How to respectfully let go of inactive email users

We cut 1,145 subscribers yesterday. What every founder should know about building a newsletter. When we launched THE ELEVATE GROUP newsletter in March 2024, we were obsessed with growth. We promoted it at every event, on every stage, in every room. It took us a year to reach >2,000 subscribers. And then the graph stopped moving. Flat as a pancake. Jingjin Liu and I looked at each other and said, “Is it us, or is it them?” So we pivoted. • We removed our newsletter from LinkedIn. • We started creating highly valuable lead magnets. • Plugged the newsletter sign-up on our LinkedIn posts that went viral. • Created high-value monthly events. • That change accelerated our list to 5,000+ within months. At first, it felt like success. The number kept climbing. The uncomfortable truth? The easier decision is always to keep adding. Vanity metrics give you a high. You tell yourself you’re growing when in reality you might just be bloating. We fell into that trap. So, the last 2 months, we asked a harder question: WHO is actually reading? And are they our ideal customer profile (ICP)? When we dug into the data, we discovered 1,145 subscribers who had never opened a single email. Not one. We made the decision to remove them. Here’s how we approached it: – Identified all subscribers with zero opens since sign-up. – Sent them an email with a one-click option to stay. – Sent a final reminder five days later. – Removed 1,145 who didn’t respond. What we learned: 1. Vanity vs. value. Growth feels good, but engagement is the only real measure. Chasing numbers distracted us in the early days. Now we chase quality numbers. 2. Lead magnets drive sign-ups, not loyalty. They bring people in, but they don’t keep people. Retention requires consistent value. 3. Data is non-negotiable. Without regular audits, you can’t separate volume from value. 4. Curation compounds. Removing inactive readers improves deliverability, boosts open rates, and sharpens your ICP. 5. Every dollar counts. Cleaning our list dropped our Kit cost from USD119/month to USD89/month. That’s $360 saved annually - capital we can reinvest elsewhere.     What we’ll do next: – Keep building lead magnets that solve real problems. – Audit the list quarterly, not annually. – Treat engagement as the growth metric, not volume. – Remember that fewer engaged readers > more silent ones. Scaling a newsletter is like scaling a company. The easiest decision is to chase numbers. The harder - but smarter - decision is to curate for depth. We see too many solopreneurs making avoidable mistakes. And we wish we could help. So Jingjin and I are testing a one-off event. Your questions, your situation, unfiltered advice. Not inspiration. Interrogation. Business lens only: Money and Outcomes. Join the waitlist here - https://lnkd.in/gj5KbyUB We’ll only run it if there’s demand. P.S. What’s one vanity metric you’ve chased before you learned better?

Maintaining a bloated subscriber list filled with unengaged contacts can severely hinder your email marketing performance. Engagement trumps numbers any day. But why purge unengaged subscribers? 1. Enhanced deliverability:  → Email service providers monitor engagement metrics. → A high volume of unopened emails can flag your content as spam, reducing inbox placement. 2. Cost efficiency:  → Many email platforms charge based on subscriber count. → Removing inactive subscribers can lower costs, allowing you to allocate resources more effectively. 3. Accurate analytics:  → A refined list ensures that your open & click-through rates reflect genuine interest, providing clearer insights into campaign performance. Here are a few actionable steps: a. Identify inactivity:  → Define what constitutes an inactive subscriber for your business— e.g., no opens or clicks in the past 90 days. b. Re-engagement campaigns:  → Before removal, attempt to rekindle interest with targeted emails offering value or asking for feedback. c. Regular maintenance:  → Schedule periodic list clean-ups to ensure ongoing engagement & list health. By proactively managing your subscriber list, you: → Protect sender reputation → Enhance engagement → Ensure your messages reach those who truly value them How often do you audit your email list for engagement? Drop your strategies in the comments below.

I just did something that would terrify most marketers. I cut my client's email list in HALF. Yes, I literally removed 18,000 subscribers from their list of 35,000. And I'm about to tell you why this was the smartest move we could have made. Before doing this, their open rate was sitting below 20%, their deliverability was tanking, and email service providers were starting to flag them as potential spam (I even saw an open rate of 6.3% in one campaign). I had to act fast before their entire email marketing channel collapsed. First, I removed everyone who had never opened a single email since joining—that was 6,900 subscribers gone immediately. Then I removed everyone who hadn't opened anything in the last 90 days. But here's the critical part most marketers miss: I didn't just delete these people forever. I added them to a 'Do not contact' list. Why? So we can send them a strategic re-engagement campaign later. After this cleanup, our final number of active subscribers dropped to 17,000. But watch what happened next: Our open rates jumped from under 20% to over 38% practically overnight. And most importantly, our actual revenue from email marketing went UP despite having half the list size. This is counterintuitive to most marketers who obsess over list size, but engaged subscribers are worth infinitely more than inactive ones. In fact, those inactive subscribers were actively hurting our performance by damaging deliverability. When was the last time you cleaned your email list? If you're seeing open rates below 20%, you might be due for a serious cleanup. #emailmarketing #advertising #digitalmarketing

Do you have a sunset policy for your email subscribers? (A sunset policy is a strategic approach to removing inactive subscribers from your email list after a specific period of inactivity) Sitting on a webinar about deliverability and Kate Nowrouzi recommends purging records who have not opened an email in the last 90 days. Here's how to create a sunset policy: Define "inactive" for your organization • No opens in 90 days? • No clicks in 6 months? • No donations in a year? Create a re-engagement series: • Send 2-3 compelling emails • Be direct about your intention • Give clear calls-to-action Make the tough choice: • Move engaged subscribers to your active list • Archive unengaged contacts • Document your process Why this matters: 1. Better deliverability rates 2. Lower email platform costs 3. More accurate metrics 4. Focused donor communication Remember: A smaller, engaged list beats a large, unresponsive one every time.

