4 best practices to build a clean and engaged email database

A low-quality email database filled with inactive addresses, spam traps or people who never opted in can severely damage your email deliverability and sender reputation. As email providers like Gmail continue to crack down on poor sending practices, it’s more crucial than ever for marketers to build and maintain a clean, engaged email list. This requires following current best practices and email regulations.

Let’s cover proven strategies for improving the quality and hygiene of your email database from the ground up. This includes adhering to permission-based practices, implementing robust verification methods, encouraging subscriber engagement, and staying compliant with anti-spam laws. Here are some suggestions for building and keeping a high-quality email database over time. 

1. Use only zero and first-party data

This is critical — no buying email lists ever! Your digital properties (website, social media posts, ads) should allow users to register their email with your brand. 

Make sure to have an easy-to-find link to your data privacy policy that allows users to understand how their data will be collected and used and how they can opt out of it. Conversely, easy to use, one-click unsubscribe is both best practice customer experience, as well as a requirement 

Dig deeper: Email marketing strategy: A marketer’s guide

2. Verify emails as they’re added to the database using se SaaS platforms

The biggest benefit of this approach is having detailed status in each email address in the database and the ability to segment and quarantine email addresses based on status, etc. 

SaaS platforms check email addresses using API calls, which come with costs based on the number of emails verified. The verification process might not be instant, so if immediate activation is crucial, this might not be the best option.

On the other hand, if you do use this type of verification, it can be very helpful in giving you an ongoing x-ray of the health of your database. You could even understand the quality of the email addresses you acquire by source, campaign, etc.

Dig deeper: How to send more emails and grow your subscriber list

3. Implement double opt-in

This GDPR-compliant approach requires extra action from the email address you add to your database. Users need to receive an email after initially opting in, and only after reacting to this email will they be considered opted in and join the email address database. 

Any possible decrease in conversion due to the second email opt-in requirement may be offset by the increase in the quality of the email database. This is already required in the European Union and a best practice in use worldwide. When people sign up for your emails, they have to confirm twice — first by signing up and then by clicking a link in an email. 

Any fake or unreachable email addresses get caught before they’re added to your list. So, your email list is more accurate right from the start. 

Setting this up might need some initial work, but you might not need to hire developers because many email platforms offer easy, no-code ways to do it.

4. Focus on subscriber engagement

This one can be implanted in addition to any or all of the above. One of the metrics Gmail uses to determine the deliverability of emails is the engagement of the email recipients. By inviting your new email addresses to write back (reply) to you, you will increase engagement. 

This one has no technical / coding requirements. The most important part is to ensure what to do next when the end-user replies. (i.e., Who will answer? What type of replies are you inviting from your users, if any?) 

Improving your email database’s quality

Following best practices for building your email database takes effort upfront but pays off in the long run. By using only first-party, permission-based data, verifying addresses, having robust opt-in processes and encouraging engagement, you’ll reap the rewards such as better deliverability, increased conversions and avoided penalties from ISPs.

While the specific tactics may evolve, focusing on permission, quality and subscriber relationships remains vital. Regularly evaluate new email regulations and best practices as they emerge. Audit your email hygiene. Show your subscribers respect by letting them easily manage their preferences. Do that, and your email marketing will drive results while future-proofing against deliverability issues.

Dig deeper: 7 key email metrics to track beyond opens and clicks