20 Signs Your Email List is Unhealthy (and what to do about it)

When it comes to newsletters, content is only half the battle. From engagement analytics to list growth challenges, there are myriad signs your email list is unhealthy. Here are 20 signs your email list needs help and tips to get you started on repair. 

Engagement and Performance Issues

1. Declining Open Rates: A significant drop in open rates indicates disengaged recipients or irrelevant content. To combat low open rates, ensure you have a strong sender reputation and that your ESP is not suffering from deliverability problems. Also, avoid low-quality content and spamming your list with an excessive number of emails, both of which can contribute to a lack of deliverability and user interest in opening. 
2. Low Click-Through Rates (CTR): We hate to say it, but few recipients clicking on links is evidence of a lack of interest in your content. If people are opening but failing to click, it is time to rethink your content strategy. Consider whether your writing or layout needs a refresh, and ensure that there are clear calls to action and well-designed, clickable links. 
3. Lack of Engagement: Minimal replies, forwards, or interactions suggest an unengaged audience. As with CTRs, it’s time to rethink your content and sending strategies if your audience isn't engaging with your emails. Ask yourself: Is it time to redesign your email template? Are you utilizing A/B testing for subject lines, pre-header text, CTAs, and send times? 
4. High Unsubscribe Rates: If your unsubscribe rate exceeds 1%, it’s a strong sign that your email campaigns aren’t striking a chord with your audience. A spike in unsubscribes may also indicate dissatisfaction with your content or frequency. Test send times, frequency, and content layout to learn what best appeals to your audience. 

Deliverability Problems

1. High Bounce Rates: Escalating hard or soft bounces suggest invalid or outdated email addresses. Clean and verify your email list by regularly removing invalid or inactive addresses. We also recommend utilizing a double opt-in to ensure the validity of new subscribers and reduce the chance of bounces. 
2. Spam Complaints: Frequent spam reports harm your sender reputation and reduce deliverability. Similar to high bounce rates, utilize double opt-in, as requiring subscribers to confirm their email addresses can help ensure they genuinely want to receive your emails. We also recommend segmenting your audience to send targeted, relevant content based on subscriber preferences. Last, don’t forget to make the unsubscribe process easy. The link to unsubscribe should be visible in each email to ensure regulatory compliance and prevent user frustration. 
3. Emails Landing in Spam Folders: Poor sender reputation or irrelevant content can trigger spam filters. To combat this, focus on email authentication, comply with anti-spam laws, and regularly clean and segment your list. 

Data Quality Issues

1. Incomplete Data Sets: Missing or incorrect contact information can lead to sending emails to the wrong people or generic accounts (e.g., info@, webmaster@), which reduces the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and can result in lower response rates. Implement a data validation process to identify and update or remove generic email addresses. 
2. Invalid or Fake Email Addresses: Typos, syntax errors, or suspicious domains can damage deliverability. Don’t fall into the fake email address trap; avoid purchased lists, implement double opt-ins, and—you guessed it—regularly clean your email list to remove invalid addresses. 
3. Duplicate Contacts: Sending multiple emails to the same recipient wastes resources and annoys subscribers. Consider using an online duplicate email remover or customize an Excel sheet using its conditional formatting to remove duplicates from your list.  

Growth and List Composition

1. Slow or Negative List Growth: A stagnant or shrinking list indicates poor acquisition strategies or high churn rates. Utilize pop-ups and CTAs to encourage website visitors to subscribe. Keep the forms simple to reduce friction during the sign-up process. Also, consider incentivizing sign-ups with exclusive content and giveaways. 
2. Inactive Subscribers: If a large number of your subscribers are not opening emails, you’re suffering from a bad case of disengagement. It’s time to develop a reengagement strategy and remove inactive subscribers who are resistant to it. 
3. Contacts Not Following Your Brand: Subscribers who don’t engage with your brand on other channels may not be relevant. Since email is part of the overall content ecosystem, building relationships across multiple channels (email, social media, website) can help maintain interest and build loyalty. Cross-pollination is an important way to nurture existing relationships and create new connections. 

Legal and Compliance Risks

1. Lack of Consent: Sending emails to people who haven’t opted in violates regulations like GDPR and can lead to penalties. Take email regulation seriously, and equip yourself with professionals who can guide you on the rules. Establish clear protocols and train your staff to ensure you follow the rules.  
2. Outdated Permission Records: Failure to track when and how subscribers opted in can cause compliance issues. As with the previous point, your organization must follow the rules.  Maintain detailed and up-to-date records of subscriber consent, including the date, time, and method of opt-in, to ensure you can demonstrate compliance with data protection regulations if required.

Operational Red Flags

1. Frequent Errors in Campaigns: Broken links, images, or formatting issues can frustrate recipients and reduce trust. Edit, edit, edit. Test send. Check your work. We cannot understate the importance of test sends to check links, layout and formatting. 
2. Poor Sender Reputation Score: A low score affects whether emails reach inboxes rather than spam folders. Authenticate your emails. If transitioning ESPs, develop a warming up plan for your IP and domain. Utilize tools like Sender Score to keep tabs on your sender reputation. 
3. High Costs with Low ROI: Paying for a large list of inactive subscribers wastes resources without providing returns. If you’re paying for inactive subscribers—or paying for opt-ins that aren’t building loyal followings—you’re wasting your money in the long run. Focus on building authentic relationships with subscribers to motivate them to read and engage with your content. 

Subscriber Feedback

1. Negative Feedback from Subscribers: Complaints about irrelevant content or excessive frequency indicate dissatisfaction. Listen to your subscribers. If they’re complaining about send practices or content, listen and make adjustments. Brands that fail to pay attention to the wants and needs of their audience will send that audience running to a competitor where they can find the value they’re looking for. 
2. Unusual Patterns in Subscriber Behavior: Sudden spikes in unsubscribes or complaints may signal deeper issues with your list or campaigns. From content and advertiser mismatches to technical issues and changes in sending practices, look for underlying issues that may be negatively impacting your subscribers. 

A healthy email list is a must when it comes to an email marketing strategy. By regularly monitoring these 20 tips and taking corrective actions—from list cleaning to making genuine connections with your subscribers on other platforms—you will significantly improve your campaign ROI. A clean, compliant, and engaged list leads to stronger deliverability, higher engagement, and ultimately, better results for your email marketing efforts. 

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