Key Takeaway:
Understand the importance of regularly cleaning your business’s email list.
Familiarize yourself with current stats for email list decay and invalid email addresses.
Learn best practices for cleaning your email list in Klaviyo.
Discover how re-engagement emails can be a smart last-step to win back lost subscribers.
Spring isn’t just a time to declutter your home. It’s the perfect season to tidy up your email list. If you’ve been growing your list for a while, chances are you have inactive contacts weighing it down. And if you’re using an email marketing platform like *Klaviyo, maintaining a clean list is essential for deliverability, engagement, and cost efficiency.
Most email platforms, Klaviyo included, charge based on the number of contacts in your account. The more contacts you store, the higher your monthly bill. But here’s the catch: if a large percentage of your audience is inactive, you’re paying for people who aren’t engaging with your content. Worse, sending to uninterested subscribers can hurt your sender reputation, increasing the likelihood that your emails end up in spam.
So, let’s dive into why cleaning your email list matters and how to do it the right way. We’ll also share some strategies for re-engaging lost subscribers before saying goodbye for good.
“If a large percentage of your audience is inactive, you’re paying for people who aren’t engaging with your content. And sending to uninterested subscribers can hurt your sender reputation, increasing the likelihood that your emails end up in spam.”
– Technology Therapy® Group
4 Reasons Why Cleaning Your Email List is Essential
An outdated or bloated email list does more harm than good. Here are just four reasons why regular maintenance is a must for your small business:
1. Better Deliverability
Email providers monitor engagement. If too many of your emails go unopened, you risk landing in spam folders.
2. Higher Open & Click Rates
A smaller, engaged list leads to better metrics. This helps you understand what’s working in your campaigns (and what’s not).
3. Lower Costs
Klaviyo charges based on the number of profiles in your account. Removing inactive contacts keeps costs under control.
4. Stronger Brand Reputation
Sending to uninterested subscribers can make your brand seem intrusive rather than valuable. Cleaning your list ensures you’re only reaching people who actually want to hear from you.
“28% of an email list degrades every year.”
– Zero Bounce, “The Email List Decay Report for 2025”
Email List Challenges and Roadblocks: Some Current Stats
Despite these benefits, it’s all too easy to put off this “spring cleaning” task and turn your attention to other tasks on your plate as a business owner. But some recent stats emphasize the importance of cleaning out your email list due to roadblocks like invalid email addresses, spam traps, and catch-all emails. Per recent data from Zero Bounce, 28% of an email list degrades every year. (Email list decay simply refers to the gradual loss of legitimate email addresses in our email list over time.)
According to their research, invalid addresses are the most prevalent type of risky emails found in email lists and only 62% of emails are valid ones. Zero Bounce also uncovered 1 billion catch-all emails and 1 million spam traps, both of which can harm your sender reputation. Catch-all emails receive messages sent to incorrect or non-existent addresses within your domain, while spam traps are abandoned or invalid addresses used by ISPs and blocklist providers to identify senders with outdated or poorly maintained lists. If your business is hitting these, it’s a sign that your email strategy needs cleaning up.
“Invalid addresses are the most prevalent type of risky emails found in email lists and only 62% of emails are valid ones.”
– Zero Bounce, “The Email List Decay Report for 2025”
Smart Strategies for Cleaning Your List in Klaviyo
Not all inactive subscribers are the same. Some may have simply overlooked a few emails, while others haven’t engaged in over a year. Instead of using a broad “never engaged” filter, a more refined approach ensures you’re only removing truly unresponsive contacts.
Identify Truly Unengaged Contacts
In Klaviyo, create a segment that includes subscribers who haven’t opened or clicked an email in the past 12 months. However, not all disengaged subscribers should be removed. Customers who have recently made a purchase might still hold value, even if they aren’t opening emails. Exclude these recent buyers from your segment to avoid removing potential repeat customers.
Decide Who to Keep and Who to Remove
For subscribers who have been entirely unresponsive for over a year, it’s best to remove them from your list. Deleting these contacts improves your sender reputation, reduces bounce rates, and saves money on unnecessary email costs.
Got subscribers who may still be interested but haven’t engaged recently? Consider sending a final re-engagement email before cutting ties to help woo them back to your brand. This can take the form of sharing an exclusive perk, an invitation to update preferences, or a reminder of what they gain from your emails. If they remain inactive, however, it’s time to
Re-Engagement Emails: A Last Chance Before Removal
Before saying goodbye to inactive subscribers, give them one final opportunity to stay connected with a re-engagement email. This is your chance to remind them why they signed up in the first place and see if they’re still interested.
Keep your message short and direct, reinforcing the value of your emails. A strong subject line can make all the difference. Try something like:
- Still Want to Hear From Us?
- We Miss You! Let’s Stay in Touch
- Are We Breaking Up? Let Us Know!
You also want to include a clear call to action, such as a simple button that says, “Yes, Keep Me Subscribed!” Adding an incentive, like a small discount or exclusive content, is another way to encourage re-engagement.
If they still don’t open or click, it’s time to let them go. Keeping disengaged subscribers only hurts your email performance and sender reputation. It’s the equivalent of keeping a relationship with a disengaged partner who really isn’t ready for a long-term commitment. (Bonus: For a deeper dive into re-engagement emails, check out this blog.)
Keep Your Email List Healthy Year-Round
Spring cleaning your email list shouldn’t be a once-a-year task. We recommend setting a schedule to clean it every quarter, monitor engagement rates, and segment out inactive users before they impact your deliverability.
With Klaviyo’s segmentation and automation tools, managing a clean, engaged list is easier than ever. Though, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at TTG if you need help setting up effective email marketing strategies or giving your email list a spring refresh.
Make Your Email Marketing More Effective
Ready to create campaigns that actually work without wasting time on inactive subscribers? Our Klaviyo Email Marketing Program can help you streamline your email list, improve engagement, and drive more conversions.
*DISCLAIMER: Links included in this article might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that we provide, TTG may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you!
