Why You Should Clean Your Newsletter List Regularly

Is open rate just a glorified vanity metric for your newsletter?

Last week, I shared how I almost doubled my open rate by cleaning my list:

But after getting this reply, I wanted to clarify why cleaning your list is so important...

Here are my top 5 reasons why every creator should clean their list regularly:

1. With most email service providers, you do pay for subscribers. So paying for people who don't open is wasted money.

2. Cold subscribers don't want your newsletter. If someone is labelled a "cold" subscriber, it means they haven't opened anything in 6+ months. Which means they've made the choice to no longer engage with your content. They've probably forgotten about you. Do them the favor of unsubscribing them.

3. Open rate = authority. Over time, your email can get flagged and have it's authority lowered if you send a bunch of emails no one reads, which will make it easier for your emails to hit spam even for people who do want to open them.

4. Open rate isn't a vanity metric. It tells you how many people care enough about what you're sending them to engage with it. A low open rate means fewer people care, which may mean the people you've attracted aren't aligned with what you're sharing or that you aren't adequately communicating its value.

5. Your newsletter is a business. They don't have to be my "full-time friend." But a newsletter, ultimately, is a business in that it's an exchange of value. If a subscriber only ever signs up for your newsletter, but never buys, never recommends it to others, never offers feedback, and in every other way never engages or offers value to what you're trying to build, then yes--they can leave.

Your newsletter is an asset.

Cold subscribers are a liability.

Cleaning your list regularly is the simplest way to ensure your newsletter remains an asset and compounds exponentially.

And if you're looking for a newsletter provider, I can't recommend ConvertKit [archive] enough. It's built for creators, by creators.

I've been with them for years and they make setting up automations to re-engage and remove cold subscribers super simple.

P.S.

If you want to check out ConvertKit for yourself to start your own newsletter, or migrate your current one, check out their website (affiliate) to learn more.