Clean the list before it costs you the domain
Hard bounces are the fastest way to lose a sending reputation. An old list, a purchased list or a form with no validation will contain addresses that no longer exist, and every one of them is a signal to the receiving side that you do not know who you are writing to.
What gets checked
- ✓Syntax and formatting errors, including the typos people make in a form field
- ✓Domains that no longer resolve or accept mail
- ✓Mailboxes that do not exist at a valid domain
- ✓Duplicates across lists, not only within one list
- ✓Role addresses such as info@ and office@, which behave differently from a person
- ✓Known spam traps and addresses that have already hard bounced
When to run it
Before the first send on a new list, always. After that, before any campaign to a list you have not mailed in three months or more, and after any bulk import. If you are warming a new domain, clean first: warm-up and a dirty list work against each other.
Clean a list
Validation is part of the account. Open one free, upload a list, and see what comes back before you send anything.
Sign up freeContact usFrequently asked questions
Is this a separate paid service?
No. It is part of the platform, like warm-up. Most senders pay a per-address fee to an external validation service.
What percentage of a list is usually bad?
On a list that has not been mailed in a year, five to twenty percent is normal. On a purchased list it can be far worse, which is one reason not to buy lists.
Will cleaning improve my open rate?
It will improve deliverability, which usually shows up as a higher open rate. But the real gain is not burning the domain.
Can I clean a list without importing it?
Upload it, validate, and export the clean version. You are not obliged to send to it.