What is the best way to convince management not to email inactive subscribers?

Summary

Experts, marketers, and deliverability documentation overwhelmingly agree that emailing inactive subscribers is detrimental to email marketing performance. The consensus is that it damages sender reputation, leads to decreased deliverability, wastes resources, and ultimately harms ROI. The most effective way to convince management is to demonstrate these risks through data, cost analysis, and highlighting the benefits of focusing on engaged subscribers and maintaining a clean email list.

Key findings

  • Reputation Damage: Sending to inactive subscribers negatively impacts both domain and IP reputation, increasing the risk of spam complaints and blocklisting.
  • Decreased Deliverability: Low engagement from inactive subscribers leads to decreased inbox placement and overall deliverability issues.
  • Wasted Resources: Emailing inactives wastes time, money, and effort that could be better spent nurturing active and engaged subscribers.
  • ROI Impact: Focusing on engaged subscribers yields a higher return on investment due to increased open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
  • Data-Driven Decisions: Presenting data and cost-benefit analyses is more effective in convincing management than relying on subjective arguments.

Key considerations

  • List Hygiene: Implement a regular list cleaning process to remove inactive subscribers and maintain a healthy email list.
  • Segmentation: Segment email lists to target engaged subscribers and avoid sending to inactive users.
  • Risk Assessment: Clearly communicate the potential risks associated with emailing inactives, including financial losses and reputation damage.
  • Testing: Before emailing inactive subscribers, conduct a small-scale test to assess the impact on deliverability and engagement.
  • Alternative Strategies: Explore alternative re-engagement strategies before mass emailing inactive subscribers, such as targeted campaigns or incentives for opting back in.

What email marketers say
13Marketer opinions

Experts and marketers agree that sending emails to inactive subscribers is detrimental to email deliverability and overall marketing performance. Key reasons include the risk of spam complaints, damage to sender reputation, wasted resources, and reduced engagement rates. Focusing on active subscribers, segmenting email lists, and regularly cleaning lists are recommended strategies.

Key opinions

  • Deliverability Impact: Sending to inactive subscribers negatively impacts email deliverability due to increased spam complaints and low engagement rates.
  • Reputation Damage: Engaging with inactive subscribers can harm sender reputation, leading to reduced inbox placement for all subscribers.
  • Resource Waste: Emailing inactive subscribers wastes time, money, and effort that could be better spent nurturing active subscribers.
  • List Health: Maintaining a healthy email list by removing inactive subscribers improves overall list performance and engagement.
  • Focus on Engagement: Prioritizing engaged subscribers leads to higher open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, improving ROI.

Key considerations

  • Segmentation: Segmenting email lists to exclude inactive subscribers is crucial for targeted and effective email campaigns.
  • List Cleaning: Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers to maintain a healthy list and improve deliverability.
  • Testing: If considering emailing inactive subscribers, test a small segment first to assess the impact on deliverability and engagement before sending to the entire list.
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis: Demonstrate the costs associated with emailing inactive subscribers versus the potential benefits to convince management of the need for list hygiene.
  • Alternative Strategies: Explore alternative re-engagement strategies, such as targeted re-activation campaigns, instead of mass emailing inactive subscribers.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares that focusing on engaged users can improve email metrics and overall campaign performance. Send emails to people who want to see them.

September 2021 - Campaign Monitor
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot shares the importance of segmenting email lists to avoid sending emails to inactive subscribers. They explain that targeting engaged users leads to higher open rates and better deliverability.

March 2022 - HubSpot
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailchimp explains regularly cleaning email lists by removing inactive subscribers improves sender reputation and deliverability. They note that sending to inactive users can negatively impact deliverability rates.

August 2022 - Mailchimp
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit shares that sending to inactives is a waste of resources. Time, money, and reputation are better spent nurturing active subscribers.

July 2021 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that sending to a small segment of unengaged subscribers to measure response compared to engaged subscribers will help inform the decision making process.

August 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that inactive subscribers will be confused and mark emails as spam. This will hurt the rest of deliverability to interested parties and future campaigns.

February 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackExchange explains that it's better to cut the losses of inactive subscribers and focus on growing and maintainig a healthy engaged list, rather than damaging it with low open and click through rates.

April 2021 - StackExchange
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that mailbox providers don't care about legitimate interest. Sending to the whole non-engaged cohort in one go is a bad idea, especially when rebuilding reputation.

December 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares the unengaged segment is often seen as a treasure trove of new sales, but this segment always lurks in the background and becomes a burden. Marketers need to learn to part with this segment before it destroys their sending reputation, otherwise, it will always be a case of "This mail will reactivate them..."

October 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that emailing inactive contacts creates long-term list health issues for your email marketing program, and can result in lower deliverability to your active users over time. Avoid damaging the ability to connect with customers who want to engage.

August 2022 - Email on Acid
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus explains that sending emails to inactive subscribers can reduce your overall deliverability and decrease revenue. Focus on high-quality subscribers.

November 2023 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog explains that focusing on engaging active users yields better results than trying to re-engage inactive ones. By concentrating resources on those who are already interested, companies can maximize their ROI and see a more positive impact on their bottom line.

July 2022 - Neil Patel's Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora explains that spam complaints from inactive subscribers can damage future email campaigns. The deliverability of future campaigns is reduced and so it hurts legitimate users.

