# How to Clean Your Email List & Maintain Email Hygiene

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## Table of contents

- Why should you have a clean email list?
- Signs you should clean your email list
- How to maintain email hygiene
- 5 best email list cleaners
- Final takeaway

You’re putting in all the effort to send emails, but they’re not even getting opened. Sounds familiar? Many email marketers face this challenge.

  

One potential reason for this could be that the email addresses you’re targeting either don’t exist or belong to recipients who are simply not interested in your content. This is why maintaining a clean email list is crucial to ensure your emails not only get delivered but also have a chance of being opened.

  

In this guide, we will explore some ways to **clean your email list** and boost your delivery, deliverability and engagement rates.

## Why should you have a clean email list?

  

You should have a clean email list and send emails to only those who can receive it. Cleaning your email list provides you with the following:

  

- Reduced bounce rates and spam complaints

- Improved sender reputation

- Compliance with email regulations like [GDPR](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/gdpr/) and [CAN-SPAM](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/can-spam/)

- Improved engagement rates and campaign performance

  

## Signs you should clean your email list

  

A clean email list helps you boost your engagement rates and deliverability rates. But how do you know that your email list needs cleaning? Here are some signs that tell you to clean your email list:

  

### 1. Your open rates are dipping

If you're seeing a dip in your [open rates](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/good-email-open-rate/), it could be happening for a few different reasons. It might be that your emails aren’t reaching your recipients' inboxes, or it could be that your emails and subject lines aren’t resonating with your subscribers or are no longer relevant to them.

  

### 2. Your email bounce rate is thriving

  

[Bounce rate](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/email-bounce-rate/) is another metric that you should check regularly. If it seems like it is rising, it's a sign you must clean your email list. Hard bounces are a red flag that you should be noticing as it means that your list includes invalid or outdated email addresses. It can even affect your [sender reputation](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/email-reputation/) if you keep sending emails to these invalid email addresses.

  

<div class="highlight-gray"> <p> <strong>💡 Related guide: <a href=https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/hard-bounce-soft-bounce/></strong>All About Hard Bounces & Soft Bounces</a></p> </div>

  
  

### 3. You get a lot of spam complaints

When recipients mark your emails as spam, it indicates they don’t find your content relevant or don’t recognize your brand. High spam complaint rates can damage your sender reputation, making it harder for your emails to reach inboxes in the future.

This often happens when your list contains outdated contacts, uninterested subscribers, or addresses collected without proper consent. Removing such contacts ensures that your emails only go to people genuinely interested in hearing from you, improving deliverability and engagement.

  
  

## How to maintain email hygiene

  

Maintaining a clean email list is essential for reducing unsubscribes, improving deliverability rates, and minimizing spam complaints. A well-maintained list helps you build a healthy subscriber base and ensures your emails reach the right audience. Follow these best practices to keep your email list in top shape:

  

### 1. Identify and remove invalid and inactive subscribers

  

Inactive subscribers are people who haven't opened or clicked on any of your emails for a significant amount of time. The first step to email cleaning is identifying these subscribers. Additionally, you may have email addresses that were valid before but are not anymore. You may also have email addresses with typos. Additionally, there may be duplicate email addresses that might be wandering around in your email list for a long time.

So, how do you identify inactive email subscribers? The answer is simple: just segment your email list. Segmentating based on engagement will help you identify inactive and invalid email addresses that have stopped interacting with your emails. After identifying, you can filter out and remove these email subscribers to get a clean email list.

  
  
  

### 2. Do list cleaning regularly

  

Removing invalid email addresses once won't help much; you must perform email list cleaning every 6 months. You can choose the duration between each cleaning session as per your business and email list size.

  

### 3. Give importance to unsubscribe link

  

If you don't want to bother cleaning these invalid email addresses too often, consider keeping the unsubscribe link at the end of the email and one-click unsubscribe link in the email header.

