Before you import a new or older contact list into Retently, clean it first. Some of the email addresses on any list may no longer be valid, and sending surveys to invalid addresses drives up your bounce rate. A high bounce rate can get your account's ability to send email surveys blocked or limited until the list is cleaned up.
This article explains how to check your bounce rate and how to run a CSV list through an email verification service so you only import addresses that are safe to send to.
Why cleaning the list matters
Whether you are importing a brand new list or reusing an older one, you cannot assume every email address is still valid. People change jobs, close accounts, and abandon inboxes. When you send a survey to an address that no longer exists, the email bounces.
Bounces damage your sender reputation and since you're using Retently to send email surveys to these addresses, this means that this directly affects Retently's sender reputation. Once your bounce rate climbs past a low threshold, Retently may automatically remove your account's ability to send email surveys until you clean up your contacts. Cleaning the list before you import it keeps your bounce rate low and your sending uninterrupted.
Check your bounce rate
You can see your current bounce rate on the Outbox page. The bounce rate value is displayed there.
Ideally it should stay at zero, or as close to zero as possible.
Once it starts rising over one percent, your account's ability to send email surveys may be removed until your contact list is cleaned up.
If your sending has already been limited, cleaning your list is the step that restores it. The rest of this article walks through how.
Clean the list with an email verification service
Retently does not verify addresses in bulk for you before import. To clean a list, use a dedicated email verification service. There are many available on the internet.
Bouncer is one example of a service that has been used for this before. You do not have to use it. Pick whichever service your company already uses, or one that works better for you on price. These services charge based on how many addresses you want to check, so a larger list costs more than a smaller one.
The exact interface differs from one service to another, but the process is the same everywhere.
Steps
Upload your CSV file to the verification service. This is the same file you intend to import into Retently.
Run the check. The service verifies every address on the list. Larger lists take longer and cost more.
Review the results. The service returns either multiple files or a single file with extra columns and labels, sorting your contacts into categories.
Keep only the deliverable contacts. Filter the results so you keep only the addresses marked as Deliverable, then download that filtered file.
Understand the result categories
Verification services group each address into a status. The exact labels vary slightly by provider, but they generally fall into these categories:
Deliverable: real, valid inboxes that are safe to import and survey.
Risky: addresses that may accept mail but carry a higher chance of bouncing or complaints.
Undeliverable: addresses that do not exist or will bounce.
Unknown: addresses the service could not verify.
Only import Deliverable contacts. Risky, undeliverable, and unknown addresses all carry a high chance of bouncing and getting your account blocked. Do not import them.
Download only the deliverable contacts
Most services let you either download the full list with a status column added, or filter before you download.
Filter the results so that only the addresses with a Deliverable status are included, then download that file. You do not need the risky, undeliverable, or unknown contacts. The result is a clean file containing deliverable addresses only.
Import the clean list into Retently
Once you have the file with only deliverable contacts, you can safely import it into your Retently account and schedule your survey. Your bounce rate stays low, and your account keeps its ability to send email surveys.