"Delete your entire email list." That's what my mentor told me in 2019. I thought he'd lost his mind. But here's the psychology behind what happened next... I had 50,000 subscribers. "Dead weight," he called them. Apparently, I was the equivalent of a digital hoarder, clutching onto metrics that meant nothing. So I did something crazy: I sent ONE email. "Reply 'STAY' if you want to remain subscribed." The results shocked me: • 2,103 people replied • 47,897 were silent • My open rates jumped from 12% to 68% • Revenue increased by 312% Here's the counterintuitive truth about email lists that nobody talks about: 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 > 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 5 proven strategies I've learned since then: 1. The 21-day rule: New subscribers are most engaged within their first 3 weeks. That's your golden window. 2. The "Netflix Method": Create cliffhangers in subject lines that carry over to the next email (Yes, human curiosity is that predictable) 3. The Personal Test: If you wouldn't send it to your best friend, don't send it to your list 4. The 3:1 Value Ratio: Give three pieces of value for every ask 5. The Sunset Protocol: Remove inactive subscribers every 90 days (scary but necessary) The truth? Your email list isn't a popularity contest. It's a relationship builder. Would you rather have 100 raving fans or 10,000 strangers who forgot they subscribed? ↓ Drop a '📧' below if you want my exact email sequence template that converts at 31% P.S. What's the craziest thing you've done that actually worked for your email list? Share your story below! #EmailMarketing #DigitalStrategy #BusinessGrowth #MarketingPsychology

Email marketing is one of the best avenues for cannabis businesses — but it’s not just a “set it and forget it” strategy. Among all the copy and design, you still have to deal with the admin side by practicing good email list hygiene. Here’s how: 1️⃣ Regularly clean your lists and remove inactive and unengaged subscribers. This could be people who haven’t opened or clicked on anything in the past x days / months, or whatever parameters you choose. Why purposely lessen your list?? First, you’ll improve your open and click-through rates. Second, you’ll reduce the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam, which can harm your sender reputation for future emails. 2️⃣ Re-engagement campaigns. You’re right though, there are steps you can take before bringing the axe to your list. Before removing inactive subscribers, consider sending a re-engagement campaign to win them back. Offer special content or a unique incentive to encourage interaction. If they still don’t engage, it’s a clear sign they should be removed from your active list. 3️⃣ Segment, segment, segment. I’ll never get sick of talking about this. Not all subscribers are the same! Segment your list based on engagement levels, purchase history, and / or interests. This allows you to send more targeted and relevant content, boosting engagement and increasing active subscribers. One. Size. Does. Not. Fit. All. You are doing a disservice to your subscribers by mass emailing them the same thing. Schedule routine audits of your email lists to keep ‘em clean and lean. Trust me — your subscribers will thank you. PS: Into cannabis marketing tips and retail ops? I’m Steph Vrona and I’ve been working in this business for 7 years, and most recently, I started my solopreneur journey with HighDef Studio. Whether you want to work together or just want more tips like this on your feed, give me a follow. #emailmarketing #cannabismarketing

A client thought 25% of their list was dead. We brought those subscribers back—without spamming them. Your email list doesn’t have to shrink. You can re-engage old subscribers the right way. A client came to me with a big problem... ✅ 25% of their list hadn’t opened an email in 6 months ✅ They were afraid to send a re-engagement campaign - they didn't know how or what to send ✅ They thought they’d lose more subscribers Here’s what we did instead: Step 1: Sent a Re-engagement email—short, personal, and to the point Step 2: Offered an exclusive bonus only to engaged subscribers Step 3: Segmented the list—kept engaged readers and removed truly inactive ones The result? A 25% cold list turned into re-engaged readers—without hurting deliverability. Your cold email subscribers aren’t always lost. But you need the right strategy to bring them back. An engaged list beats a big list every time. Ever run a re-engagement campaign?

Sometimes it’s time to say goodbye.. When subscribers don't engage with your email and sms for an extended period, it's time to question their interest and their intent. I love a good a re-engagement strategy - be direct, upfront. Humanize your approach and give them the option to stay or leave. My favorite? Try a simple plain text look email with a direct and heartfelt message from the CEO or Founder. For sms, send a direct 160 character or less SMS to ask if they want to stay. And Ask them to click to show their intent and desire to stay on your list. Otherwise, it's time to say goodbye. Remember, email and sms costs money - spend it on people who genuinely want to hear from you