Nonprofit Database Management 101 (and get your fundraising goals back on track!)
Audio Brief
Show transcript
This episode covers the crucial practice of email list cleaning, detailing why it is essential for nonprofits and how to implement it effectively. Key insights include the necessity of regular list cleaning, the effectiveness of re-engagement sequences, and the value of an engaged subscriber base.
Inactive or "cold" subscribers, defined as those who haven't opened emails in 90 days, significantly skew marketing metrics like open and click-through rates. Regularly cleaning your list every 6 to 12 months improves data accuracy, allowing for better strategic decision-making and more effective justification of marketing efforts. This also reduces costs associated with larger, unengaged lists.
Before removing inactive contacts, send them through a re-engagement sequence, typically 3 to 5 emails. This gives cold subscribers a final opportunity to opt-in and confirm their interest in staying subscribed.
Subscribers who do not respond to the re-engagement sequence should be archived, not permanently deleted. Archiving removes them from your active, billable list, ensuring cost savings and accurate metrics, while retaining their data for historical records. A smaller, highly engaged list is ultimately more valuable and cost efficient than a large, inactive one.
Maintaining a clean email list is fundamental for maximizing marketing impact and achieving better return on investment.
Episode Overview
- An introduction to the concept of email list cleaning and why it is a crucial practice for nonprofits.
- A breakdown of how keeping inactive ("cold") subscribers on an email list negatively impacts marketing metrics, budget, and strategy.
- A step-by-step guide on how to strategically clean an email list, including a re-engagement sequence for cold subscribers.
Key Concepts
- Email List Cleaning: The process of regularly removing inactive subscribers who have not opened or engaged with emails for an extended period (e.g., 6-12 months).
- Cold Subscribers: Subscribers who have not opened an email in 90 days or more, who dilute key metrics like open and click-through rates.
- Metric Integrity: Cleaning a list removes inactive contacts, resulting in more accurate and meaningful performance metrics, which helps marketers make better decisions and report success more effectively.
- Re-engagement (Cleaning) Sequence: A short, automated series of 3-5 emails sent to cold subscribers as a final attempt to get them to re-engage (e.g., by clicking a link to stay subscribed).
- Archiving vs. Deleting: The recommendation to archive, rather than permanently delete, inactive subscribers. Archiving removes them from the active, billable list but preserves their data for record-keeping.
Quotes
- At 01:35 - "Leaving 'cold subscribers' on your list could be ruining your metrics!" - The speaker explains that inactive subscribers skew data, making it difficult to accurately measure the success of email campaigns.
- At 05:40 - "Don't delete them forever, but archive them instead." - Advising on the proper way to remove inactive contacts, which saves money while ensuring their data isn't lost permanently.
Takeaways
- Clean your email list every 6 to 12 months to improve performance and reduce costs.
- Before removing subscribers, send them through a re-engagement or "cleaning sequence" to give them one last chance to opt in.
- If a cold subscriber does not respond to the cleaning sequence, archive (don't delete) their contact information.
- Maintaining a clean list leads to more accurate metrics, which helps justify marketing efforts and allows for better strategic planning.
- A smaller, more engaged email list is more valuable (and cost-effective) than a larger, inactive one.
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