Re-engage or Start Over

Hey ​@thehammockwriter 👋 

I’m a ✨ BIG ✨ fan of deliverability questions and this is a great one. Here is how we would suggest approaching those 700 contacts:

1. Only proceed if you can reasonably say that they all gave explicit opt-in and you’re still sending the same type of content they signed up for. 
2. Clean and validate before you send anything. This means removing any obvious bad email addresses where typos are present, but also review role accounts like info@ or support@ and remove those as well if not appropriate. 
3. Segment your send and warm up gradually. Rather than starting with all 700 at once, start with a small test segment like 100-200 contacts. Watch for bounce rates and spam complaints before continuing on to the rest of the list. If you have any signals like recent purchases or other indicators of activity, start with those contacts first. 
4. Consider starting with a “we’re back” sequence. Something like 2-3 emails where the first is a “We’re still here” / “Do you still want to hear from us?” and then move into gentle reminder emails if you don’t get any engagement from that first email. The second email could be something similar where the 3rd email is more direct such as “Yes keep me on the list” vs. “I no longer wish to receive these emails” with a very clear and prominent CTA. Make sure that unsubscribing is made extremely easy in these emails as you want to both respect their inbox as well as avoid any spam complaints. 
5. Use engagement to decide who stays on the list after your send(s). Anyone who doesn’t engage at all (open/click/reply) should be removed from the list and considered a disengaged contact. 
6. Last, but certainly not least, make sure that you are monitoring your deliverability closely after the send. Check for things like a spike in bounce rates or spam complaints. If you are seeing an excess of one and/or the other, it’s a good indication that the list may no longer be viable. 

Thanks for response, Ryan!