a highly customizable system that lets you tailor the in-depth analysis to your needs. The advanced email reporting and segmentation features show your subscribers' exact behavior, engagement level and preferences. Based on this information, you can accurately segment your audience and create targeted campaigns that resonate with each group.

We would advise you to keep an eye on spam complaint rates and unsubscribes. This information shows you whether your emails bother your audience. A high ratio of spam to unsubscribes probably means you need to reassess your opt-out or opt-in policy.

SEINō includes a handy subscriber growth tracking functionality that lets you see how your customer base is developing. You can even set alerts that notify you about potentially worrying trends in your list. Let’s create a subscriber widget together:

Try to re-engage inactive subscribers

Unengaged subscribers are those who haven’t opened your emails or clicked through on any links in the last six to 12 months or more. 

Quist advises focusing on the subscriber behavior open rate to make re-engagement a constant practice in your email marketing campaign. Measure new openers and previous openers across a set period to be able to identify which of your frequencies, subject lines and offers are the most effective for encouraging opens.

The primary reasons for dropped engagement include:

• People ignoring several messages in a row causing their ESP to start sending your emails to their spam folder
• Customers losing interest in your product or having already solved the problem that you provide a solution for
• Recipients moving locations or jobs making your emails no longer relevant or not even reaching their address

All of the cases above are natural. Constant Contact research shows that the average open rate across industries is just below 37%; the average click rate hovers around 2%. However, don't ignore drops in your email deliverability or engagement. Instead, look for ways how you can re-engage those people.

Use these re-engagement email campaign examples to get inspired:

• Give disengaged subscribers a reason to check out your product or service again. For example, instead of pressuring audiences to return, Uber gave them a reason to do so and showed them they're constantly trying to improve themselves “for you.”

Source: HTML Email Gallery

• Take advantage of special occasions to rekindle relationships. Many customers would be more likely to treat themselves on their birthday or get caught up in the spirit of giving before the Christmas holidays. In this example, LevelUp sparks interest by making it personal, avoiding any sales-y language and giving the reader fun, clickable surprises.

Source: HTML Email Gallery

• Use the power of “we miss you” like Office Depot. They offer a couple of options, so the subscriber can choose what works best for them and doesn’t feel nagged to take action or otherwise be crossed off the list.

Source: MarTech

• Incentivize with tangible discounts, free shipping or other perks – many companies use this method combined with the “missing you” message. For example, Pottery Barn gives inactive subscribers 15% off the entire store. Another great touch is the personalized recommendations section and transparent categories list. They already give you ideas (with links!) for what you could use that discount for.

Source: RetainIQ

• Leverage time limits on offers, like this one from Jomashop. These could nudge customers who are on the fence about clicking through and a step away from raising your email conversion rate. A sense of urgency to take action before the deal ends could just push them over that edge.

Source: HTML Email Gallery 

Here's a short wrap-up of what works best in re-engagement campaigns. You can try out the different methods with SEINō's A/B testing capabilities to see which method works best for your particular target audience (but more on that later).

Source: LinkedIn

Remove only permanently undeliverable addresses

In 2023, Google announced a new policy for deleting completely unused accounts and their contents, so those will get automatically cleared off your list. This doesn’t mean inactive subscribers will get crossed off your list – nor should they. Google is only going after accounts that nobody’s using (not just based on Gmail data, but also Drive YouTube etc.), that don’t have two-factor authentication and are prone to hacks and identity thefts. That’s only good news for you. 

What’s more, your email marketing software probably automatically removes permanently undeliverable addresses, so you shouldn’t have to worry about your sender reputation in this regard. If not, you can change those settings to make sure it does. 

That means there’s no need for you to clear your list of anyone. Leave the unsubscribing to those who want to unsubscribe. Experts highlight that email activity alone doesn’t give a broad enough view of consumer behavior. An email analytics tool like SEINō can give you a good perspective of your email marketing success and list growth, but keep in mind that your customer relationships don’t end there. Even unopened emails can drive your customers to other channels – and you should monitor them, too.

