{"id":12998,"date":"2019-03-07T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/?p=12998"},"modified":"2024-11-11T18:05:44","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T23:05:44","slug":"celebrate-spring-tidying-mailing-lists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qgiv.com\/blog\/celebrate-spring-tidying-mailing-lists\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Spring by Tidying Up Your Mailing Lists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re anything like me, warmer weather puts me in the mood to throw open the windows and doors, air out the house, and give everything a good cleaning\u2026 or at least binge-watch \u201cTidying Up with Marie Kondo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve applied the KonMari method to your home and office (do those old conference handouts really spark joy?), it\u2019s time to turn your organizing skills to a less tangible task: cleaning up your mailing lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of eliminating material goods that no longer \u201cspark joy,\u201d we\u2019ll focus on getting rid of contacts that no longer merit your time and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how to clean up your mailing lists<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remove donors who aren\u2019t around any more<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are probably people on your mailing lists who have passed away. While it\u2019s sad to remove those people from your lists (especially if they were very close to your organization), it\u2019s time! For one, it will help you save money if you\u2019re paying to send them direct mail or if you\u2019re paying to email large lists. For another, mailing those people can make your organization come off as out-of-touch with your deceased donors\u2019 family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unless people directly inform you of a donor\u2019s passing, you may end up removing them from your lists using methods we cover below. But, if you\u2019ve had a close enough relationship with a donor that you\u2019re aware of their death, remove their name from your lists. Then, if possible, send a sweet card to their family letting them know that their loved one left a legacy through the work their donations funded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remove contacts that are no longer mail-able<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re getting lots of \u201cemail undeliverable\u201d messages, high numbers of bounced emails, or regular \u201creturn to sender\u201d messages on direct appeals, it\u2019s time to tidy up your lists. Remove emails that have bounced repeatedly \u2014 I say \u201crepeatedly\u201d because there are reasons an email recipient may temporarily not receive email from you. There are \u201csoft bounces,\u201d wherein an email can\u2019t be delivered because of a temporary issue. If your donor\u2019s inbox is full, for an example, or if an email service provider is dealing with server issues, you\u2019ll get a soft bounce. There are also \u201chard bounces,\u201d which are due to permanent issues. This is usually due to email addresses being expired or having an incorrect address on file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emails that receive hard bounces should be removed. If an email address has multiple soft bounces, it might be time to consider removing them, too. This is because your email\u2019s \u201cdeliverability\u201d (made up of different elements that will determine whether email service providers think your address is legitimate or not) depends, in part, on the number of emails you bounce. Bounce too many emails and you may see more and more of your emails being filtered out of your donors\u2019 inboxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercifully, returned mail doesn\u2019t require you to differentiate between \u201csoft\u201d and \u201chard\u201d returns. If you get a letter returned to you with a \u201cReturn to Sender\u201d label, it\u2019s fairly straightforward: either you\u2019ve not added enough postage, the address is wrong, or the donor no longer resides at that address. If the first two reasons can be eliminated, go ahead and remove that address from your database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remove super lapsed donors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not sure that \u201csuper lapsed donors\u201d is an industry-recognized term. But I am<\/em> positive that, at some point, you have spent time and resources sending appeals to someone who hasn\u2019t supported you in years and years. They are not just lapsed\u2026 they are super lapsed. And you can save yourself a lot of headaches by removing them from your lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut Abby,\u201d you might think. \u201cHow do you know those donors won\u2019t see an appeal and be inspired to give?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I don\u2019t. Wilder things have happened! But I do know that the odds of converting a super lapsed donor are pretty low, but the odds that they\u2019re costing you money \u2014 either in postage or in your email service \u2014 are pretty high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To an extent, the timeline you use to define a super lapsed donor will probably be unique to your own organization. Have they been lapsed 10 years? They\u2019re probably not coming back. 5 years? I\u2019d get rid of them. 3 years? 2? It\u2019s up to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cleaning out your mailing lists is probably about as fun as cleaning out your sock drawer\u2026 but it needs to be done! Eliminating these three groups of people \u2014 deceased donors, donors with inaccurate email or physical addresses, and donors that you haven\u2019t heard from in years \u2014 will save you money and make you more efficient. Now those are the kind of results that spark joy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to learn more about email best practices?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You might enjoy these other articles from the Qgiv blog!<\/p>\n\n\n\n