When’s the last time you cleaned up your email list?

There are 3 primary benefits to doing a little spring clean of your email list:

1) If you’re paying per subscriber, you’ll save yourself some cash. 💵

2) Your open rate will improve and you’ll stay out of spam. 📬 Your email service watches your open rate to see if you’re delivering high-quality, interesting content. If it deems your open rate too low for too long, you’re more likely to end up in spam.

3) You’ll get more accurate data. 📊 With an active list of subscribers, you’ll start to get a clearer picture of what content actually resonates with your audience.

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Here are some steps to follow when eliminating cold subscribers:

1) For churches & schools, I think it makes sense to only eliminate people who have never opened an email or haven’t for at least one whole year. If you’ve gone through all four seasons with them and they didn’t bite even once, you’re safe to proceed.

2) Segment your inactive subscribers onto one list so you can email them all at once (see step 3). Here are directions to do that on MailChimp or ConvertKit (Tutorials include steps to add the confirmation button I mention below.)

3) Email them before deleting them. Sometimes certain inboxes or browsers block “cookies,” or tracking data, which results in your email service not tracking what was actually an interaction. So, it’s best to give them a chance to opt out.

Ex:

Subject Line: Are you still reading?

Hey there,

I’m going to be doing some tidying of my subscribers. My email service tells me that you haven’t been reading this newsletter (*see note below). If that’s the case, I’ll be removing you from this list. No sweat, sometimes it’s just not the right season for more emails. I totally understand. You can always subscribe at churchwebsite.com.

Note: Sometimes my email technology is totally wrong! If that’s the case, and you have been reading, or would like to stay on this list for any reason, just click the button below. We’ll keep in touch!

(insert confirmation button)