3 Signs Your Email Database Needs to Be Cleaned

Bounces and complaints and spam hits, oh my! If your bounce rates and spam trap hits are on the rise, it’s time to face the music. You might have a data hygiene issue. How do you know if your list is in need of a deep cleanse with email validation? Here are three signs your list might benefit from some email validation:

1. Your List is Old

Your newest subscribers are typically your most active. According to a MarketingSherpa report cited by the Direct Marketing Association, open rates average around 58 percent in the first thirty days…and then consistently fall over the next two years to a dreary 33 percent. Combine this decline in engagement with an overall attrition rate of approximately 12 percent each year, and you’re going to struggle to see results from your older lists.

To turn this around, scrubbing can be a great tool. However, as you remove dead addresses, supplement your scrub with an Email Change of Address (ECOA) service to replace abandoned email addresses with current ones.

2. You Just Released an Amazing Offer

Few things will grow your list like a terrific offer, whether it’s a free whitepaper or a 30-day trial. The problem is people may be opting in just to get their hands on this new offer. What’s more, if you’re using the word “free” in your offer, you need to be extra careful. Christina Gillick at Crazy Egg says freebie seekers are attracted to this word like moths to a flame but ultimately drag down the performance of your list like a ball and chain.

In order to prevent attrition post-offer, the main thing to do is to validate email addresses as they’re collected. By prompting users to make corrections when they enter invalid emails, you’ll improve the quality of the addresses you collect and, in turn, increase opportunities for revenue.

3. Your Emails Aren’t Converting like They Used to

If you’re not seeing the open and click through rates you used to, you might be sending emails to invalid addresses. And if that’s the case, you’re going nowhere fast.

Validating these addresses on a quarterly basis will keep your list in optimal, mail-ready condition. Not only will your bounce and complaint rates decrease, regular email validation can be a very effective and low-cost option to protect your sender reputation.

Clean data is the foundation for good deliverability, and deliverability is the foundation for your overall email marketing performance. Therefore, it’s critical to develop a regular strategy for keeping your list (and therefore your emails) fresh. Using a n email validation service is a fast, accurate and cost-effective solution. After all, more emails in the inbox means more opens, more clicks, more sales and better ROI.

Ready to see the difference email validation can make for your company? Click here to obtain a free email validation report!

Photo Credit: Luodanli