How to Create Lists

Creating and managing contact lists in Benchmark Email is essential for organizing your contacts and sending email campaigns. There are multiple ways to create contact lists within Benchmark Email, making it easy to segment and manage your audience efficiently.

Things to know before getting started:

• Contact Lists are required when sending email campaigns.
• Contacts in duplicate contact lists are considered unique and would only receive one email.

How to Create a List from the List Dashboard

You can create lists from the List Dashboard to easily add contacts later. To create new lists, follow the steps below from the dashboard.

1. Go to the List Dashboard.
2. Click on Create List.
3. Define List Criteria. Filter for contacts who match specific criteria. Some examples include:

• Tags
• Email Address
• Created Date
• Modified Date
• Custom Contact Fields

If you only need to create a list and will add contacts later, you can skip this section by selecting Skip Criteria.

Filter options will vary based on the field type, tag, or event. Here is how each works.

• Field Type
  • Text:
    • Is Exactly
    • Is Not
    • Starts with
    • Has any value
    • Is empty
  • Number
    • Is
    • Is Not
    • Greater than
    • Less than
    • In between
    • Has any value
    • Is empty
  • Date: select options from
    • Is, is afer, is before, is between, is in the last.
• Tag
  • Include: create a list of contacts with the tag.
  • Exclude: create a list of contacts without the tag.
• Event
  • Email: for this option, you can select a specific email or choose Any email and select your date range. Here are some of the filter options.
    • Sent
    • Not opened
    • Clicked
    • Not clicked
    • Bounced
    • Complained
    • Unsubscribed
• The 'Or' option allows you to group other criteria options to filter for specific contacts.

4. Once you've selected your criteria, click Continue to review the filtered contacts.
   • If there are no results, go back and review the criteria.
5. If the results are correct, click Continue.
6. Name the list and select Add List to finalize it.

The new list will appear in your List dashboard. Depending on the number of contacts the list can take up to 10 minutes to generate.

How to create a list using the Contact Import option

You can also create a Contact List while importing new contacts. This method ensures that new contacts are organized immediately upon import.

To create a Contact List during import, follow the steps below.

1. From the Contacts dashboard, select Import Contacts.
2. Drag and drop your file or click on the Import option to select a file from your computer.
3. Map the fields in your contact list, then click Continue.

4. On the next page, type the name of your new list, click +Add, and select Continue.

   

5. Review your import summary. If everything looks good, select Continue. You'll see a success message at the top right of your screen.

Your new contacts will be added to your Contact dashboard, and the new list will appear in your List dashboard. Depending on the number of contacts, it can take up to 10 minutes for the file to complete importing.

Create a list using Filters in the Contacts Dashboard

To create a list using the filter options in the Contact dashboard, follow the steps below.

1. From the Contacts dashboard, click on the Filter option.
2. Select the contact's criteria. You can include multiple criteria options using the Or and the AND options.
3. When done, select Close and Apply.
4. You can select the contacts by clicking on the checkbox on the top left of the menu. This will select the contacts on the first page of the results. To select all contacts matching the criteria, click Select All.
5. Then click on the option + Add to Static List.
6. Here, you can select an existing list or type a new list name and then click +Add.
7. Last click Save.

Adding Individual Contacts To a List

You can add individual contacts to a list within the contact record.

1. From the Contacts dashboard, search for your contact and click on their email address.
2. Click the edit option in the Contact Information section.
3. Go down to the Static List section, click on the Dropdown Menu, and select an existing list.

• You can also create a new contact list by typing the list name and clicking +Add.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I create a list based on tags associated to the contact, will the list auto-update?

No, you will need to run the filter periodically to ensure the contacts are added to the Static list.

Why do I need to have a list created to send an email?

During the email creation process, you can send the email to a contact list. If no list is created, you can save the email and send it to a contact or group of contacts through the Contacts Dashboard. You can also build emails from scratch using this method.