What do you do with inactive subscribers?

A contact who has opened nothing in a year does not only cost you money: they cost you deliverability for everybody else.

Why it hurts

Mail providers look at the proportion of recipients who engage. A large inactive share signals that your mail is unwanted, and that affects placement for your best contacts.

One reactivation attempt

An honest message: "we have not seen you in a while, do you want to keep receiving this?" With a clear button to stay.

Then remove

Not a second, third and fourth attempt. Somebody who does not respond to a direct question will not respond to the fifth either.

Look at your data first

If you measure inactivity by opens, know that figure is no longer reliable. Use clicks as the criterion, or a combination.

Make it routine

An annual clean-up keeps your list healthy. Waiting three years turns it into an amputation.