5 Steps to Cleaning Up Your List

Cleaning up your e-mail marketing list is a task that needs to be looked after at regular intervals. Taking the time to ensure that is up to date means that you will be communicating with prospects who are interested in hearing from you and are motivated to become buyers instead of browsers.

1. Identify Typos in E-mail Addresses
One thing you will want to avoid in your prospect list is having too many “unknown user” messages bouncing back to you, since this can lead to your account being blacklisted. To avoid this issue, you will want to make sure that obvious spelling errors are corrected in the e-mail addresses you have collected.

2. Find Duplicate E-mails on the Subscriber List
To ensure that your subscribers are not receiving multiple copies of the same message, ensure that you do not have any duplicate e-mail addresses on your list. Sort your list of database by e-mail. If you see more than one e-mail for the same person or company, remove them.

3. Remove Distribution E-mail Addresses
Make a point of removing any e-mail addresses which have the word “spam” in them. You also want to take e-mail addresses listed as “sales@” or “postmaster@” off your list. These distribution e-mail addresses are rarely used by companies and are often given just to grab a freebie or other incentive.

4. Ask List Members to Confirm their Interest
To make sure that your messages are reaching interested prospects, send out a message to everyone on your list asking them to reconfirm they would like to remain on your list. Be sure to thank everyone for their initial interest in participating; everyone likes to feel appreciated.

5. Make it Easy for Subscribers to Opt Out of Your List
When you are cleaning up your list, make sure that your members understand very clearly what they need to do to either confirm their continued interest or to have their names removed from it. Make it easy by offering a simple Yes or No choice, and tell your scribe subscribers exactly what you want them to do.

Use simple phrases like “Click Here to Stay on the List” or “Please Update My Subscription” for list members who want to continue to receive your messages. Clicking on the link should immediately take them to a page where they can see the information which is been uploaded to your list. At that point, all they would need to do is confirm that it is correct or make any necessary changes and then hit the “Submit” button.

Someone who indicates that he or she would like to unsubscribe from the list should also be taken to a page confirming that the request has been received. The message should also indicate when the subscriber can expect his or her name to be removed. If it will take 24-48 hours (or longer), indicating this to the subscriber means you will not be accused of spamming someone who specifically asked to be removed.

By taking these 5 steps to cleaning up your list, you will find that your e-mail marketing efforts are being used more effectively. You will be able to reach subscribers will find your messages interesting and relevant to their needs.