How do I target inactive email users without hurting my domain reputation?

Summary

Targeting inactive email users without harming domain reputation requires a comprehensive strategy incorporating permission-based marketing, list hygiene, and proactive monitoring. Segmentation is key to isolating inactive users for targeted re-engagement campaigns with incentives and value propositions. Regular list cleaning, including implementing a sunset policy, is crucial for removing unengaged subscribers. A gradual ramp-up approach for re-engagement minimizes risk, complemented by A/B testing and personalization to optimize engagement. Providing easy unsubscribe options respects user preferences and reduces spam complaints. Monitoring tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS offer insights into domain reputation. Feedback Loops (FBLs) and suppression lists help manage spam complaints and prevent sending to problematic addresses. Adhering to email authentication standards (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) establishes trust with email providers. Fundamentally, deliverability is earned through responsible practices, and strategies should be grounded in understanding the client's risk tolerance and adhering to relevant regulations.

Key findings

  • Segmentation and Re-engagement: Segmenting inactive users and targeting them with value-driven re-engagement campaigns is critical.
  • List Hygiene is Paramount: Regular list cleaning, including sunsetting inactive users, is crucial for maintaining a healthy sender reputation.
  • Gradual Ramp-Up Minimizes Risk: Gradually increasing the volume of emails to inactive users allows for monitoring and mitigation of potential issues.
  • Personalization and A/B Testing Optimize Engagement: Personalizing re-engagement emails and A/B testing different approaches improve response rates.
  • Monitoring Tools Provide Insights: Monitoring tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS offer valuable data on domain and IP reputation.
  • Authentication Builds Trust: Implementing email authentication standards (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) increases trust with email providers.
  • Permission-Based Marketing is Essential: Gaining and maintaining explicit permission from subscribers is fundamental.

Key considerations

  • Understand Client Risk Tolerance: Consider the client's risk tolerance and ensure they understand the potential downsides of targeting inactive users.
  • Define Clear Inactivity Thresholds: Establish specific criteria for defining inactive users and implementing a sunset policy.
  • Comply with Data Privacy Regulations: Ensure all re-engagement practices comply with relevant data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
  • Monitor and Respond to Feedback: Regularly monitor feedback loops and suppression lists, and promptly address any issues.
  • Value Proposition is Key: Craft compelling re-engagement messages that clearly communicate the value of remaining subscribed.
  • Easy Unsubscribe Options: Provide clear and easily accessible unsubscribe options.
  • Remember Deliverability is Earned: Approach re-engagement with a mindset that deliverability is earned and not guaranteed.

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

To target inactive email users without harming domain reputation, a multi-faceted approach is recommended. Segmentation allows for isolating and specifically targeting inactive users with re-engagement campaigns featuring incentives and value propositions. Regular list cleaning, including implementing a sunset policy (automatically removing users after a defined period of inactivity), is crucial. A gradual ramp-up approach to re-engagement campaigns, coupled with A/B testing and personalization, optimizes engagement. Providing easy unsubscribe options and prioritizing permission demonstrate respect for user preferences. These strategies collectively mitigate risks and maintain a healthy sender reputation.

Key opinions

  • Segmentation: Segmenting inactive users is critical for targeted re-engagement and preventing damage to overall sender reputation.
  • Re-engagement Campaigns: Re-engagement campaigns should offer incentives and highlight the value of staying subscribed.
  • List Cleaning: Regular list cleaning through removing consistently unengaged users is vital for deliverability.
  • Sunset Policy: Implementing a sunset policy automates the removal of long-term inactive users after a final re-engagement attempt.
  • Gradual Ramp-Up: A gradual ramp-up approach to re-engagement minimizes risk, starting with engaged users and incrementally adding inactive ones.
  • A/B Testing: A/B testing re-engagement campaign elements optimizes for improved engagement rates.
  • Personalization: Personalizing re-engagement emails improves relevance and appeal to inactive users.
  • Easy Unsubscribe: Providing an accessible unsubscribe option reduces spam complaints and improves sender reputation.
  • Value Proposition: Re-engagement emails should remind users of the value they receive from being subscribed.

Key considerations

  • Sender Reputation: Prioritize maintaining a positive sender reputation to ensure email deliverability.
  • Segmentation Strategy: Carefully define segmentation criteria to accurately identify truly inactive users.
  • Re-engagement Messaging: Craft compelling re-engagement messages that offer tangible value to the recipient.
  • Inactivity Threshold: Determine an appropriate inactivity period for implementing a sunset policy.
  • Monitoring Metrics: Track key metrics like bounces, spam complaints, and engagement rates during re-engagement campaigns.
  • Legal Compliance: Ensure re-engagement practices comply with data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
  • User Experience: Design a positive user experience throughout the re-engagement process, including easy unsubscribe options.
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackOverflow recommends a gradual ramp-up approach when emailing inactive users. Start by sending to a small, highly engaged segment and gradually increase the volume to inactive users, monitoring metrics like bounces and spam complaints.

June 2022 - StackOverflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue shares the importance of creating re-engagement campaigns specifically designed for inactive users. These campaigns should offer incentives or highlight the value of staying subscribed, encouraging users to become active again.

September 2021 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus recommends personalizing your re-engagement emails to resonate better with inactive users. Use their name, past purchase history, or other relevant data to make the email feel more targeted and relevant.

April 2021 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid shares to A/B test your re-engagement campaigns to optimize messaging and subject lines for inactive users. Experiment with different approaches to see what resonates best and improves engagement rates.

April 2023 - EmailOnAcid
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks advises against mixing active and inactive users because inactives risk the deliverability of the actives. Suggests trying to re-activate inactives and if that doesn't work, cull them.

