Keep your lists clean
List hygiene means only emailing addresses that are real, relevant and happy to hear from you. It matters because the list is the most common reason cold email stops working: bad addresses cause bounces, bounces hurt your domains, and hurt domains land in spam. Good inboxes can’t fix a bad list.
Here are the habits that keep a list clean, in the order you’ll use them.
1. Verify every list before you send
Section titled “1. Verify every list before you send”Run every list through a verification tool before it goes into your sequencer, every time, even if it came from a source you trust. Contact data goes out of date as people change jobs and companies change domains.
Lists from LeadSonar come verified by EmailShield. If your list came from somewhere else, upload it to EmailShield first.
2. Handle catch-alls with care
Section titled “2. Handle catch-alls with care”A catch-all domain accepts email for any address, real or not. So a verification tool can’t tell whether
jane@company.com actually exists: the server says “yes” to everything. Some of those emails will still bounce later.
Treat catch-all addresses as risky, not safe:
- Don’t mix them into your main campaigns.
- Keep them out of Outlook sends in particular. Outlook inboxes are the most sensitive to bounces.
- If you do want to reach them, ask the team first how to go about it.
3. Remove role and disposable addresses
Section titled “3. Remove role and disposable addresses”- Role accounts are shared addresses like
info@,sales@orsupport@. Nobody in particular reads them and they rarely reply. Remove them. - Disposable addresses come from temporary email services and stop working quickly. Remove them.
EmailShield flags both.
4. Stop emailing bounces and unsubscribes straight away
Section titled “4. Stop emailing bounces and unsubscribes straight away”-
When an email bounces, remove that contact. Don’t send to the same address again.
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When someone unsubscribes or asks you to stop, remove them from every campaign, not just the one they replied to.
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Keep a “do not email” list and check every new list against it before importing.
Most sequencers can stop a sequence on a bounce or unsubscribe automatically. Check that the setting is on.
5. Don’t recycle the same list too soon
Section titled “5. Don’t recycle the same list too soon”People who didn’t reply the first time don’t want the same email again. Sending the same copy to the same list again soon raises the chance of spam complaints. As a rule of thumb from our Cold Email Bible, wait about 90 days before emailing the same contacts again, and use a fresh angle when you do.
To keep sending in between, you need fresh contacts. See how many contacts you need for the maths.
6. Segment your list
Section titled “6. Segment your list”Don’t send one message to several types of buyer at once. Split your list by the kind of company and person, and write for each group. The message fits better, and fewer people mark you as spam.
When replies drop, check the list first
Section titled “When replies drop, check the list first”If replies fall or bounces rise, the list is the most common cause. Ask yourself:
- Did I verify every email? What’s the bounce rate on this campaign?
- Is this a fresh list, or one I emailed in the last 90 days?
- Am I reaching the actual decision-maker, or just a loosely related job title?
- Is the list segmented, or one message to everyone?
Only after the list checks out should you look at your writing and then your inboxes.