We had the great pleasure of inviting [Jack Hogan](http://twitter.com/jack_s_hogan), CTO of [Lifescript](http://www.lifescript.com/) to speak at our recent webinar: Email Woes! 5 Things You’re Missing with the Wrong Email Platform. Jack stated that the 5 most important things to look out for when choosing an email platform were manageability, scalability, performance, extensibility and cost. During the webinar, Jack also addressed certain questions raised during the Q&A stating that list size is no longer the determining factor of a marketing program’s success – list activity/engagement and email deliverability are. In light of his comments, we sat Jack down after the webinar where he elaborated on nine crucial principles for success in managing email lists and message transmissions. Here’s what he said:

_“Good deliverability is based on very simple principles around list building, message transmission, and list management._

## _List Building Principles:_

1.  _Only work with reputable lead generation partners or internal processes that have controls in place._
2.  _Never use pre-checked opt in forms or purchase lists._
3.  _Validate all names through list hygiene vendors._

## _Message Transmission Principles:_

1.  _Your IP addresses are critical and this is how ISPs know mail is actually coming from you so authenticate with DKIM and SPF._
2.  _Respect ISP posted transmission guidelines and utilize an [MTA](http://www.messagesystems.com/blog/infographic-momentum-vs-commodity-mtas/ "[Infographic] Are You Getting Enough Mileage Out of Commodity Message Transfer Agents?") or ESP that adheres and adapts to these changing guidelines._
3.  _Track your deliverability through all means available including list activity data, delivery monitoring vendors, and internal list seeding._

## _List Management Principles:_

1.  _Send engaging content._
2.  _List engagement, not list size should guide all list management practices – remove hard bounces immediately, make unsubscribe simple, and remove inactive users._
3.  _Use data you already have to enhance engagement and grow your lists.”_

At Lifescript, half a billion emails are sent out a month, so pay attention because Jack definitely knows what he is talking about. If you’re interested in learning more from Jack, check out the tweets below from his recent webinar, Email woes! 5 Things You’re Missing with the Wrong Email Platform (credit [michael](http://www.dresshead.com/dresshead-staff-profile-michael-proulx/)). You can also learn more about how Lifescript overcame high volume sending challenges in this **[case study](http://www.messagesystems.com/resources/case-studies/lifescript)**.

_Get more insight on improving your email deliverability with the **[Six Secrets of Successful Senders](http://www.messagesystems.com/resources/digital-library/guides/six-secrets-successful-senders?src=Blog&pc=BlogDL-WP-SixSecrets)** guide!_

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