Email list verification has grown in popularity in the past few years, as more companies have started sending marketing emails. To ensure their messages reach people, savvy marketers always work with accurate data. So, how can email verification help you achieve better email marketing results? Also, how do you get started using a list cleaning service? We have all the answers you need, so read on and you’ll improve your email marketing ROI in no time.
Email list verification: what it is and how it helps
Any marketer who uses email to communicate with their audience starts by putting together an email database. It’s the most effective tool you can have in your shed as it allows you to send any updates quickly to as many people as you want.
However, email lists go bad. Some addresses you added to it may have never been valid. Others simply become outdated and will either bounce or cause your engagement rates to decline. By verifying your list periodically, you prevent this from happening and make sure your emails reach their destination.
An email list verification service removes bad addresses from your database and helps you keep a good sender reputation. As a result, more of your emails will land in people’s inboxes, so you have a better chance to convert.
What does an email list verification service remove?
If you’ve never used one, you may be concerned that an email verifier will remove precious data from your list. After all, you’ve worked hard to gather your contacts and want to keep as many of them as possible.
While that’s understandable, you have to face the fact that some of those contacts may be hurting more than helping you. Let’s see what are some of the most common risky email addresses you should get rid of!
Invalid emails
Your email service provider charges you depending on the size of your list. So, why would you want to pay to send emails to invalid addresses? There’s no gain in that. Plus, a high bounce rate hurts your sender reputation. So, it’s best to let an email verification system prune them out.
Role-based addresses
Sending marketing emails to addresses such as office@ or team@ is not the best idea. Usually, these accounts get checked by either a secretary or a group of people within a company, and these people tend to delete marketing offers en masse. In a nutshell, it’s not worth keeping these types of emails on your list.
Disposable addresses
Maybe you have a content offer on your website to help you grow your email list. That’s great! But keep in mind not everybody who downloads that offer also wants to be on your list. Some people use disposable email addresses to get what they want and then leave. While you’re happy that you got a new subscriber, what you get is a bounce because these addresses are not meant to last long.
Why you should pay attention to spam complaints
On top of these three types of risky email addresses, an email list verification system will also remove abuse emails. What are these, you may wonder?
Abuse emails belong to people who have a history of labeling emails they receive as spam. Considering the amount of spam traffic worldwide, internet service providers (ISPs) grant every email user the right and ability to mark certain messages as spam. While the “mark as spam” button is a useful and necessary tool, it also hurts legitimate marketers sometimes.
You, too, may have abuse emails on your list. The best way to handle them is by removing them as soon as you get a spam complaint. Otherwise, your sender reputation suffers, and as a result, ISPs will deliver your future emails to your subscribers’ spam folders.
Additionally, you could add an email verification API to all your signup forms to prevent abuse emails from subscribing in the first place. The API is a great piece of software that checks every new email address in real-time. Once you install it on your website, you can rest assured it will reject bad email addresses, so your email list will stay healthy for longer.
How to choose a good email list verification service
Ok, time to get online and find that perfect email verifier that will help you boost open rates and ROI. Great! But how do you know which service is the best?
Here are some tips to help you out!
Read the reviews
Almost every company in the world today is present on at least one review platform. Word-of-mouth matters tremendously nowadays, and people love to share their opinions. What are they saying about the email verifier you want to use? Check out those reviews to get a feel of the company and how their system has helped others.
Get in touch with support
Another smart move would be to contact the company’s representatives and ask more questions about their system. What features are you getting? How long will it take to clean your list? Also, are there any bonuses? It’s worth getting all these answers so you can make an informed decision.
Furthermore, make sure the service is offering:
- accurate results: go for at least 98% (no email verifier can promise 100%)
- reliable support: some companies provide 24/7 support
- a way to protect your data: GDPR is no joke, so ensure your and your customers’ information is safe
Keeping a neat list pays off
Even if you’re an email marketing beginner, don’t feel like you can’t already achieve success. You have everything it takes to build a meaningful relationship with your subscribers and boost your brand awareness and sales. But while the content you send plays an important role here, using a neat email list is paramount to getting results. So, make sure you clean your database as often as necessary and also, add that email verification API to your forms. It pays off!
