What Does Cleaned Mean in Mailchimp? A Comprehensive Guide

As someone whoโ€™s worked in the email marketing space for a while, Iโ€™ve heard the term โ€œcleanedโ€ thrown around a lot, especially regarding Mailchimp. But what exactly does โ€œcleanedโ€ mean in the context of Mailchimp? And why is it so important? In this piece, I will break down everything you need to know about whatโ€ฆ

Written by

Gracie Jones

Published on

March 15, 2023
BlogEmail Marketing

As someone whoโ€™s worked in the email marketing space for a while, Iโ€™ve heard the term โ€œcleanedโ€ thrown around a lot, especially regarding Mailchimp. But what exactly does โ€œcleanedโ€ mean in the context of Mailchimp? And why is it so important?

In this piece, I will break down everything you need to know about what cleaned means in Mailchimp and how it can impact your email marketing efforts. So, buckle up and letโ€™s dive in!

What Does Cleaned Mean In Mailchimp
What does cleaned mean in Mailchimp

What is Mailchimp?

Before we get into what cleaned means in Mailchimp, letโ€™s first talk about what Mailchimp is.

Mailchimp is a popular email marketing platform that allows businesses to create, send, and track email campaigns. With Mailchimp, you can build your email list, design and send custom emails, and track the performance of your campaigns. Itโ€™s a powerful tool to help you connect with your customers and grow your business.

What Does Cleaned Mean in Mailchimp?

In Mailchimp, โ€œcleanedโ€ refers to removing invalid or bounced email addresses from your email list. It is an important step in maintaining the health of your email list and ensuring that your emails are delivered to your subscribersโ€™ inboxes.

Why is List Cleaning Important?

List cleaning is important for several reasons:

Improved Email Deliverability

Email service providers, like Gmail and Yahoo, are constantly looking for spam and invalid email addresses. If your email list is full of invalid or bounced addresses, it can hurt your email deliverability and make it more difficult for your emails to reach your subscribersโ€™ inboxes. When you have a clean email list, youโ€™ll have a better chance of your emails being delivered to your subscribersโ€™ inboxes.

Increased Engagement

A clean email list can also lead to increased engagement from your subscribers. When you send emails to invalid or bounced addresses, your email opens, and click-through rates will suffer. By cleaning your list, youโ€™ll be able to focus on sending emails to subscribers who are interested in your content, leading to higher engagement rates.

Better List Management

Finally, cleaning your email list can make managing your subscribers easier and track whoโ€™s on your list. When you have a clean list, youโ€™ll see whoโ€™s engaging with your emails, whoโ€™s not, and whoโ€™s opted out. This information can help you make informed decisions about how to grow and manage your list.

How Does Mailchimp Clean Your List?

Mailchimp uses several methods to clean your email list, including:

Hard Bounces

Hard bounces are emails that the recipientโ€™s email server has permanently rejected. When an email address hard bounces, Mailchimp automatically removes it from your list to improve your deliverability.

Soft Bounces

Soft bounces are emails that the recipientโ€™s email server has temporarily rejected. When an email address soft bounces, Mailchimp will try to deliver the email again for a set period. If the email continues to bounce, it will eventually be removed from your list.

Invalid Email Addresses

Invalid email addresses are addresses that donโ€™t exist or are formatted incorrectly. Mailchimp uses algorithms and manual checks to identify and remove invalid email addresses from your list.

Unsubscribes

Finally, Mailchimp also removes subscribers who have opted out of receiving your emails. When a subscriber clicks the unsubscribe link in one of your emails, they are automatically removed from your list to ensure that youโ€™re only sending emails to subscribers who want to receive them.

How Often Should You Clean Your List in Mailchimp?

Itโ€™s recommended that you clean your email list in Mailchimp at least once a month. It will help you maintain the health of your list and ensure that youโ€™re sending emails to subscribers interested in your content.

In addition to monthly cleaning, you should also clean your list whenever you import new subscribers. It will help you catch any invalid or bounced email addresses before they have a chance to impact your email deliverability.

What Happens When Mailchimp Cleans Your List?

When Mailchimp cleans your list, it removes invalid, bounced, and unsubscribed email addresses. It can result in a smaller email list and improve email deliverability, increased engagement, and better list management.

Itโ€™s important to note that Mailchimp does not delete your email campaigns or subscriber data when it cleans your list. Youโ€™ll still be able to access this information in your Mailchimp account.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why is list cleaning important in Mailchimp?

List cleaning is important in Mailchimp because it can improve email deliverability, increase engagement, and make it easier to manage your email list.

How often should you clean your list in Mailchimp?

Itโ€™s recommended that you clean your list in Mailchimp at least once a month, and whenever you import new subscribers.

The Bottom Line:

In email marketing, having a clean email list is essential. And in Mailchimp, โ€œcleanedโ€ refers to removing invalid, bounced, and unsubscribed email addresses from your list. By cleaning your list, youโ€™ll be able to improve your email deliverability, increase engagement, and better manage your subscribers. So, regularly clean your list in Mailchimp to get the most out of your email marketing efforts.

As the famous marketer Seth Godin once said, โ€œEmail is the ultimate direct marketing tool.โ€ And with a clean email list in Mailchimp, you can use email to connect with your customers and grow your business like never before.