Have you ever been curious about the fate of email contacts tagged as ‘cleaned’ in Mailchimp? This frequent event can greatly affect your ability to successfully deliver emails.
Understanding the reasons behind cleaned contacts and how to manage them effectively is crucial for maintaining a healthy email list.
Let's explore the definition of cleaned contacts in Mailchimp and the best practices for preventing them, as well as the implications for your email marketing strategy.
Key Takeaways
- Cleaned contacts refer to email addresses marked as non-deliverable due to hard bounces or repeated soft bounces.
- Regularly managing cleaned contacts enhances email deliverability and overall communication effectiveness.
- Inaccurate or non-existent email addresses are common causes of contacts getting cleaned.
- Regularly updating contact info and implementing double opt-in can help prevent contacts from getting cleaned.
Definition of Cleaned Contacts in Mailchimp
In Mailchimp, 'cleaned contacts' refers to email addresses that have been marked as non-deliverable due to hard bounces or repeated soft bounces, enforcing best practices for maintaining sender reputation.
Hard bounces occur when an email can't be permanently delivered, often due to reasons like an incorrect or fake email address or an unregistered email domain. On the other hand, soft bounces are temporary delivery failures, such as when an inbox is full or due to temporary issues with deliverability.
Mailchimp's classification of 'cleaned' emails aims to uphold the integrity of email marketing strategies by addressing bounced emails promptly. By removing non-deliverable addresses from the active contact list, Mailchimp helps to enhance the overall deliverability and sender reputation. This approach is crucial for maintaining a successful email marketing strategy.
Furthermore, it's imperative to keep the bounce rate below 2% to avoid potential deliverability issues and safeguard the sender's email reputation. Understanding the significance of 'cleaned contacts' in Mailchimp is essential for devising an effective email marketing plan and ensuring optimal communication with contacts.
Impact of Cleaned Contacts on Email Deliverability

Understanding the impact of cleaned contacts on email deliverability is crucial for maintaining a successful email marketing strategy, as it directly influences the effectiveness of communication with contacts and the overall sender reputation. Cleaned contacts, which consist of non-deliverable email addresses due to hard bounces or repeated soft bounces, significantly affect email deliverability. The table below outlines the key impacts of cleaned contacts on email deliverability within a Mailchimp account.
Impact of Cleaned Contacts on Email Deliverability | Description |
---|---|
Hard Bounce Rate | High hard bounce rates can lead to reduced sender reputation and hinder email deliverability. |
Soft Bounces | Excessive soft bounces may indicate underlying deliverability issues, affecting the overall email marketing campaigns. |
Unsubscribed Contacts | Keeping unsubscribed contacts in the list can negatively impact the sender reputation and email deliverability. |
Managing cleaned contacts is crucial for maintaining a clean email sender reputation and ensuring the success of email marketing campaigns and transactional emails. Regularly cleansing the contact list, especially on a monthly plan, can significantly enhance the email deliverability and overall effectiveness of communication.
Common Causes of Contacts Getting Cleaned
Common causes of contacts getting cleaned often stem from inaccurate or non-existent email addresses, leading to hard bounces and subsequent removal from the contact list. Hard bounces occur when an email is sent to an invalid or non-existent address, indicating a permanent issue that needs to be addressed.
Additionally, failure to engage with recipients or provide valuable content can result in repeated soft bounces, which can ultimately lead to contacts being cleaned from the list.
It's crucial to actively manage email lists by regularly cleaning out invalid or deleted addresses, as well as deduplicating and standardizing data to prevent unnecessary cleaning of contacts.
Ignoring unsubscribed requests and continuing to send emails to opted-out contacts can also lead to them being marked as cleaned.
Furthermore, the absence of a double opt-in process may result in the inclusion of invalid or fake email addresses in the list, which can eventually get cleaned.
Proper data management and compliance with spam regulations are essential for maintaining clean and effective contact lists on Mailchimp and other marketing platforms.
Managing Cleaned Contacts in Your Mailchimp Account

We regularly manage cleaned contacts in our Mailchimp account to ensure that our email list remains accurate and deliverable. When email addresses are marked as 'cleaned' in Mailchimp, it means that they're non-deliverable and can negatively impact our email marketing efforts.
