Is it harmful to send to unengaged users during email warmup, and how can I avoid spam traps and improve data quality?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from ConvertKit advises regularly cleaning your list of unengaged subscribers. This reduces the risk of spam complaints and improves your sender reputation. Implement a clear sunset policy to automatically remove inactive users.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that list cleaning services don't solve the root issues of data quality and subscription processes. Emphasizes explicit permission, bot-prevention, double opt-in, and tools like Kickbox for signup form issues, but only after exhausting other options.
Email marketer from HubSpot says that improving data quality involves implementing double opt-in, regularly cleaning your list to remove invalid or unengaged addresses, and using progressive profiling to gather more information from subscribers over time.
Marketer from Email Geeks highlights that lead validation software is unlikely to find spam traps that harm your reputation and confirmed/double opt-in is the only legitimate way to ensure they don't wind up on your list.
Email marketer from Reddit user EmailExpert123 explains that sending to unengaged users is a quick way to get blacklisted. Focus on those who actively open and click your emails. Regularly prune your list of inactive subscribers, implement a double opt-in process, and use an email verification service to minimize bad addresses from the start.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce shares that regularly cleaning your email list is key to preventing bounces, complaints, and spam traps. List validation tools will help, but understanding the source of the data and implementing double opt-in are critical.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests treating the send to unengaged users as a mandatory broadcast by using a separate IP and subdomain to isolate any negative impact.
Email marketer from Sendinblue responds that sending to unengaged users during a warm-up phase is generally not recommended. Focusing on engaged subscribers helps establish a positive sender reputation. Improving data quality involves implementing double opt-in, regularly cleaning lists, and segmenting based on engagement.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum user User42 shares that avoiding spam traps means practicing good list hygiene. Never purchase lists, always use double opt-in, and regularly remove unengaged users. Email validation services can catch some typos, but the best defense is a clean, organically grown list.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that sending to unengaged users can harm your deliverability. Implement a sunset policy to remove inactive subscribers, use segmentation to target engaged users, and ensure a clear and easy unsubscribe process.
Email marketer from Mailchimp advises regularly cleaning your audience to remove unengaged subscribers. Sending to these users increases the risk of spam complaints and negatively impacts deliverability. Mailchimp also recommends using double opt-in to improve data quality from the start.
Email marketer from Omnisend responds that you should segment your email list based on engagement to avoid sending campaigns to people who no longer want to receive your emails. Sending to unengaged recipients can result in lower engagement metrics and increased complaints.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor explains that sunset policies are a crucial part of list hygiene. Use data to determine when subscribers are no longer engaging with your content and remove them from your mailing list.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains the importance of a sunset policy for inactive subscribers. Failing to sunset inactive subscribers can negatively affect deliverability as engagement drops.
Expert from Email Geeks explains the purpose of warming up an email list is to show recipients want your mail. Sending to unengaged users undermines this process.
Expert from Spam Resource, Steve Linford, explains that sending to unengaged subscribers risks damaging your sender reputation, which affects deliverability.
Expert from Word to the Wise, Dennis Dayman, emphasizes that consistent list hygiene is crucial. He says neglecting list hygiene leads to deliverability problems due to increased spam complaints and engagement metrics that impact sender reputation.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC describes email authentication methods like SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Implementing these will help improve sender reputation and prevent spam traps.
Documentation from SparkPost responds that low engagement rates signal to ISPs that your emails aren't wanted, impacting deliverability. Focusing on engaged users, using double opt-in, and removing inactive users are crucial for maintaining a healthy sender reputation.
Documentation from Google explains that sender reputation is a key factor in deliverability. Sending to unengaged users can negatively impact your reputation because they are more likely to mark your messages as spam, which is bad for sender reputation.
Documentation from Microsoft shares best practices for sending bulk email, emphasizing the importance of obtaining consent before sending messages. Sending to unengaged users, especially without prior consent, is likely to result in spam complaints and damage your sending reputation.