Database Cleaning & List Management

[Master]

Ok, now you’ve started sending your emails the following will happen:

• Some will bounce back if they are invalid (your system should tag these so they don’t get more emails to a non-existing account)
• Some recipients may click on UNSUBSCRIBE to be removed from your list (your system should stop sending them automatically)
• Others won’t click on the unsubscribe—instead they will reply to the email with REMOVE $#$%^#@@.
• Others won’t click anything, but they’ll call you and say REMOVE $%@#^&#@@$ (yep, it happens).
• Some reply by asking questions – you will want to respond
• While some will just purchase or sign up (depending on your promotion) – yeah!

With a three part email, the bounce backs and the auto unsubscribes won’t get another email from your system (it will handle these automatically), but everyone else will get another email, unless you:Manually remove everyone from items 3 – 6 above from your list.

• You will want to TAG (usually add a column and put an X or other symbol per type in your spreadsheet) them in your master database FIRST (so you have a record of it), but then
• Remove them from the ongoing list.
• Then… send out your next email in the batch.

This all occurs with your original list. To complicate things, you may later get a new list you from another database.  Or you get a list from an alliance partner, etc.  The main thing—you MUST have a master list to compare and de-dupe these other lists against—or you could send another batch of emails from another lists to partners who have already said &^&^(*&( STOP!  😉

Steps to follow when you are ready to get started

1. Confirm your email system is up and running (some systems take 24 hours before your special email URL is setup).
2. Load the FIRST email into their system. Follow the instructions of formatting an email (another thread)
3. Create a SMALL Test List (database) with just the internal team.
4. Proof the test emails when they come in. Make sure the name is using the name from your database (using the variables) and that the formatting and links are correct.
5. Take your CLEAN database and make a copy in the spreadsheet tab (if using the generic list). Then delete all columns but the name, company, phone, website and email (the critical identifying information). This way your email application won’t freeze if it finds missing fields like previous levels, etc.—plus you won’t need that information. Then import THIS list.
6. Then send your first of the three recruiting emails–preferably so they arrive during working hours.

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