Latest / The Email Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Newsletters, Open Rates, and Subscriber Growth / How Email List Sunset Policies Improve Deliverability
Transcript
- Lucas: If your email list has a lot of names that haven't opened a single message in six months, you're essentially paying to hurt your own reputation. Luna: And I think a lot of marketers know this intuitively, but they're terrified of losing subscribers. So they just keep sending to everyone. Lucas: Exactly. That's where a sunset policy comes in. It's an automated process that identifies subscribers who haven't engaged in a specific period — typically 90 to 180 days — and gradually reduces sending to them until they're removed from the active list. Luna: Ninety days? That sounds aggressive. What about people who check email once a quarter? Lucas: Fair point. And you can adjust the window based on your sending frequency. If you send weekly, 90 days is about twelve sends without an open. That's a clear signal. But the key isn't just cutting people off — it's doing it gradually. First, you might reduce frequency, then send a final re-engagement offer, then stop entirely. Luna: Right, so you give them a chance to come back. What data do you have on how well this works? Lucas: There's a great case from a mid-sized B2C retailer, I think they sell home goods. They implemented a 90-day sunset policy and saw open rates jump 22 percent within two months. Click-through rates went up 15 percent. And their complaint rate dropped by nearly half. Luna: That's substantial. And probably saved them money on sending costs too, since fewer emails going out. Lucas: Exactly. Most email service providers charge based on volume. So you're literally paying to message people who won't engage. But the bigger win is deliverability. Internet service providers, like Gmail and Outlook, look at engagement signals to decide whether your mail goes to inbox or spam. A high percentage of unopens tells them your content isn't wanted. Luna: So a sunset policy is really protecting your sender reputation. How do you define 'engagement' for this purpose? Is it just opens? Lucas: Opens are the most common metric, but clicks are stronger. Some marketers also consider site visits from an email link, or even purchases. The idea is to capture any positive signal. If someone clicks but doesn't open — they have images blocked — that's still engagement. Luna: What about people who just haven't bought in a while but still read every email? You wouldn't want to sunset them. Lucas: No, and that's why you typically exclude converters. If they've made a purchase in the last year, you'd keep them regardless of open rate. But for non-buyers, opens and clicks are your best signals. Luna: So you're effectively segmenting your list into active, at-risk, and dormant. And then you handle each group differently. Lucas: Exactly. The at-risk group might get a re-engagement series — maybe a 'we miss you' email with a discount. If they don't respond after three sends, they move to dormant and get suppressed. That's the sunset. Luna: And do you ever bring them back? Like if they somehow re-engage later? Lucas: That's a good question. Once someone is sunset, you typically remove them from your active list. But if they sign up again via a new form, they're fresh. Some marketers also use a 'suppression list' — they keep the email address on file but don't send, so if that person later makes a purchase, they can be reactivated. Luna: So it's not a permanent ban, it's a pause until they show interest again. Lucas: Exactly. And the benefits go beyond metrics. A cleaner list means your engagement metrics are more accurate. When you run A/B tests or segment campaigns, you're working with a true engaged audience, not noise from inactive addresses. Luna: I've also heard that some ISPs, like Gmail, use 'spam traps' — email addresses that look real but are actually honeypots to catch senders who don't maintain their lists. If you hit one, your reputation takes a big hit. Lucas: That's a great point. Sunsetting helps avoid that. Because if you're regularly removing addresses that haven't engaged, you're less likely to be sending to a recycled trap address. Luna: So what's a practical first step for someone listening who wants to implement a sunset policy? Lucas: First, define your engagement window. I'd start with 90 days for non-purchasers. Then set up a segment in your email platform for subscribers with zero opens in that period. Send a re-engagement campaign — maybe two emails over two weeks. If no response, automatically move them to a suppression list. Luna: And what about the sending frequency during that period? Do you gradually reduce it? Lucas: Some platforms have built-in 'sunset rules' that automatically decrease send frequency. For example, if someone hasn't opened in 30 days, they might get every other email. At 60 days, every fourth. Then at 90 days, only the re-engagement series. That gradual reduction can also help preserve your sending reputation because the ISPs see less volume to unengaged users. Luna: I think that's a smart approach. It's not just about cutting, it's about being strategic. Lucas: Right. And the data backs it up. The home goods retailer I mentioned didn't just see higher open rates — they also saw a 10 percent increase in revenue per email sent, because every email was going to someone more likely to engage. Luna: That's a compelling case. I imagine some listeners are worried about losing list size. But quality over quantity, right? Lucas: Absolutely. A smaller list that actually opens and clicks is worth far more than a bloated list that drags down your deliverability. Plus, you can always try to win back lapsed subscribers through other channels, like social media or retargeting ads. Luna: One thing we haven't touched on is how sunset policies interact with different types of email. For example, transactional emails — like order confirmations — are still sent regardless of engagement, right? Lucas: Yes, transactional emails are exempt. You never sunset someone from receiving purchase receipts or shipping updates. This policy applies only to marketing and promotional emails. Luna: That makes sense. So the sunset is really about your non-essential communications. Lucas: Exactly. And to make it easier, most major email platforms, like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and HubSpot, have built-in sunset automation. You just set the rules and let it run. Luna: I want to circle back to something you mentioned earlier about sender reputation. If someone implements a sunset policy, how quickly do they see improvement in deliverability? Lucas: It can take a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on how much garbage was in the list. ISPs recalculate reputation over time based on recent sending patterns. So after a month of clean sending, you'll likely see fewer emails going to spam. Luna: That's encouraging. And for anyone who's feeling overwhelmed about setting this up, it's really a 'set it and forget it' kind of thing once the rules are in place. Lucas: Exactly. It's one of those tasks that takes an afternoon to configure but pays off continuously. And if these in-depth marketing conversations have been helpful for you, a handful of listeners actually chip in monthly through Buy Me a Coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's what funds making episodes like this possible. Luna: Yeah, it's a small but meaningful way to keep this ad-free and focused on actionable content. So thank you to those who already do. Lucas: Absolutely. Now, back to sunset policies — one more nuance I want to touch on is how to handle soft bounces versus hard bounces in your sunset logic. Luna: Oh, good. Because a soft bounce — like a full inbox — isn't the same as a dead address. Lucas: Right. A hard bounce means the address doesn't exist — you should remove that immediately. A soft bounce is temporary. But if someone soft bounces repeatedly over 30 to 60 days, that could indicate an inactive mailbox. So you might sunset them faster. Luna: So you're combining bounce data with engagement data to make the decision. Lucas: Exactly. The more signals you use, the smarter your sunset policy. And the smarter your policy, the better your deliverability. Luna: I think we've given our listeners a lot to work with. Any final thoughts? Lucas: Just this: your email list is a garden, not a warehouse. You have to prune it regularly to keep it healthy. A sunset policy is the pruning shears. Luna: Nice metaphor. And a good note to end on.