Stop Wasting Money on People Who Don't Open Your Emails: The 2026 Update
I know what you're thinking – another 'update your content' article. But stick with me, because since we first wrote this, I've seen the email marketing landscape shift significantly, especially for small to medium businesses here in Brisbane. The core message remains critical, but the stakes are even higher now.
Most business owners I talk to in Brisbane—whether they’re running a landscaping business in Chermside, a boutique law firm in the CBD, or a bustling café in West End—still share a common, albeit misplaced, pride: the sheer size of their email list. They'll beam, "I’ve got 5,000 people on my list!" or even "We're up to 10,000!"
But when I ask how many of those people actually engaged with an email, clicked a link, or, more importantly, bought something in the last year, the room still goes quiet. And honestly, it’s often a telling silence.
Here is the cold, hard truth, amplified for 2026: a big email list is often a vanity metric that is actively hurting your bank account and, increasingly, your future deliverability. If you have 5,000 people on your list but 2,000 of them haven't opened an email from you since the 2022 floods (or even since the 2024 election!), you aren't just shouting into the void—you’re paying for the privilege of being ignored. Worse, you're actively training Gmail and Outlook to send your messages straight to the digital rubbish bin.
A "sunset policy" sounds like a technical marketing term, but it’s actually a simple, pragmatic business rule: if someone stops engaging with your business through email, you stop spending money and risking your reputation to talk to them. It’s about cleaning out the dead wood so your real customers can actually hear from you, and so your marketing budget goes further.
The Real Cost of "Dead" Email Subscribers: It's Worse Than You Think
I’ve seen dozens of local businesses get this wrong. They think that keeping every single email address they’ve ever collected is "playing it safe" or "we might need them later." It isn't. It’s a liability that’s growing in severity for three major reasons:
1. You are literally paying for nothing (and often more than before)
Most email software companies (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, etc.) charge you based on the number of active subscribers on your list. These platforms have also been increasing their pricing tiers over the last few years. If you’re paying $150 a month to send emails to 5,000 people, but 40% of them are inactive, you are effectively throwing $60 (or more!) into the bin every single month. Over a few years, that’s thousands of dollars wasted. We're talking about real, tangible cash flow that could be better spent on ads that convert, better content creation, or even just a well-deserved team lunch!
Understanding your email platform costs is the first step to making your marketing profitable. And with inflation affecting almost everything, every dollar saved is a dollar earned.
2. Google and Outlook definitely think you're a spammer (and they're getting stricter)
This is the part most people still miss, and it's become critically important in late 2025/early 2026. Companies like Google (Gmail) and Microsoft (Outlook) are constantly refining their algorithms. They watch user behaviour like hawks: open rates, click-through rates, and how often users mark emails as spam or move them to the promotions tab. If they see that you send 1,000 emails and only 50 people open them, they don't just assume your content is junk; they categorise it as low-value or outright spam.
New for 2026: Both Google and Yahoo recently rolled out stricter sender requirements. This includes DMARC authentication (a technical email security standard) and, critically, a low spam complaint rate. If your emails consistently have low engagement (because you're sending to inactive subscribers), your overall sender reputation plummets. Eventually, they’ll start putting all your emails straight into the "Promotions" tab or, worse, the Spam folder—even for your loyal customers who actually want to buy from you. By keeping inactive people on your list, you are making it harder for your best customers to see your messages. It’s like trying to have a conversation in a noisy room; your important messages just get lost in the din.
3. Your data is lying to you (and sabotaging your strategy)
If you're trying to figure out what's working, inactive subscribers mess up your numbers in a big way. Imagine you run a special offer, and your report says a 1% conversion rate. You might think the sale was a flop. But if half your list is dead, your actual conversion rate among engaged subscribers was a much healthier 2%. You can't make smart business decisions with bad data. You're flying blind, making strategic choices based on flawed insights, and that costs you opportunities.
How to Set Up Your Sunset Policy (The Plain English Guide, Updated for Today)
You don't need to be a tech genius to do this. You just need to make a proactive decision based on your specific business cycle and customer journey. A "sunset" is simply the point where you decide a lead has gone cold and is no longer worth the investment of your time and money.
Step 1: Define the "Cut-Off" Point (Be Realistic)
How long should you wait before giving up on someone? It depends entirely on what you sell and your typical sales cycle. Don't just pick a number; think about your business:
High-frequency (Cafes, Retail, Weekly Deals): If they haven't opened an email in 3 months, they’re likely gone. For a coffee shop in New Farm, that's a long time to miss out on daily specials. Service-based (Tradies, Pest Control, Hairdressers): If they haven't engaged in 6 months, they’re cooling off significantly. A local plumber in Stafford might expect return business every 12-18 months, but if they haven't opened an email in half that time, they're probably not looking for you. High-value/Long-term (Real Estate, Mortgage Brokers, B2B Consultants): You might wait 9-12 months. For a financial planner in the CBD, the sales cycle is long, but even then, a year of silence means they've likely gone elsewhere or aren't in the market.
Pro Tip: Look at your own sales data. What's the average time between a first enquiry and a sale? What's the average repeat purchase cycle? This will give you a much more accurate cut-off point.
