How to Clean Your Email List in Klaviyo (and Save Money Doing It)
Running a lean, profitable email strategy starts with a clean list.
If you're using Klaviyo, there's a good chance you're paying for inactive contacts—and it's quietly costing you revenue, deliverability, and ROI. At Milhook, we help DTC brands save thousands each year just by implementing proper list cleaning strategies.
Here's a step-by-step guide to cleaning your list in Klaviyo the right way.
Why Clean Your Email List?
Before we jump into how, let’s talk about why list cleaning is essential:
Lower your Klaviyo bill: Klaviyo charges based on the number of active profiles. Inactive subscribers = wasted spend.
Improve deliverability: Removing unengaged contacts keeps your open rates high and spam complaints low.
Boost engagement: Focusing on quality contacts improves CTR, conversions, and revenue per email.
Protect your sender reputation: Repeatedly emailing disinterested users can land you in the spam folder.
Step-by-Step: How to Clean Your List in Klaviyo
Step 1: Identify Inactive Subscribers
Create a segment in Klaviyo for users who haven’t opened or clicked any email in the last 90 to 120 days. Example conditions:
Someone has received email at least 5 times over the last 120 daysAND has not opened or clicked any email in the last 120 days
This gives you a clear picture of who’s not engaging.
Step 2: Try a Re-Engagement Campaign
Before removing them completely, give inactive users one last chance to opt back in. Create a compelling re-engagement flow that includes:
A subject line that stands out (e.g., "Still want to hear from us?")
A strong CTA ("Stay subscribed" or "Update preferences")
A clear message about what they’ll miss if they leave
If they don’t engage with this email, it’s time to remove or suppress.
Step 3: Suppress or Delete
Once the re-engagement campaign is complete:
Suppress contacts who didn’t engage. This keeps the data but ensures Klaviyo stops emailing them.
Delete contacts only if you're sure you won't need the profile data (e.g., for ad targeting or historical reports).
Suppression is usually the safest and most cost-effective choice.
Step 4: Automate List Hygiene
Use Klaviyo’s segmentation tools to set up automatic filters so you’re regularly identifying and suppressing inactive profiles. Consider setting a quarterly review cadence.
Pro Tip: Segment by Engagement, Not Just Time
Sometimes subscribers only engage during certain seasons. Instead of just removing based on inactivity over a set number of days, layer in engagement frequency and customer value.
Example: Don’t suppress a high LTV customer who’s just been dormant for 3 months—they may come back.
The Results: Cleaner Lists, Lower Costs, Higher Revenue
We recently worked with a brand paying for over 40,000 contacts—after list cleaning, only 24,000 were truly active. That cut their Klaviyo bill by over $400/month and instantly improved open rates by 12%.
Want Help With This?
If list cleaning sounds like a hassle, we offer one-time audits and flow setup through our Email A La Carte services starting at $59 per email. No retainers, just results.
Reach out to us at milhook@milhook.com or visit www.milhook.com to learn more.