This shows them that you respect your subscribers' preferences. If they don't want to receive your emails, they can easily opt-out with a single click. Failing to do so can make your recipients mark you as spam, which would , in turn, hurt your sender reputation and deliverability. It also violates email regulations.

  

![2.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724451423/strapi/2_68a1d17a8a.png)

![](https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXccYjsq59Gv4L58R5T8p07PR0JRS1j7TBZMFpSeVJZtJDlqy5RHR2DxQyzfz9Yyp3GFp4rhWegjg-ajxJH5YSGKOX2AM0idF-Ip94sq9g8nfuD1m3m_gdt4ZZ8AXT2auJ522cuHuw?key=4sRtj9Z64qP-IdVKFEXxduth)

  

If you do not offer the option to opt-out or unsubscribe, you can also offer them the option to define their preferences, which means they can choose how often they will receive emails from you. You can do this by giving them access to a preference centre. This will help you still keep your subscribers close and not lose them.

  

### 4. Use email verification tools

  

Email verification ensures that the recipient's mailbox is active and accepts emails. It also identifies different email address discrepancies and possible [spam traps](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/spam-trap/) before it gets flagged by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or mailbox providers, which can cause severe damage to your reputation. You can use an [email verification service](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/best-email-verification-service/) to get a clean and healthy email list and include only valid email addresses. Some [email verification tools](https://instantly.ai/blog/email-verification-tools/) you can use are ZeroBounce, NeverBounce and Mailgun.

  
  
  
  

### 6. Implement a sunset policy

  

Set up a sunset policy where recipients who haven’t engaged with or opened a certain number of emails are added to a suppression list, meaning no further emails will be sent to them. Then, launch a re-confirmation email campaign to give them a final chance to express interest in receiving emails from you. If the recipient still doesn’t respond, remove them from your list. This ensures that your email list remains focused on an engaged audience, improving deliverability and minimizing the risk of spam complaints.

  

<div class="highlight-gray"> <p> <strong>💡 Related guide: <a href=https://www.mailmodo.com/email-challenge/create-sunset-policy/></strong>How to Set Up Sunset Policy</a></p> </div>

  
  
  

### 7. Provide double opt-in

  

Double opt-in, also known as confirmed opt-in, is a two-step process to add new contacts to your email list after obtaining their permission through email verification. The first step occurs when the user submits their email address to subscribe to your list. The second step requires the user to confirm their subscription by clicking on a confirmation link that you send them in an email. This ensures that your subscribers genuinely want to receive your emails, increasing the likelihood that they will open them.

  

![4-Photoroom.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724452078/strapi/4_Photoroom_491ee8a563.png)

  

<div class="highlight-gray"> <p> <strong>💡 Related guide: <a href=https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/double-opt-in/></strong>What Is Double Opt-In and Why You Should Use It</a></p> </div>

  

### 8. Check for bot subscribers and remove them

Bot subscribers can wreak havoc on your email list by artificially inflating subscriber counts, distorting engagement metrics, and potentially harming your sender reputation. These fake accounts often don’t engage with your emails, leading to lower open and click rates. In some cases, bots may even trigger [spam traps](https://www.mailmodo.com/solutions/avoid-spam-traps/), which can result in your emails being flagged or blocked by email service providers.

To identify bot subscribers, look for suspicious email addresses (e.g., random strings of characters), accounts with no engagement history, or sudden spikes in sign-ups from a single domain. Regularly monitor and remove these accounts to maintain a clean, healthy email list that supports accurate metrics and strong deliverability.

  
  
  
  

## 5 best email list cleaners

  

Working manually on cleaning your email list can be a very tedious task. For some help, you can use an email list cleaning service to make sure you are getting rid of invalid email addresses. Here are the best email cleaning tools to use:

  

### 1. Jitbit

  

[Jitbit](https://www.jitbit.com/listcleaner/) is an email list cleaning tool that helps you clean your mailing list from invalid emails, typos, duplicate emails, disposable email addresses, and non-existing domains. You just need to paste your email addresses (one per line) and you will get a clean email list.

