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November 5, 2008

E-mail List Hygiene: Now More Than Ever

Return%20to%20Sender.jpgEconomic crisis. Layoffs. Companies going out of business. Foreclosures.

Sure, this is a flyspeck of a footnote relative to issues of much greater gravity. But if you're an e-mail marketer, tough times call for a tough approach to e-mail list hygiene. Particularly for marketers who mail to B2B or corporate clients.

The person at the other end of a subscription to a newsletter, or who had requested offers or product updates, may not be at the other end of that same e-mail address any longer. And you're smart enough to know that when a terminated employee is glumly packing the contents of their desk into a cardboard box, the last thing on their minds is canceling e-mail subscriptions or clicking that "change of address" link.

There's going to be a tsunami of bounced, forwarded and otherwise dead-ended corporate e-mail out there. Maybe not the worst consequence of the economic crises, but not a pleasant prospect for e-mail marketers hoping to keep their lists -- and their reputations -- squeaky clean.

If you're a marketer or a publisher, I suggest you develop a new bounce strategy.

Now.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at November 5, 2008 4:51 PM

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Comments

Rebecca:

Excellent Post. Marketers who maintain higher thresholds of no-sendcodes (regarding bounced emails) should consider revising down, when it concerns b2b clients.

Fred Tabsharani  November 6, 2008 2:56 AM

Hey Rebecca, nice article and very true!

Rob Dougherty  November 6, 2008 3:06 PM

The key to keeping your email list current is writing a newsletter that's compeling enough for the recipient to update his or her own email subscription. Often people do not bother with keeping their news feeds up-to-date simply because they aren't concerned with receiving their data.
It's also important to develop interactivity with your readers. Ask important questions generate interest and feedback. You may host webinars for segments of your readers to continually provide current and relevant information.
All businesses these days are collecting email addresses and all are starting up newsletters, making lists of tips, and offering boring content. To truly stay interesting, be different and listen to your clients. For more information on direct mail data, visit http://www.bbdirect.com.

Brian Berg  November 7, 2008 6:35 PM


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