Is splitting email lists into high and low engagers an effective strategy for improving deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that good clients have seen improvements by sending first to the most engaged, then later to moderately engaged subscribers, but overall engagement of the mailstream is key.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares that email segmentation increases engagement which can improve deliverability. By targeting specific groups with tailored content the user is more likely to have the email land in their inbox.
Email marketer from Optinmonster shares that by segmenting the email list you can increase open and click rates and increase engagement. If you can engage more people you have more chances to convert them into a customer.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that splitting lists can lead to higher spam/unsubscribe/bounce rates and redundant management. Recommends segmenting by Openers, Clickers, Buyers, Abandoned Cart, and Unengaged. Sending a second email to non-engagers is a normal practice, but too many segments can be difficult to manage.
Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that segmenting by engagement level helps tailor content to subscriber interests, boosting open and click-through rates. By focusing on engaged users, it improves sender reputation and overall deliverability.
Email marketer from Litmus notes that while segmentation mainly improves ROI by delivering more relevant emails, a positive side effect is improved deliverability. Engaged subscribers are more likely to open and click, signalling to ISPs that your emails are wanted.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that segmentation helps improve deliverability by allowing marketers to send more relevant emails to specific groups, which increases engagement and reduces the likelihood of recipients marking emails as spam. They also advise segmenting out and suppressing unengaged contacts.
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that segmenting lists based on engagement allows you to send targeted content to those most likely to engage, boosting your sender reputation and improving deliverability. It also advises removing unengaged subscribers to avoid damaging your reputation.
Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that segmenting engaged subscribers can improve campaign performance by targeting the most receptive audience, leading to higher open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. This can positively influence sender reputation and deliverability.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that the tactic of sending to high engagers first is a reputation rehab tactic from Return Path. It can help in limited circumstances to improve reputation over time if being rate limited, but should not be a regular practice.
Email marketer from Reddit user r/emailmarketing responds that segmenting based on engagement (e.g., active vs. inactive users) can be beneficial for deliverability. Sending targeted emails to active users and re-engagement campaigns to inactive users can improve open rates and sender reputation.
Email marketer from Omnisend believes that cleaning lists, and creating segments such as highly engaged segments can ensure your content is seen. Removing old or non engaged email addresses from your contact list can stop you being marked as spam.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that segmenting email lists based on engagement can significantly improve deliverability. By targeting engaged subscribers with relevant content, you can increase open rates and click-through rates, which positively impacts your sender reputation.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise (Laura Atkins) shares that cleaning email lists regularly is crucial for email deliverability. She recommends removing inactive subscribers to protect your sender reputation and also speaks about segmentation.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that the tactic is often used by marginal senders. It doesn't hurt deliverability for those who don't have the issue it's designed to solve, but complicates things and costs money.
Expert from Spam Resource (John Levine) responds that list segmentation helps improve deliverability and ROI by sending targeted content to specific groups, but the level of effectiveness varies. Good list hygiene also means actively pruning your lists to remove inactive addresses, or sending them re-engagement campaigns.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from SparkPost highlights that maintaining a clean and segmented list is crucial for deliverability. Sending to engaged subscribers increases positive signals to ISPs, while segmenting out and suppressing unengaged users protects your reputation.
Documentation from Microsoft emphasizes the importance of list hygiene for maintaining good sender reputation. While not explicitly mentioning segmentation, it supports removing inactive or unengaged subscribers to prevent deliverability problems.
Documentation from Amazon SES explains the importance of managing bounces and complaints to maintain a good sender reputation. Although it doesn't directly address engagement-based segmentation, it implies the need to remove or suppress recipients who consistently bounce or complain, which aligns with the principle of sending only to engaged users.
Documentation from Google explains that sending unwanted email can lead to deliverability issues. Google recommends keeping your email list clean and only sending emails to users who want them. This indirectly supports segmenting out unengaged users.