Klaviyo List Cleaning: Best Practices for Importing and Maintaining a Clean Email List

Introduction: Why Klaviyo List Cleaning Matters for E-commerce Marketers

A clean and well-maintained email list is the backbone of any successful email marketing strategy. For e-commerce brands using Klaviyo, keeping your email list clean ensures higher deliverability, increased engagement, and reduced risks of being flagged as spam.

This guide covers the best practices for Klaviyo list cleaning, including how to import your list correctly and maintain its hygiene over time.

What Are the Best Practices for Klaviyo List Cleaning?

To maintain a clean email list in Klaviyo, start by importing only engaged and valid contacts. Regularly clean your list by removing inactive subscribers, correcting formatting errors, and verifying email addresses using tools like ZeroBounce or NeverBounce.

List cleaning should be an ongoing process to ensure your email campaigns consistently reach engaged and valid contacts.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Clean Email List in Klaviyo

1. Prepare Your Email List Before Importing

Before you import your email list into Klaviyo, make sure your data is clean and well-organized:

• Remove Duplicates: Eliminate duplicate email addresses to avoid sending multiple emails to the same contact.

• Correct Formatting Errors: Ensure all email addresses are correctly formatted (e.g., no spaces, no typos in domain names).

• Verify Email Addresses: Use an email verification tool to identify invalid or risky email addresses before importing.

  
  

2. Import Your Email List to Klaviyo Correctly

• Log into Klaviyo: Access your account at Klaviyo.com.

• Navigate to Lists & Segments: Select "Audience" > "Lists & Segments".

• Create a New List: Click "Create List / Segment", choose "List", and name it appropriately.

• Upload Your Contacts: Click "Import Contacts" and select your CSV file.

• Map Data Fields: Match your CSV file columns to Klaviyo fields, ensuring the correct mapping of custom properties.

  
  

How to Perform Klaviyo List Cleaning Regularly

1. Identify and Suppress Inactive Subscribers

• Create a Segment: Go to "Lists & Segments", click "Create List / Segment", and select "Segment".

  
  

• Set Segment Criteria:

  • Criteria 1: People who received an email at least 90 days ago.

  • Criteria 2: And did not open any emails in the last 90 days.

    
    

• Suppress Contacts: Once identified, you can suppress these contacts to avoid sending them future campaigns.

  
  

2. Use Klaviyo's Email Validation Tools

• Navigate to Lists & Segments and select your list.

• Click "Manage List" > "Check for Errors" to identify any invalid email addresses.

• Remove or Correct Invalid Entries based on the validation report.

  
  

Best Practices for Email List Importing and Cleaning in Klaviyo

✅ Segment Your List Before Importing

• Divide your contacts into Active, Inactive, and New Subscribers to enable more targeted email campaigns.

  
  

✅ Send a Re-Engagement Email in a Sunset Flow

• Target inactive subscribers with a Sunset Flow in Klaviyo:

  • Go to "Flows", click "Create Flow", and select a Sunset Flow Template.

  • Automate a sequence of emails to win back inactive subscribers.

    
    

✅ Regularly Clean Your List

• Monthly Cleaning: Suppress bounces, unsubscribes, and inactive users.

• Review Analytics: Monitor Open Rates, Click Rates, and Bounce Rates to identify potential list hygiene issues.

  
  

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Cleaning Your Klaviyo Email List

❌ Importing Purchased Lists

• Purchased lists often contain unengaged contacts and can damage your sender reputation.

  
  

❌ Failing to Verify Emails Before Importing

• Unverified emails can lead to high bounce rates, harming your deliverability.

  
  

❌ Over-Cleaning Your List

• Be cautious not to remove contacts too aggressively. Use segmentation to test engagement before suppressing contacts.

  
  

Conclusion: Need Help with Klaviyo List Cleaning?

Maintaining a clean email list is critical to the success of your email marketing strategy in Klaviyo. By following best practices for list importing and cleaning, you can improve your deliverability, engagement, and overall campaign performance.

📩 If your email program is underperforming and you’re unsure how to optimize your list cleaning strategy, let’s talk.

At Dispatch, we help brands maximize revenue from email & SMS without damaging subscriber engagement.

👉 Connect with Dispatch today to optimize your email marketing strategy.