“What’s the best way to increase my deliverability?” I don’t know how many times I've heard that question. Everyone wants an easy fix, but they don’t want to do what's right - which is: keep your list clean.

Ok how do I do that?

Remove old email addresses from your list - you know, those people who haven’t opened or clicked on your messages in a long time.

There is no way I can take that kind of hit to my list size!

Well, then you will continue to take hits on your deliverability.

Anyone in email marketing or deliverability has had this conversation with a prospect or a client. It's frustrating to have the same conversation over and over when people don't heed your advice. But it's important for email marketers to realize that you are doing more harm than good by keeping inactive members on your list. In fact, it’s possible that those people have abandoned their mailboxes and now the ISP is using them to catch spammers.

If you are spending money on email marketing , why would you want to send to people who do nothing with your email anyway? What value do they bring to your list? None. By practicing proper list hygiene you will increase your deliverability even if your list size decreases. 

The bottom line is this: would you prefer to have 60% delivery to a large list subscribers or 90% delivery to your most active subscribers? It’s your choice.

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About The Author

Valerie Jones-Harvey is a senior technical program manager for Lyris, and she has previously worked in product management, recruiting and sales. Valerie also enjoys playing with her new electronic gadgets and video games in her spare time.

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