The act of maintaining a list so that hard bounces and unsubscribed names are removed from mailings. Some list owners also use an email change-of-address service to update old or abandoned email addresses (hopefully with a permission step baked in) as part of this process.

The 3 Things To Avoid When Emailing Your List
When you decide to have an opt-in list, it is not just a matter of sending your subscribers your promotional newsletters or catalogs.

