Managing your list hygiene is one of the most important factors for maintaining high deliverability. Keeping inactive subscribers doesn’t just cost you more money; it actively hurts your reputation with inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook.
Why List Cleaning Matters
When you send emails to people who never open them, Gmail’s filters notice. Over time, they might start sending all your emails to the Spam folder, even for people who do want to read them.
Defining an “Inactive” Subscriber
In Onyx, we recommend segmenting your audience based on their last engagement date. A subscriber is typically considered inactive if:
- New Leads: No opens or clicks in the last 30 days.
- Standard List: No engagement in the last 90 days.
- Long-term Customers: No engagement in 6 months.
How to Handle Them (The 3-Step Process)
1. Identify the Segment
Go to your Audience tab and create a segment where Last Open Date is older than 90 days.
2. Run a Re-engagement Campaign
Before deleting, try one last time. Send a “We miss you” email with a strong offer or a question like “Do you still want to hear from us?”.
3. The “Sunset” Rule
If they don’t engage with your re-engagement campaign within 7 days, it’s time to say goodbye.