Removing what harms you.
WHY IT MATTERS
Invalid addresses and disengaged subscribers damage deliverability. Receiving servers notice that your mail goes to addresses that bounce or never open.
WHAT TO REMOVE
Hard bounces, immediately. The address does not exist. Repeated soft bounces over time. Addresses that have never opened anything in a year. Anyone who complained.
THE UNCOMFORTABLE PART
Removing subscribers feels like going backwards. A smaller engaged list performs better than a larger dead one.
RE-ENGAGEMENT FIRST
Before removing long-inactive subscribers, send one message asking whether they want to stay.
Some will respond. The rest can go.
BOUNCES
A reputable platform handles hard bounces automatically. Confirm yours does.
If you are managing a list yourself, remove them manually.
ROLE ADDRESSES
Addresses like info@ and sales@ are shared and rarely engage. They are not necessarily worth removing and they are worth knowing about.
HOW OFTEN
Review annually. More often if your list grows quickly.
