{"id":45574,"date":"2021-07-30T13:21:53","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T06:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/act.com\/what-to-do-with-an-old-email-marketing-list\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T17:51:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:51:00","slug":"what-to-do-with-an-old-email-marketing-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.act.com\/en-gb\/blog\/what-to-do-with-an-old-email-marketing-list\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do with an old email marketing list"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n

Old lists are inherently risky to your sender reputation<\/a> as the addresses are more likely to hard bounce, generate spam complaints, or at worst, have been converted into spam traps. Old lists also carry much less potential for conversion than a list composed of recently acquired and interested subscribers. The risk-reward balance for old lists is not in your favor, meaning that in many cases, any conversions gained will be outweighed by conversions lost due to poor email deliverability to your active and interested leads. Despite this, the temptation often persists.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n

You might be thinking that in your particular case, a net negative outcome isn\u2019t likely. So how should you proceed?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Risky business<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To start, you\u2019ll need to evaluate the state of the list. How risky is it? How likely is it that the addresses will still be valid, and that you still have sufficient relationships with the recipients to send them marketing? The risk of reputation damage is increased if any of the following conditions apply to your list, and compounded if more than one condition applies:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n