Do A/B testing

A/B testing is super helpful because it helps determine what works best for your target audience in practice. SEINō allows you to send two campaigns to the same subscriber group. Then, the email campaign management software compares the achieved results in the in-built Data Explorer.

Here's an example of how you can view different markets' performance in SEINō.

Alternatively, you can send the same email campaign to two different audiences to see which group reacts better to a certain style of communication or offer.

Either method is valuable, as it lets you tweak every element of your email structure to make it specifically targeted and successful. The aspects you can test out include:

• Subject lines
• Email length
• Headers
• Colors and layouts
• Multimedia
• CTAs

Source: Zapier

Make it easy to unsubscribe and manage preferences

There's no point in keeping disinterested subscribers on your list. Adding a simple unsubscribe button is key – after all, you don’t want to keep your audience against their will. It also prevents their frustration of getting a ton of unwanted emails that could damage your brand reputation and increase your spam complaints.

Source: HubSpot

However, it's not just about convenience. New 2024 Google guidelines require everyone who sends over 5,000 emails daily to include an easy one-click unsubscribe option. This is necessary to keep your spam rates below 0.10% and ensure your messages get delivered properly.

Even though it may hurt you to lose some subscribers, it's important to stick to these best practices:

• Use clear language
• Make unsubscription and preference management easy to find and use
• Give your customers choices – they may want to receive only certain types of messaging
• Stay clear of whiny, rude, needy or otherwise unprofessional language
• Keep things simple – unsubscribing should be just a click or two away and never require logging in
• Provide links to other places customers can find you – unsubscribing doesn't necessarily mean the end of all interaction with your brand

One more thing – a high unsubscribe rate isn't good either. It may mean you need to rethink your strategy or restructure your emails to make them more valuable.

Conclusion

Hopefully, your subscriber list will be nice and healthy by this point. That is – if you were following along with our tips for proper email list management practices. The main thing to keep in mind is that list quality, not quantity, is what matters and that you should prioritize re-engaging subscribers instead of simply deleting them.

If you want to find more ways to improve your email marketing strategy, SEINō can help you. It's an invaluable resource for in-depth data about every aspect of your email campaigns. You can connect it to any email service provider, benchmark your campaigns against each other and even keep an eye on the transactional metrics of your emails.

Schedule a demo to improve your list quality and squeeze the most juice from your email marketing efforts.

Email list management: FAQs

How do I learn email list management? This process involves understanding aspects such as building, maintaining, segmenting and engaging with your email subscribers effectively. It's made much easier with email list management software and email analytics tools.
For example, SEINō analyzes your subscribers' preferences, engagement and behavior. You can then implement precise segmentation into your email list management. This lets you create highly effective campaigns that resonate with your audience which gives you a higher ROI and better customer relationships.

Why is email list management important? The best email list management practices from this article will help you in several ways. The main benefits include:
– Getting a better understanding of your audience and the segments that generate the most value
– Having more reliable data that leads to more personalized emails
– Achieving higher inbox placement as spam filters rely on user engagement
– Enjoying a higher return on investment from your email campaign
– Clearing your list of spam traps, invalid email addresses etc.
– Lowering email marketing costs, as most ESPs charge you based on your contact list or sending email volumes

How do email list cleaners work? List cleaners automatically remove invalid email addresses. This type of email marketing platform verifies aspects such as:
– The format and domain of email addresses
– MX record
– Spam traps
– Bounce rate
– Duplicate addresses
– Inactive subscribers

What is email list quality? This is when you focus less on the number of addresses in your list and more on their reliability. In the best-case scenario, your list should contain accurate, relevant, up-to-date and consenting emails. You should avoid duplicate, inactive and fake addresses. For a top-quality email list, ensure your subscribers are interested and engaged.