If you’re serious about email—whether you’re running a newsletter, sales outreach, or just cleaning up a messy list—you already know the usual advice: segment your audience and focus on the best leads. Easier said than done. This guide is for anyone tired of sifting through endless CSVs or blasting out emails to people who clearly don’t care.
Here’s how to actually use Truemail filters to break up your list, keep your sender reputation intact, and make sure you’re emailing people who might, you know, actually respond.
1. Why Segment and Prioritize Email Lists Anyway?
Let’s get this out of the way: sending email to everyone on your list is a great way to end up in spam folders, burn out your domain, and waste money on sending tools. Segmentation isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the only way to make email work without annoying everyone.
The real benefits: - Fewer bounces. Old or fake addresses hurt your deliverability. Segmenting lets you skip the junk. - Better engagement. Targeted emails get opened and clicked. Blasts get ignored. - Lower costs. Many tools (including Truemail) charge by the number of emails or validations. Smaller, better lists = less cash burned. - More replies. If you’re doing outreach, this is the whole point.
If you’re already sold, skip ahead. If not, just remember: less is more.
2. Getting Started: Import Your List into Truemail
Before you can filter or segment anything, you need to actually get your data into Truemail.
Here’s the usual workflow: 1. Export your list from wherever it lives: Mailchimp, HubSpot, Google Sheets, whatever. Export as CSV if possible. 2. Sign in to Truemail and look for the “Upload” or “Import List” feature. It’s usually front and center. 3. Upload your CSV. No need to overthink columns for now—Truemail mostly cares about the email address column. 4. Wait for the scan. Truemail will run a validation. This takes a few minutes for small lists, longer for big ones. Go get coffee.
Pro Tip: If your list has names, tags, or custom fields, Truemail will often keep those, which is handy for later segmentation.
3. Understand Truemail’s Filtering Options
Truemail’s filters are straightforward, but there’s more under the hood than just “valid or invalid.”
Key filters you’ll see: - Valid / Invalid / Unknown: The basics. “Valid” means Truemail thinks it’s a real, working inbox. - Catch-All: These domains accept any email, so you can’t really know if they’re real. Risky for cold outreach. - Disposable: Temporary, throwaway email addresses. Skip these. Always. - Role-Based: Think “info@,” “sales@,” or “admin@.” Usually not a real person. - Syntax Errors: Typos or garbage. Remove these. - Mailbox Full: This person’s mailbox is always full. Don’t bother. - Free vs. Corporate: Gmail, Yahoo, etc. vs. company domains.
What’s actually worth filtering? - Always remove syntactic errors, disposables, and invalids. - Be wary of catch-alls and role-based addresses for sales or outreach. - “Unknown” is a gray area—sometimes these are fine, sometimes not.
Ignore: Overthinking minor categories (like “accept-all, but with DMARC warnings”) will just slow you down. Stick to the basics unless you have a special reason.
4. Segmenting Your List with Truemail Filters
Now, let’s actually break up your list so you can email the right people.
Step 1: Filter Out the Obvious Junk
Start simple: - Filter for only valid addresses. This is non-negotiable if you care about deliverability. - Remove disposable and syntax error emails. - If you’re sending personalized emails, remove role-based addresses too.
How-To: - In Truemail, use the filtering sidebar or dropdowns to select “Valid” and uncheck “Disposable” and “Role-Based.” - Apply the filter. - Export this clean segment as “Primary List” or whatever makes sense.
Step 2: Handle the “Catch-All” and “Unknowns”
Catch-all addresses are trickier: - If you’re desperate for coverage, keep them. - If you care about reply rate and sender reputation, skip them.
Unknowns: Sometimes, these emails are valid but couldn’t be verified (maybe the server was down). If you want to play it safe, set them aside in a separate segment.
Pro Tip: If you have a big list, send a small campaign to “Unknowns” first. If open rates are OK and bounce rates are low, you can move some into your main list.
Step 3: Segment by Domain Type
Truemail can sort emails by domain: - Free providers (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.): Good for B2C, not great for B2B targeting. - Corporate domains: If you’re selling to businesses, focus here.
You can create two lists: - “Personal Emails” (free providers) - “Business Emails” (company domains)
This is super useful for tailoring your message.
Step 4: Get Granular (If You Need To)
If your list has extra fields (location, tags, sign-up source): - Use Truemail’s custom field filtering to break out segments, like “US customers,” “Webinar signups,” or “VIPs.” - Only do this if you have a plan. Don’t segment for the sake of it.
5. Prioritizing Who to Email (and Who to Ignore)
Not all “valid” emails are equal. Here’s how to decide who gets your best effort.
High Priority: - Valid, non-role-based, non-disposable, corporate domain addresses - Past openers or engaged users (if you’ve imported engagement data) - Recent signups (less likely to bounce)
Medium Priority: - Catch-all domains (if you’re willing to risk a few bounces) - Free email addresses from engaged users
Low Priority (or skip): - Role-based or generic inboxes - Unknowns (unless you’ve tested them) - Anyone who’s never engaged, or you can’t remember why they’re on your list
Pro Tip: Email your high-priority segment first, watch your bounce and open rates, then decide if it’s worth emailing the lower-priority folks.
6. Exporting Your Segmented Lists
Truemail makes export easy: 1. Apply your filters to create a segment. 2. Hit “Export” and download as CSV. 3. Import this cleaned, segmented list into your email platform of choice (Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor, or even Gmail mail merge).
Don’t overcomplicate: Exporting too many micro-segments just makes your life harder. Stick to 2–3 main groups unless you have a good reason.
7. Common Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
- Obsession with Perfection: You’ll never get a “perfect” list. Good enough is usually, well, good enough.
- Ignoring Engagement: A “valid” email that never opens anything isn’t worth much. If you have engagement data, use it.
- Over-Segmenting: More segments = more work. Segment just enough to make your emails relevant.
- Not Testing Unknowns: If you’re on the fence about a segment, try a small send first.
- Forgetting to Re-Validate: Lists go stale. Run them through Truemail again if it’s been a few months.
8. Pro Tips for Real-World Success
- Start simple. Clean your list, create a couple of segments, and see what works.
- Watch your metrics. High bounce rate? You’re being too aggressive. Low opens? Maybe your targeting is off.
- Document your process. If you find a filter combo that works, save it.
- Don’t fall for silver bullets. No tool, not even Truemail, will magically make bad lists good. Focus on actual people.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
The best email marketers I know keep their list management straightforward: Clean, segment, test, repeat. Truemail’s filters are just a tool to help you do that faster and with less hassle. Don’t get bogged down in endless options or fancy segment names.
Start small, learn as you go, and remember: The goal isn’t a bigger list—it’s a better one.