Dear , 

Are you the sort of person who believes that when you buy a new pair of shoes, you have to get rid of an old pair? Or perhaps it's handbags, ties, or jackets. Out with old, in with the new, eh?

I'm not. 

I don't replace, I just sort of re-assign. When I get a new pair of, say, running sneakers, the old ones become "backups" and the really old ones become "junk" sneakers. And, it turns out, junk sneakers never really need to be thrown out because they always have the potential to be used in the mud, the garden, or some other messy situation. 

Don't even get me started on bags...

Holding on to hope that an object will become useful again someday - even after years of hanging around untouched - is a bit silly, I know. But it's similar to the way we think about our email subscribers. We can't possibly consider deleting them even though they haven't opened a single email in months or years. As long as they're lingering on our lists, we believe, they have the potential to engage with us someday. 🤞🏼

But like old sneakers in a closet, cold subscribers are just taking up space. And, in the case of email lists, cold subscribers are actually hurting your ability to reach everyone else. Keeping a clean list is important to deliverability - find out how by checking out this short article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse...  or this one: https://www.bernadettemack.com... . 

It all comes down to our ability to let go - and a willingness to release what is no longer serving a purpose. I like to think of it as making space for something (or in the case of email: someone) new. Letting go can be scary at first, but will ultimately feel lighter, fresher, and more productive. Stale habits, old sneakers, cold subscribers - we really ought to ditch them all. 

If you're into meditation, here are two nice tracks to help you focus on letting go: https://insig.ht/1rRN9TG5Gwb and https://insig.ht/pdaEtAn5Gwb 

If quotes are more your jam, here's one from a recent issue of 3-2-1 Thursday:

And if, by now, you've grown tired of hearing and thinking about email, fear not. I'll have new topics for you in the coming weeks. If there's something you want to know more about, drop me a line. I love getting mail from you.

P.S. Here's me saying "peace out" to a pair of (very) old sneakers. If I can do it, so can you!