How should I define unengaged subscribers for removal from my email list?

Email marketer from Litmus shares that regularly cleaning your email list by removing unengaged subscribers improves your sender reputation and deliverability. They suggest defining unengaged based on opens, clicks, and website activity.

Email marketer from HubSpot explains that identifying inactive subscribers involves tracking opens and clicks, segmenting based on engagement, and setting a re-engagement strategy. They suggest suppressing those who don't respond to re-engagement efforts.

Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailMarketingGuru recommends a 90-day to 6-month window for identifying unengaged subscribers, depending on sending frequency. They suggest a re-engagement campaign before removing them.

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests the definition of unengaged depends on the target group and how often you send, but mostly it's something between 6 and 18 Months.

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares they start to see a dip in deliverability starting at 3 months of non-engagement based on their reporting.

Email marketer from StackOverflow user EmailPro suggests a combination of factors should be used to define unengaged users, including no opens or clicks in a rolling 6-month period, lack of website activity, and high bounce/complaint rates.

Email marketer from Sendinblue recommends implementing a re-engagement campaign for contacts who haven't opened or clicked your emails in a few months. If they don't respond to the re-engagement campaign, consider removing them to protect your sender reputation.

Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog explains that unengaged subscribers are those who haven't opened or clicked on your emails in a while. They recommend setting a specific timeframe, like 6 months, and then removing subscribers who haven't engaged within that period.

Email marketer from Email on Acid responds that list hygiene is crucial for deliverability. Identify and remove subscribers who haven't engaged (opens/clicks) in 6-12 months. Send a 'win-back' campaign before removing them completely.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares they have read 6 months is a good time frame to class someone as unengaged, but their current org goes out to 1 year, but they don't send fundraisers to greater than 6 months.

Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests other metrics exist other that email -website logins and activity count as well.

Email marketer from Mailchimp shares that unengaged subscribers are those who haven't opened or clicked in a long time. It’s important to define ‘long time’ based on sending frequency and typical engagement patterns. Mailchimp advises segmenting and then removing truly unengaged contacts to improve deliverability.

Expert from Email Geeks explains there is no hard and fast rule, but the idea is that people who are not interacting with your mail (at the webmail providers) can hurt your overall reputation and bring down your delivery if they’re on your list for too long. Suggests senders should make the choice based on their customer base and how they interact with your mail.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that senders should pay attention to subscriber engagement and how it relates to potential list bombing or spam complaints. Cleaning lists to remove unengaged users is essential to protect sender reputation.

Expert from Email Geeks explains there's no universal rule, not even "unengaged subscribers should be removed". It all depends on what you're doing.

Documentation from SparkPost explains that tracking engagement metrics like opens, clicks, and unsubscribes is vital for identifying unengaged subscribers. Set up automated processes to flag and potentially remove contacts who consistently show no engagement.

Documentation from Microsoft SNDS explains that sender reputation is affected by user engagement. Low engagement and high complaint rates from recipients impact IP reputation and deliverability. Regular list cleaning is recommended to maintain a positive reputation.

Documentation from AWS SES shares monitoring bounce and complaint rates are key indicators of list quality. High rates of either suggest the presence of unengaged or invalid subscribers, which should be addressed through list cleaning.

Documentation from RFC-Editor explains that permanent bounce handling (following RFC standards) is crucial for identifying invalid or inactive email addresses. Hard bounces indicate the address is permanently undeliverable and should be removed immediately.

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools emphasizes that keeping spam rates low is essential. High spam complaint rates from unengaged users can negatively impact sender reputation. Removing those who consistently mark emails as spam is critical.