​Since celebrating my birthday last week, I decided there's a few things I'm no longer going to feel guilty about.

• Rewatching Columbo episodes as my nightly nervous system soothing protocol.
• Unabashedly using the phrase "no filler, no fluff" (with apologies to LB).
• Picking out the apple green jolly ranchers (and mailing the grape ones to Meg).
• Deleting thousands of people from my email list.

That last one might have freaked me out a few years ago.
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But regularly clearing out my list feels almost as therapeutic as declaring sock bankruptcy (wherein I throw away all the lonesome laundry-ravaged solo socks and buy new matching foot mittens).
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​But how do you decide who stays - and who goes? ​
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My email newsletter service Kit* automatically classifies "cold subscribers" as anyone who hasn't opened an email or clicked any links in 90 days (or 30 days if they've been on your list for a shorter time).
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I like to expand on this classification by creating my own personalized custom cold segment. In my case, I consider it to be anyone who hasn't opened or clicked in 6 months and who isn't tagged as a prospect, client, student or customer.
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​More isn't always better.
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​When you clean your list you'll improve your open and click rates, up your deliverability and save cash if you're able to get your numbers down to a lower pricing tier.
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I'll be sharing more on my exact cleaning mechanisms (both automatic and manual) in the updated version of SmartMail coming later this fall.
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you've got this,
Michelle
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p.s. looking to play by your own rules? My friend and client Joe Pulizzi just released his latest work, Burn The Playbook. Perfect for creators, new grads or those stuck in a job that brings you no satisfaction. I've got an extra copy (side benefit of testing the order form) - first one to respond to this email with your mailing address gets it.