{"id":10081,"date":"2018-05-16T16:16:46","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T20:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/?p=10081"},"modified":"2024-11-12T17:34:36","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T22:34:36","slug":"3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><strong>You have an important mission to promote!<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/5-nonprofit-email-best-practices\/\">Emails<\/a> are a cost-effective and efficient way to make appeals to donors and communicate your mission to them.<\/p>\n<p>But most people receive\u00a0tons of emails every day. Some are important and are read. Others are marked as spam and go to the trash folder, never to see the light of day again.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Keep your email list clean<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Practicing good email hygiene is important! Every 3-6 months, take some time to weed through your email list.<\/p>\n<p>Good email hygiene affects the deliverability of your emails. If your nonprofit wants emails delivered to your donors, it matters &#8212; a lot! Keeping your email list &#8220;clean&#8221; is one of the best ways to ensure that your appeals and updates get to the people who support you.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to maintain good email hygiene,\u00a0clean these 3 groups of people out of your email list:<\/p>\n<h5><strong>People who haven&#8217;t opted in (no bought lists!)<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Mailing to subscribers who have opted in is the best way to make sure your emails are going to those that <em>truly<\/em> want them.<\/p>\n<p>Ensure there is a newsletter opt-in option on your website (that is clearly visible) that requires minimal effort to fill out. Make it an option on your donation form or home page.<\/p>\n<p>Nonprofits\u00a0depend on sending emails to bring in donations! Emails are also a great way to send reports and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/4-extra-special-emails-must-send-sustaining-donors\/\">keep donors updated<\/a>. <em>The only way you can ensure that your appeals and updates are effective is to send them only to people who want them.<\/em>\u00a0Now is the time to delete contacts that did <strong>not<\/strong> opt in like this.<\/p>\n<p>Pro tip<strong>: Don\u2019t buy email lists.<\/strong> They are notorious for causing email hygiene issues. You don\u2019t want unsolicited emails in your inbox, so why expect someone else to want them?\u00a0Unwanted emails are annoying and, honestly, don\u2019t come across as genuine or professional. ESPs (Email Service Providers) will be on the lookout for\u00a0suspicious emails and\u00a0can mark you as spam. <a href=\"https:\/\/help.campaignmonitor.com\/spam-trap-email-addresses\">Spam traps are real<\/a>, and they can cause enormous headaches. Don\u2019t let a bad list tarnish your nonprofit&#8217;s communications reputation.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Invalid addresses<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Invalid addresses are easy to spot when sifting through an email list. Typos, duplicates, and emails with no domain are great examples of addresses to delete.<\/p>\n<p>When you look at your list of bounced emails, take time to double check for spelling errors or typos. If a typo isn\u2019t the culprit of the bounced email, it\u2019s time to look at the domain. A bad domain will drastically effect deliverability rates. If the domain name doesn\u2019t have an email server associated with it, the address is invalid.<\/p>\n<p>Invalid email addresses can result in high bounce rates and lost gifts. Removing outdated or invalid email addresses is important for the long-term success of your engagement efforts.<\/p>\n<h5><\/h5>\n<h5><strong>Addresses that regularly bounce emails<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Bounced emails can be frustrating. What makes them\u00a0even more frustrating is the different <em>types<\/em> of bounced emails!\u00a0There are two main types: soft bounces and hard bounces. How do you know which is which?<\/p>\n<p>A soft bounce occurs when the user has a full inbox or when a server is down. Give this address more than one chance! If it bounces\u00a0emails more than 2 times, it is safe to\u00a0consider it a hard bounce and scrub them from the list. A hard bounce occurs when the email address doesn\u2019t exist any longer. It can also mean that they actively blocked your emails.<\/p>\n<p>Remember those spam traps? Addresses that hard bounce emails more than once\u00a0may be a spam trap. Clearing these emails off your list is crucial!<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Inactive Emails<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Over time, people change their minds and behaviors, and a once-interested person may no longer interact with your emails. They may delete\u00a0them without ever opening them, or they may\u00a0not use that account anymore. Formerly-interested subscribers who no longer open your emails hurt your lists\u2019 overall performance.<\/p>\n<p>If a contact hasn&#8217;t opened your emails in 6 months or longer, it negatively affects your list hygiene. An inactive address that still receives emails\u00a0may notify the Email Service Provider that your domain or email is spam. Monitor open rates and remove inactive accounts to maintain proper email hygiene.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Keep supporters and donors engaged long-term<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Email hygiene is easy to overlook. Fundraising is fun but can be a frenzy of activity &#8212; it&#8217;s easy to neglect cleaning up your lists! But effective fundraising starts with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/email-fundraising-tell-short-story-moves-people-action\/\">proper communication<\/a>. Anything that negatively affects your communication also affects your fundraising.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s so important\u00a0to keep supporters happy and engaged. You have an<a href=\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/how-to-ask-for-donations-with-emails\/\"> important message to share <\/a>and you want to make sure they see it! Start practicing good email hygiene <em>now\u00a0<\/em>so your organization has the best chance of sharing your message.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You have an important mission to promote! Emails are a cost-effective and efficient way to make appeals to donors and communicate your mission to them. But most people receive\u00a0tons of emails every day. Some are important and are read. Others are marked as spam and go to the trash folder, never to see the light [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[262,261],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List - Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Emails are an organizations way to effectively communicate with donors. Make sure your email list is up to date by clearing it of these 3 groups of people!