At HubSpot we believe that if a contact has not specifically opted into email communication, then you should not email them at all. Accordingly, if there are addresses on your list that you know were purchased or have not explicitly opted in then I recommend deleting them.
That being said, HubSpot automatically checks to see if email addresses you import could be invalid. I say this because we examine the syntax of the email and if any of them are clearly invalid we will prevent you from adding/emailing them. Meanwhile, a list hygiene software will actually ping the servers of your addresses to see if they are valid. Additionally, if an email has bounced previously from another HubSpot account, then we will mark it as such to prevent you from sending to them, which would harm your sending reputation.
That being said, if you use legitimate means to acquire your contact lists then you should not need to use list hygiene software.
I recommend running an email reengagement campaign, which similar to your suggestion, helps you identify dormant contacts, see if they want to continue receiving emails, and remove those who remain inactive. Here is a guide on how to do this: http://academy.hubspot.com/projects/customer-projects-email-reengagement-campaign
Rami's point on acquiring contacts is very important and it looks like you are going right about it.
However, contact decays at a rate of 35% every year (https://www.hubspot.com/database-decay). Therefore, email hygiene periodical check-up is essential to make sure you eliminate invalid emails before your email marketing. Email hygiene should also give you recommendations about how you use the emails depending on their quality so you can avoid your valid emails from bouncing back. Check this test link to give you an idea (https://info.myebcard.com/test-your-contact-data-quality).
I have used email verification service https://myemailverifier.com/. This service gave high accurate results. I have also tried other services like zerobounce and debounce. I found MEV as more accurate results compared to them. MyEmailVerifier is the only email verification service to identify disable users in yahoo/AOL.
I have used email verification service https://myemailverifier.com/. This service gave high accurate results. I have also tried other services like zerobounce and debounce. I found MEV as more accurate results compared to them. MyEmailVerifier is the only email verification service to identify disable users in yahoo/AOL.
I think it is essential to scrub your database frequently to remove contacts that have moved to another company. I use a tool called FreshAddress and have them to be very accurate.
We try to validate our entire list at least twice a year - to account for email decay (mentioned by someone else on this thread).
At HubSpot we believe that if a contact has not specifically opted into email communication, then you should not email them at all. Accordingly, if there are addresses on your list that you know were purchased or have not explicitly opted in then I recommend deleting them.
That being said, HubSpot automatically checks to see if email addresses you import could be invalid. I say this because we examine the syntax of the email and if any of them are clearly invalid we will prevent you from adding/emailing them. Meanwhile, a list hygiene software will actually ping the servers of your addresses to see if they are valid. Additionally, if an email has bounced previously from another HubSpot account, then we will mark it as such to prevent you from sending to them, which would harm your sending reputation.
That being said, if you use legitimate means to acquire your contact lists then you should not need to use list hygiene software.
I recommend running an email reengagement campaign, which similar to your suggestion, helps you identify dormant contacts, see if they want to continue receiving emails, and remove those who remain inactive. Here is a guide on how to do this: http://academy.hubspot.com/projects/customer-projects-email-reengagement-campaign
Rami's point on acquiring contacts is very important and it looks like you are going right about it.
However, contact decays at a rate of 35% every year (https://www.hubspot.com/database-decay). Therefore, email hygiene periodical check-up is essential to make sure you eliminate invalid emails before your email marketing. Email hygiene should also give you recommendations about how you use the emails depending on their quality so you can avoid your valid emails from bouncing back. Check this test link to give you an idea (https://info.myebcard.com/test-your-contact-data-quality).