March 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from SuperOffice shares that making it easy for inactive users to unsubscribe is a good practice. A clear and visible unsubscribe link shows respect for their preferences and reduces the likelihood of them marking your emails as spam.

December 2022 - SuperOffice
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot explains that regular list cleaning is crucial. Removing inactive users who consistently don't engage helps maintain a healthy sender reputation and improves deliverability rates for active subscribers.

July 2021 - HubSpot
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora recommends focusing on the value proposition in re-engagement emails. Remind inactive users of the benefits they receive from being subscribed, such as exclusive content, discounts, or updates they might be missing out on.

January 2022 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that you should segment your email list to identify and isolate inactive users. This allows you to target them separately with re-engagement campaigns, preventing them from negatively impacting your overall sender reputation.

July 2024 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that implementing a sunset policy is a useful approach. This involves defining a period of inactivity (e.g., 6 months) after which users receive a final re-engagement attempt. If they remain inactive, they are automatically removed from the list.

December 2022 - Reddit

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

Targeting inactive email users requires a risk-minimized approach focused on permission and list quality. Removing unengaged subscribers is essential to protect domain reputation, as deliverability is earned. While list validation tools remove undeliverable addresses, they don't address the broader issues of sending to inactive users. Sending to users who engage with other brands does not guarantee they want mail from you, potentially leading to spam reports. Proper subscriber management, including sunsetting inactive users, is crucial for maintaining a positive sender reputation, as sending to disengaged users negatively impacts metrics and deliverability. Understanding client's risk tolerance and ensuring they understand the downsides of sending to inactive users is also a key consideration.

Key opinions

  • Risk Minimization: Taking a perspective of risk minimization is crucial to protect deliverability when targeting inactive users.
  • Permission is Paramount: Obtaining and maintaining permission is fundamental for email deliverability and protecting sender reputation.
  • List Quality: Maintaining a high-quality list by removing unengaged subscribers is essential.
  • Subscriber Management: Proper subscriber management, including sunsetting inactive users, is crucial.
  • Relevance is Key: Engagement with other brands does not guarantee interest in your mail, increasing spam risk.
  • List Validation Tools Limitations: List validation tools only remove undeliverable addresses and do not solve the problem of sending to unengaged users.

Key considerations

  • Client Risk Tolerance: Understand and consider the client's risk tolerance and ensure they understand the downsides.
  • Deliverability is Earned: Recognize that deliverability is not a right but must be earned through responsible sending practices.
  • Sunset Policy Implementation: Implement a sunset policy to automatically remove inactive users.
  • Understanding the Downsides: Ensure the client understands the negatives of sending to inactive users.
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains that permission is paramount and maintaining list quality by regularly removing unengaged subscribers is essential to protect domain reputation. They emphasize deliverability is earned, not a right.

July 2024 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that list validation tools will remove undeliverable addresses, but won’t do anything about the bigger problems of sending to inactive users.

March 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise details that proper subscriber management, including sunsetting inactive users, is crucial for maintaining a positive sender reputation. Sending to disengaged users negatively impacts metrics and deliverability.

March 2022 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares the risk that a recipient interacting with one brand doesn't guarantee they want mail from another, and may report it as spam.

February 2025 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests taking a perspective of risk minimization and figuring out what can be done to lower the chances that good mail is going to be hurt. Mentions a playbook of suggestions and the importance of understanding the client's perspective to ensure they understand the risks involved.

December 2022 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Targeting inactive email users without damaging your domain reputation requires careful monitoring and adherence to best practices. Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS are essential for monitoring domain and IP reputation with Gmail and Outlook.com respectively, helping identify deliverability issues related to inactive users. Setting up Feedback Loops (FBLs) with major email providers allows for the prompt removal of users who mark emails as spam. Utilizing suppression lists ensures that previously unsubscribed or problematic addresses are not targeted, protecting sender reputation. Implementing email authentication standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC builds trust with email providers, reducing the likelihood of emails being filtered as spam, even when sent to inactive users.

Key findings

  • Monitoring Tools: Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS provide crucial data for monitoring domain and IP reputation.
  • Feedback Loops: Feedback Loops (FBLs) enable timely removal of users who mark emails as spam.
  • Suppression Lists: Suppression lists prevent sending to addresses that have previously unsubscribed, bounced, or marked emails as spam.
  • Email Authentication: Email authentication standards (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) build trust with email providers and reduce spam filtering.

Key considerations

  • Regular Monitoring: Consistently monitor your domain and IP reputation using available tools.
  • Prompt Action: Take prompt action to address any negative feedback received through FBLs or monitoring tools.
  • List Hygiene: Maintain clean and up-to-date suppression lists to avoid sending to problematic addresses.
  • Authentication Implementation: Properly implement and maintain email authentication standards.
Technical article

Documentation from RFC explains the importance of setting up feedback loops (FBLs) with major email providers. FBLs provide information about spam complaints, allowing you to promptly remove users who mark your emails as spam, including potentially inactive ones.

September 2021 - RFC-Editor
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft shares that using Sender Network Data Services (SNDS) provides data about your IP address's reputation with Outlook.com users, enabling you to identify and address any negative impact from sending to inactive addresses.

March 2024 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost explains that using suppression lists helps you to avoid sending to addresses that have previously unsubscribed, bounced, or marked your emails as spam. This protects your sender reputation by preventing you from emailing known problematic addresses.

May 2023 - SparkPost
Technical article

Documentation from Google explains that using Google Postmaster Tools allows you to monitor your domain's reputation with Gmail users. This helps identify any deliverability issues and understand how inactive users might be affecting your sending reputation.

January 2024 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from IETF explains that following email authentication standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for establishing trust with email providers. Properly authenticated emails are less likely to be filtered as spam, even when sending to inactive users.

December 2022 - IETF