Step 2: The "Last Chance" Saloon (Make it Count!)
Before you delete anyone, give them one final, compelling chance to stay. We call this a "re-engagement campaign." It’s a simple, blunt email, but it needs to be well-crafted.
Subject Line Ideas (be direct!): "Are you still there?" "Should I stop emailing you?" "Your subscription to [Your Business Name] is about to expire..." "Don't miss out! We're cleaning our list."
Inside the Email (be honest and offer value): "Hi [Name],
We've noticed you haven't opened our updates from [Your Business Name] in a while. We value your inbox and don't want to clutter it if you're no longer interested in our [products/services/news].
If you'd like to keep receiving exclusive offers, tips, and updates from us, please click the button below to confirm your interest. Otherwise, we'll remove you from our list next week to ensure we're only sending valuable content to engaged subscribers.
[YES, I WANT TO STAY! (Link to a simple 'thank you' page or update preferences)]
Thanks for being a part of our community! [Your Name/Business Name]"
I’ve seen a plumber in Morningside use this exact approach and actually book three jobs from people who had simply forgotten he existed. It’s a great way to get new customers with email without being a nuisance, and it genuinely cleans your list. We even ran one for a client in Fortitude Valley who runs a niche online store; they offered a small, time-limited discount code for re-engagement, and not only did they retain a good chunk of their list, but they also saw a spike in sales from that segment.
Step 3: The Big Clean (Don't Hesitate, Don't Feel Guilty)
If they don't click that link in your "last chance" email within your specified timeframe (typically 7-14 days), you remove them. Don't hesitate. Don't feel guilty. You are improving the health of your business, your marketing effectiveness, and your bottom line. This isn't about losing a subscriber; it's about gaining clarity, saving money, and protecting your sender reputation.
What Results Should You Expect? (The Payoff!)
When we implement these policies for our clients at Local Marketing Group, the results are almost immediate and genuinely impactful.
1. Lower Bills: Your monthly software subscription often drops to a lower tier, saving you real money every month. 2. Better Deliverability: More of your emails start landing in the primary inbox rather than the spam or promotions folder. This means more eyeballs on your offers. 3. Higher Engagement Metrics: Your "open rates" and "click-through rates" will skyrocket because you’re only talking to people who actually care. This provides much more accurate data for future campaign optimisation. 4. Improved Sender Reputation: Gmail and Outlook see you as a responsible sender, which further boosts your deliverability across the board.
I recently worked with a professional services firm in South Brisbane. They had 8,000 people on their list but were only getting about 800 opens per email (a dismal 10%). After we meticulously cleaned their list, "sunsetting" nearly 4,000 inactive contacts, their opens actually increased to 1,200 from a list of 4,000. Their open rate jumped from 10% to 30%! Why? Because Gmail stopped flagging them as low-quality, and their real clients finally started seeing their valuable advice and offers again. That's a massive win.
Is This a Waste of Leads? (Still a Common Question!)
I still get this question a lot: "But what if they want to buy next year? Won't I lose them forever?"
Look, if someone hasn't opened a single email from you in 6-12 months (or whatever your defined sunset period is), they aren't an active lead. They are, for all intents and purposes, a ghost in your system. If they suddenly decide they need your services again, they’ll find you on Google, social media, or via word-of-mouth. Keeping them on a list they aren't reading doesn't help them find you; it just costs you money and harms your overall email performance.
Focus your energy on the people who are actually responding and engaging. Your goal is to turn enquiries into sales, not to collect a digital hoard of email addresses that have no value. Every marketing dollar and minute counts, especially for local businesses competing in a crowded digital space.
What Should You Do First? (Your Action Plan for Today)
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start with these three steps today. Seriously, block out 30 minutes right now and do this:
1. Log into your email marketing tool: Whether it's Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, or something else. 2. Filter by activity: Find everyone who hasn't opened any* email from you in your chosen "cut-off" period (e.g., the last 6 months). Most platforms have robust filtering capabilities for this. 3. Check the number: If that number is more than 20% of your total list, you are absolutely overpaying for your marketing and actively hurting your deliverability. If it's over 40-50%, you've got a serious problem that needs immediate attention.
Most Brisbane business owners are too busy running their operations to do this themselves, and that’s perfectly understandable. But you need to make sure whoever is handling your marketing is doing it for you. If your current "marketing person" tells you that list size is the most important metric, or shrugs off low open rates, they are focused on the wrong things and potentially damaging your long-term email health.
In business, we care about profit and actual engagement, not just popularity. A lean, engaged list of 1,000 people who actually buy from you is worth infinitely more than a bloated list of 10,000 people who have checked out and are dragging down your sender reputation.
Need Help Cleaning Up Your Marketing?
Stop paying for "dead" leads and start focusing on strategies that actually result in phone calls, bookings, and sales. At Local Marketing Group, we help Brisbane businesses cut the waste, improve their digital presence, and focus on what truly works in today's evolving marketing landscape.
If you want a marketing strategy that focuses on tangible results rather than vanity metrics and confusing jargon, let’s chat. We're here to help your local business thrive.
Contact us today at https://lmgroup.au/contact