How can I justify the cost of email verification before a migration?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailExpert shares that the risk of not verifying a list, especially before a migration, far outweighs the cost. They suggest a bad list can lead to deliverability problems that are expensive to fix and that prevention is much cheaper in the long run.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that using email verification tools before a migration can prevent transferring 'dead weight' to the new system. They also note the advantage of avoiding paying for inactive or invalid contacts on the new platform.
Email marketer from NeverBounce Blog explains that email verification provides a tangible ROI by reducing bounce rates, improving sender reputation, and increasing deliverability. They highlight that the cost of verification is often less than the cost of sending emails to invalid addresses and the subsequent damage to sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email on Acid responds that email verification is critical for maintaining a positive brand reputation. Sending to bad addresses can lead to spam complaints and blacklisting, damaging the brand's credibility and deliverability over time.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce Blog shares that email verification helps in cost savings by eliminating sending to invalid, risky, or inactive email addresses, thus lowering bounce rates and improving engagement metrics. This leads to reduced costs associated with email sending and better ROI from email marketing campaigns.
Marketer from Email Geeks says their clients find the projected savings from email verification to be quite compelling.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares a strategy to justify email verification costs by calculating potential revenue loss from deliverability issues caused by bad addresses during migration, also shares insight in calculating cost savings based on reduced send volume expenses. She highlights that the upfront investment in verification ensures money isn't wasted on non-engaging addresses that could negatively impact the reach of viable subscribers.
Email marketer from LinkedIn user JohnSmith highlights the hidden costs of maintaining a dirty email list, including wasted marketing spend, decreased engagement, and potential blacklisting. They advocate for verification to avoid these pitfalls and maximize ROI.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests obtaining the average lifetime value of an email subscriber and using ISP-specific breakdowns to demonstrate the potential financial losses from major ISP blocks. While 3rd party hygiene isn't the only factor in avoiding blocks, it reduces unnecessary bounces and the overall risk.
Email marketer from Email Hippo Blog responds that email verification is justified by minimizing the risk of damaging sender reputation, which is crucial for deliverability. They emphasize that a good sender reputation translates to more emails reaching the inbox, leading to better engagement and conversions.
Email marketer from HubSpot Blog explains that email verification improves deliverability rates by reducing bounce rates and increasing engagement. They share that a clean list leads to better sender reputation, which makes it more likely that emails will reach the inbox.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Spamresource explains that maintaining good email list hygiene, including verification, is crucial for ensuring deliverability and avoiding spam traps. They suggest that the cost of verification is far less than the potential damage to sender reputation and business revenue caused by poor deliverability.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that cleaning your list regularly is essential for a healthy email program. Email Verification is a major component of list hygiene. If you aren't cleaning your lists, you're sending to spam traps and hurting your sending reputation.
Expert from Email Geeks asks if the new vendor charges per contact, noting the importance of not migrating and paying for unusable contacts. He also highlights the deliverability aspect, explaining that a bad list can lead to spam or silent deletion, resulting in no revenue and potentially misattributing blame to the new tool.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from SparkPost explains that regular list hygiene, including email verification, is critical for maintaining good sender reputation and deliverability. They suggest removing invalid and inactive email addresses to improve engagement metrics and reduce bounce rates.
Documentation from SendGrid explains that high bounce rates negatively impact sender reputation and can lead to deliverability issues. Verifying email addresses before sending reduces bounces and helps maintain a healthy sender reputation, ensuring emails reach the inbox.
Documentation from Mailjet responds that cleaning email lists reduces bounce rates, improves sender reputation, and boosts overall campaign performance. It's a cost-effective way to ensure that marketing efforts are focused on engaged and valid email addresses, yielding better results.
Documentation from AWS explains that using services like Amazon Pinpoint to validate email addresses prevents sending to non-existent or invalid addresses. This reduces hard bounces, protects sender reputation, and lowers the risk of being blocked by ISPs.
Documentation from GlockApps Blog explains that poor email deliverability, often caused by sending to invalid addresses, results in lost revenue and wasted marketing efforts. Investing in email verification is a proactive step to safeguard deliverability and protect revenue streams.