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List - Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Emails are an organizations way to effectively communicate with donors. Make sure your email list is up to date by clearing it of these 3 groups of people!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-16T20:16:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-12T22:34:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Back-to-Work3-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Qgiv Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Qgiv Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Qgiv Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/863cf828ceab3ade4aee57d782b4defc\"},\"headline\":\"3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-16T20:16:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-12T22:34:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/\"},\"wordCount\":809,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Marketing and social media\",\"Nonprofit strategies\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/\",\"name\":\"3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List - Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-16T20:16:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-12T22:34:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"Emails are an organizations way to effectively communicate with donors. Make sure your email list is up to date by clearing it of these 3 groups of people!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nonprofit strategies\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/category\/nonprofit-strategies\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Marketing and social media\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/category\/nonprofit-strategies\/marketing-and-social-media\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Bloomerang Fundraising, formerly Qgiv\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Bloomerang-Product-Lockup-Pos-Fundraising-Digital.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Bloomerang-Product-Lockup-Pos-Fundraising-Digital.png\",\"width\":1425,\"height\":515,\"caption\":\"Bloomerang Fundraising, formerly Qgiv\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/863cf828ceab3ade4aee57d782b4defc\",\"name\":\"Qgiv Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1e32e6af27ebc4182730b7c59eae247?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1e32e6af27ebc4182730b7c59eae247?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Qgiv Team\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/author\/abbyjarvis\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List - Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations","description":"Emails are an organizations way to effectively communicate with donors. Make sure your email list is up to date by clearing it of these 3 groups of people!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List - Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations","og_description":"Emails are an organizations way to effectively communicate with donors. Make sure your email list is up to date by clearing it of these 3 groups of people!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/","og_site_name":"Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations","article_published_time":"2018-05-16T20:16:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-11-12T22:34:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Back-to-Work3-1024x683.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Qgiv Team","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Qgiv Team","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/"},"author":{"name":"Qgiv Team","@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/863cf828ceab3ade4aee57d782b4defc"},"headline":"3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List","datePublished":"2018-05-16T20:16:46+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-12T22:34:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/"},"wordCount":809,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Marketing and social media","Nonprofit strategies"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/","url":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/","name":"3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List - Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-05-16T20:16:46+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-12T22:34:36+00:00","description":"Emails are an organizations way to effectively communicate with donors. Make sure your email list is up to date by clearing it of these 3 groups of people!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/3-groups-of-people-to-clean-out-of-your-email-list\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Nonprofit strategies","item":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/category\/nonprofit-strategies\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Marketing and social media","item":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/category\/nonprofit-strategies\/marketing-and-social-media\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"3 Groups of People to Clean out of Your Email List"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/","name":"Fundraising Blog for Nonprofit, Educational, and Faith-Based Organizations","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Bloomerang Fundraising, formerly Qgiv","url":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Bloomerang-Product-Lockup-Pos-Fundraising-Digital.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Bloomerang-Product-Lockup-Pos-Fundraising-Digital.png","width":1425,"height":515,"caption":"Bloomerang Fundraising, formerly Qgiv"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/863cf828ceab3ade4aee57d782b4defc","name":"Qgiv Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1e32e6af27ebc4182730b7c59eae247?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1e32e6af27ebc4182730b7c59eae247?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Qgiv Team"},"url":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/author\/abbyjarvis\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10081"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10081"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39312,"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10081\/revisions\/39312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}