September 2022 - Quora

What the experts say
9Expert opinions

Experts emphasize the importance of demonstrating the risks and costs associated with emailing inactive subscribers to convince management. This includes potential financial losses from reduced inbox delivery, wasted resources, and the impact on sender reputation. Data-driven decision making, splitting dormant addresses into segments, and highlighting the time required to repair reputation damage are key considerations.

Key opinions

  • Cost Analysis: Quantify the potential financial losses resulting from reduced inbox delivery and wasted resources associated with mailing inactive subscribers.
  • Reputation Impact: Sending to stale addresses negatively impacts deliverability and can damage sender reputation, potentially leading to a decline in overall email program performance.
  • Data-Driven Decisions: Providing management with data on the risks and costs associated with emailing inactives empowers them to make informed decisions.
  • Timeline Reset: Adding inactive subscribers can reset the timeline for repairing a damaged email reputation, prolonging the period of low deliverability.
  • Fragile Reputation: A 'pinballing' reputation indicates instability, making it particularly vulnerable to negative impacts from emailing inactive subscribers.

Key considerations

  • Risk Assessment: Clearly communicate the risks associated with emailing inactives, focusing on measurable impacts such as reduced inbox delivery and financial losses.
  • Segmentation Strategy: Consider splitting dormant addresses into segments based on recency and engagement history to minimize potential damage.
  • Resource Allocation: Highlight the time and resources required to manage and address issues arising from emailing inactive subscribers versus focusing on engaged segments.
  • Alternative Solutions: Explore alternative re-engagement strategies before resorting to mass emailing inactive subscribers, such as targeted campaigns or incentives for opting back in.
  • Ethical Considerations: While data-driven arguments are often most persuasive, also consider ethical implications, such as respecting subscriber preferences and avoiding spam-like behavior.
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource suggests convincing management by demonstrating the costs associated with sending to inactive subscribers, including wasted resources, reduced deliverability, and potential damage to sender reputation. A cost-benefit analysis showing the negative ROI of emailing inactives can be persuasive.

November 2022 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains the problem is you probably can’t convince them they’re wrong. You can only give them the data they need to make the decision.

October 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that sending to stale addresses is bad for deliverability. Demonstrating the risks and negative impact on deliverability is more effective than appealing to ethics or empathy.

October 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains it will take 3 to 6 months of consistent mailing to really wipe out a bad reputation and adding bad addresses will reset that timeline. Once reputation is high and inboxing is consistent, then add in old addresses in small increments.

December 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks asks to consider what benefit the company expects from mailing the inactives in dollars and what the risk is of reputation damage. They explain what dollar cost would occur if mailing inactives reduces inbox delivery.

June 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains the expense in person-hours and mental overhead of dealing with that segment every time, rather than just archiving it and moving on.

July 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that pinballing reputation indicates they are not solid in their reputation, or that their reputation is right on the edge between high and medium.

November 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares if they make changes like adding inactives or worse adding in people who are getting the mail in their spam folder, that will tilt the balance against high.

March 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares sometimes you can't convince them, you can only warn them and put it in terms of risk. They recommend splitting dormant addresses into buckets based on when they were added and last engaged.

December 2021 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Email deliverability documentation emphasizes that sending to inactive subscribers negatively impacts domain and IP reputation, leading to increased spam complaints, potential blocklisting, and reduced inbox placement. Maintaining a clean, engaged email list is critical for optimal deliverability.

Key findings

  • Domain Reputation: High spam rates from inactive subscribers negatively impact domain reputation.
  • IP Reputation: Low engagement and spam complaints from inactive subscribers harm IP reputation.
  • Blocklisting: Sending to inactive subscribers can lead to being listed on blocklists like Spamhaus, severely impacting deliverability.
  • Inbox Placement: Increased spam complaints push emails to the spam folder, reducing inbox placement for all subscribers.
  • Feedback Loops: Inactive subscribers leads to increased spam complaints, and feedback loops allow marketers to remove these users to improve deliverability.

Key considerations

  • List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers.
  • Engagement Focus: Focus on engaging active subscribers to maintain a positive sender reputation.
  • Reputation Monitoring: Monitor your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS.
  • Blocklist Awareness: Be aware of blocklists and the potential consequences of being listed.
  • Compliance: Adhere to email marketing best practices and comply with anti-spam regulations.
Technical article

Documentation from Spamhaus explains that sending to inactive subscribers can lead to being listed on their blocklists, which significantly harms email deliverability. They advise regularly cleaning email lists and focusing on engaged users.

March 2024 - Spamhaus
Technical article

Documentation from Validity explains that inactive subscribers can lead to increased spam complaints and thus push your email to the spam folder, and it can damage your sender reputation, also effecting active user deliverability. Feedback loops help keep on top of this.

August 2023 - Validity
Technical article

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that high spam rates from sending to inactive users can negatively impact domain reputation. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining a clean and engaged email list to ensure optimal deliverability to Gmail users.

July 2024 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft SNDS explains that sending to inactive subscribers can lead to low engagement and potential spam complaints, harming IP reputation. Maintaining good IP reputation is crucial for ensuring emails reach the inbox.

December 2023 - Microsoft