Soft bounces, which occur when an email can't be delivered because of a temporary issue, can lead to email addresses getting cleaned. If an email address experiences repeated soft bounces, Mailchimp may mark it as cleaned to maintain a good sender reputation.
To manage cleaned contacts in Mailchimp, we can choose to delete them from our list. By doing so, these contacts will be permanently removed from our audience, ensuring that our marketing efforts are focused on active and deliverable email addresses.
Regularly managing cleaned contacts is essential for maintaining a healthy email list and maximizing the effectiveness of our email marketing campaigns in Mailchimp.
Best Practices for Preventing Contacts From Getting Cleaned
To maintain a healthy email list and optimize our email marketing efforts, it is crucial to implement best practices for preventing contacts from getting cleaned in our Mailchimp account. By following these best practices, we can reduce the likelihood of contacts getting cleaned due to invalid email addresses, soft bounces, or being marked as spam. Here are some effective strategies to prevent contacts from getting cleaned:
Best Practices | Description |
---|---|
Regularly Update Contact Info | Ensure accuracy and validity of contact information to reduce the risk of bad email addresses causing cleaning. |
Implement Double Opt-In | Verify and validate email addresses, adding only engaged and legitimate contacts to our audience. |
Segment Contacts | Deliver targeted content, reducing the risk of spam complaints and subsequent cleaning of contacts. |
Monitor Engagement Metrics | Identify inactive subscribers and promptly remove them from our audience to maintain list hygiene. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are the Different Types of Contacts in Mailchimp?
We can categorize contacts in Mailchimp into different groups based on their subscription status.
- Subscribed contacts: These are the contacts who have opted in to receive emails from us. They have indicated their interest in staying connected and receiving updates from our organization.
- Unsubscribed contacts: These contacts have specifically opted out of receiving emails from us. They have chosen to unsubscribe and no longer wish to receive any communication from our organization.
- Non-subscribed contacts: This category includes contacts who have interacted with our emails or website but haven't explicitly opted in to receive emails. They may have signed up for a webinar or downloaded a resource, but they haven't given consent to receive ongoing emails.
In addition to these categories, there are also cleaned contacts. These contacts have non-deliverable email addresses due to repeated soft bounces or a hard bounce. This means that the emails sent to them have failed to be delivered successfully. Cleaning these contacts helps us maintain a clean and up-to-date contact list.
Can I Resubscribe a Cleaned Email in Mailchimp?
Yes, we can resubscribe a cleaned email in Mailchimp. When an email is marked as 'cleaned,' it means that it has either hard bounced or had repeated soft bounces.
To resubscribe, we need to verify and correct the email address, then manually re-add it to our audience. Keeping the bounce rate low is crucial for good sender reputation, so it's important to address and fix any issues with cleaned contacts promptly.
Should I Delete Unsubscribed Contacts in Mailchimp?
We've found that keeping unsubscribed contacts in Mailchimp can actually be beneficial. It helps us maintain a record of who's opted out of marketing emails, and it doesn't count towards our plan limit.
Plus, archiving them saves time and effort in contact management.
It's a win-win situation!
How Do I Clean up My Contact List in Mailchimp?
We clean up our contact list in Mailchimp by implementing a double opt-in process. This helps maintain a healthy sender reputation and ensures high deliverability.
We monitor engagement metrics to identify inactive or unresponsive contacts. Regularly updating contact information helps us keep our list accurate and up-to-date.
In addition to Mailchimp, we also use Insycle to clean and standardize contacts. This improves segmentation and targeting in our email campaigns.
Archiving unsubscribed and non-subscribed emails helps us maintain a clean and organized audience. This not only improves deliverability but also reduces costs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, keeping our contacts clean in Mailchimp is crucial for maintaining a good email sender reputation and ensuring high deliverability rates.
Did you know that according to Mailchimp, the average email bounce rate across all industries is 0.40%?
By following best practices and regularly managing our contacts, we can minimize the risk of contacts getting cleaned and improve the effectiveness of our email marketing campaigns.