  

The tool is free to use.

  

![5.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724451509/strapi/5_07faa9fc3c.png)

### 2. Concord

  

[Concord](https://www.concordcrm.com/email-list-cleaner) is an email cleaner and email validation tool that cleans typos, disposable email blacklists, and duplicates, verifies DNS records, and does Regex validation to ensure they follow the standard email format.

This tool is free to use.

  

![6.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724451537/strapi/6_51fe40db0a.png)

### 3. NeverBounce

  

[NeverBounce](https://www.neverbounce.com/) is another email cleaning and email verification service for bulk and huge email lists. It also does real-time email validation and verification so that you always have a clean email list. This is the best email verification and cleaning service if you have a bulk email list and you are suffering heavily from a dirty email list.

NeverBounce has custom pricing that depends on the number of your email subscribers. You pay per email.

  

![7.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724451568/strapi/7_d042138f9c.png)

  

### 4. Proofy

  

[Proofy](https://www.neverbounce.com/) is an email scrubbing and email verification service. It also checks domain health and helps you identify emails with a high risk of spam and non-deliverability. It cleans up duplicates, errors, typos, bounce emails, temporary emails, and much more. This email cleaning service is also suitable for people who have a bulk email list.

  

For the first 100 emails, you can use this tool for free. For up to 5,000 emails, it costs you $16. For 50,000 emails, it costs $99.

  

![8.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724451605/strapi/8_d859921d03.png)

  

### 5. ZeroBounce

  

[ZeroBounce](https://www.zerobounce.net/) is a powerful email verification and list-cleaning tool designed to handle both small and large email lists. It offers a range of features, including email validation, detection of invalid or temporary emails, removal of duplicates, and identification of email addresses associated with abuse or spam traps.

  

The service is well-suited for businesses that need high accuracy and detailed reporting to ensure optimal deliverability and engagement, as it provides a dashboard. ZeroBounce operates on a pay-as-you-go pricing model based on the number of email addresses processed, with options for custom plans tailored to specific needs.

  

![1.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1724451634/strapi/1_fb89f91405.png)

  

## Final takeaway

A **clean email list** can significantly improve your email deliverability, sender reputation, and engagement rates. To maintain a clean list, follow best practices such as removing invalid and inactive email addresses, using double opt-in, and utilizing email verification and cleaning services.

You can also use email cleaning services like NeverBounce, Constant Contact, Jitbit, and Concord to easily clean invalid email addresses.

You can identify when your email list needs cleaning by checking the factors we've discussed. Once identified, follow the best practices outlined in this article to ensure your list is clean and remains clean.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Why is it important to keep my email list clean?

Maintaining a clean email list ensures higher deliverability rates and better engagement and avoids potential penalties for sending to invalid addresses or inactive contacts. It also helps optimize marketing costs and improve the overall effectiveness of email marketing campaigns.

### How often should I clean my email list?

You should clean large email lists at least once every 6-12 months. However, if you notice a significant drop in engagement or receive bounce-back messages, it may be beneficial to clean it more frequently.

### What are common signs that my email list needs cleaning?

Common signs include a high bounce rate, declining open rates, increased unsubscribe rates, and low engagement metrics. These indicators suggest that your list may have outdated or invalid contacts.


### What are the best methods for cleaning an email list?


Effective methods include using email verification tools to identify invalid addresses, removing inactive subscribers, and regularly updating your list based on inbox engagement metrics and user feedback.


### Can I automate the process of cleaning my email list?

Yes, many email service providers(ESPs) offer marketing automation tools for cleaning email lists. These tools can automatically remove invalid addresses, flag inactive users, and help you manage your list more efficiently.

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---

**Author: Falak Preet Kaur**

Falak is a seasoned content writer with a knack for persuasive writing. She knows how to create captivating emails and is an expert in crafting compelling headlines, developing the brand voice, and conducting research.

