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<p>Every creator hopes for thousands of YouTube subscribers, Instagram followers, and Twitter likes. But if you’re approaching your email list with a similar “more is better” mentality, you may be missing the mark.</p>
<p>In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss why not all email subscribers are created equal and why smaller, high-value lists are healthier than a massive list filled with cold and unengaged subscribers.</p>
<p>Let’s outline what makes a great subscriber, the common mistakes that attract “bad” subscribers, and why bigger isn’t always better.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35741 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/post/mw48u0Oh-bad-email-addresses.jpg?fm=pjpg" alt="Bad email address examples" width="1500" height="1992" srcset="https://media.convertkit.com/post/mw48u0Oh-bad-email-addresses.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=600&amp;w=452 452w, https://media.convertkit.com/post/mw48u0Oh-bad-email-addresses.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1024&amp;w=771 771w, https://media.convertkit.com/post/mw48u0Oh-bad-email-addresses.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1020&amp;w=768 768w, https://media.convertkit.com/post/mw48u0Oh-bad-email-addresses.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1536&amp;w=1157 1157w, https://media.convertkit.com/post/mw48u0Oh-bad-email-addresses.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=784&amp;w=590 590w, https://media.convertkit.com/post/mw48u0Oh-bad-email-addresses.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=240&amp;w=181 181w, https://media.convertkit.com/post/mw48u0Oh-bad-email-addresses.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=2048&amp;w=1542 1542w, https://media.convertkit.com/post/mw48u0Oh-bad-email-addresses.jpg?fm=pjpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></p>
<h2>Pullquote</h2>
<p>“<em>I think it’s a really hard concept for people to grasp sometimes because we do want a larger list, we want to focus on the numbers, but when it comes to the subscribers on your email list, quality is more important than quantity.”</em> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/mel_lambert_" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@mel_lambert_</a></p>
<h2>Main Takeaways</h2>
<ul>
<li>[08:55] Disposable domains, role-based accounts, and spam traps are emails to weed from your list. These can often, if not always, be classified as “bad subscribers.”</li>
<li>[20:00] Clean your email list! The longer you go without cleaning out cold subscribers, the harder it will be to clean out your list down the line, and the longer your <a href="https://convertkit.com/resources/blog/email-deliverability" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deliverability will suffer</a>.</li>
<li>[29:30] Someone can subscribe to your emails as a highly engaged, high-value subscriber, but they can quickly become a cold subscriber if you don’t deliver value.</li>
<li>[31:52] Rather than focusing on the number of subscribers you have, treat your subscribers like real people and <a href="https://help.convertkit.com/en/articles/2537096-how-to-target-engaged-subscribers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">focus on providing consistent value</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Links</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://jamesclear.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Clear</a></li>
<li><a href="https://share.transistor.fm/s/ae2d8c83" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deliverability Defined 0105: Avoiding Spam Traps The Right Way</a></li>
<li><a href="http://sparkloop.app/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SparkLoop</a></li>
<li><a href="https://nathanbarry.com/newsletter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nathan Barry’s Newsletter</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Try ConvertKit&#8217;s deliverability in action</h2>
<p>It&#8217;s now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: <a href="https://convertkit.com/pricing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convertkit.com/pricing</a>.</p>
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</ul>
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Alyssa Dulin

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