Email list decay: why lists go bad and how often to clean them
Email list decay is the gradual loss of valid, reachable addresses in a list over time, even when nobody adds bad data to it.
People change jobs and their work addresses are closed, switch providers and abandon personal mailboxes, and companies change domains or shut down. Every month, some addresses that were valid when they joined your list stop working.
Decay is faster in B2B lists, where addresses depend on employment, than in consumer lists. Addresses that bounced long ago can also be turned into spam traps.
The practical answer is to verify the list again before large campaigns and whenever you import contacts from an older source, and to remove contacts who have not engaged in a long time.
With Easy Email Verification
Upload the list to bulk email verification before the campaign, and keep the addresses that come back valid with safe_to_send: true.
Check an address for freeClean a whole list
Related
- Spam trap: A spam trap is an email address that should never receive legitimate mail, used by mailbox providers and blocklist operators to identify senders with poor list practices.
- Sender reputation: Sender reputation is how trustworthy mailbox providers consider your sending domain and IP address, based on how your past email was received.
- Email deliverability: Email deliverability is the ability to get your messages into recipients' inboxes, as opposed to the spam folder or being rejected.
- All glossary terms