I Deleted 361 Subscribers - Here is How And Why
A Healthy List Is An Engaged List
A week or so ago, I posted this note:
Today, I carried through on my promise, and I deleted 361 subscribers. Those subscribers (according to Substacks Filters:)
• Were free subscribers
• Had been on my list since before December 1st 2024
• They had opened less than 1 email/post
• They had clicked less than 1 Link
• Their activity was rated as less than 1 Star
Of my 2024 subscribers, that amounted to 361 subscribers; once I had the list, I then checked their accounts to ensure they were as unengaged as Substack told me.
But Why Mark?
Open rates mean nothing on the surface as there is no way to accurately tell if people read your emails; however, they mean a lot to Substack and other email providers.
If your emails aren’t being opened and you’ve got a low open rate you can run into delivery issues.
On Convertkit I had an open rate of 40%+ on my emails. On Substack, that started at 40% but recently dropped to around 35% or below. So, it was time to take action.
Having 2000, 5000, or 10,000 subscribers means nothing if only a fraction are reading your emails. It’s important to know how your content performs, and the easiest way to do that is to ensure as many of your subscribers as possible are reading your content.
A clean list is a healthy list!
How I Did It:
Substack and any decent Email Service Provider give you the tools to keep your list healthy and in good condition.
I used the filter on my account to whittle down the subscribers.
It’s probably easier if I show you the process:
Go check your list and give it a clean. Your open rates will improve, and you’ll be talking to people who want to be listen.
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This is interesting to me because I rarely open sub stack emails. In fact I use an email that I intentionally use just for a substack, because I want to read them in the app. If there was a way to just subscribe to the app and not get actual emails I would do that. The small number of people that I follow is already too many emails. If I had them in my regular email that I open frequently it would drive me nuts having to delete everything all the time! I wonder if I am in the minority?
The people that I subscribe to are people that I want to read. I don't just follow people to follow people. I don't know how I feel about this... I first found you on medium and followed you there and then bought your article writing funnel thingy. And subscribing here, it's highly unlikely that I'll open very many emails, but I will read you in the app. Hmmm.
Great tip Mark. Just deleted 318 subscribers.