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Mailing Lists

Mailing Lists

Mailing lists are the audience for your email campaigns. A list is a collection of contacts who will receive an email when a campaign sends. concorbit supports two types of lists, static lists that you build manually, and segment-based lists that pull contacts dynamically from your CRM.

List Types

Static Lists

A static list contains contacts that have been explicitly added. You control exactly who is on the list by adding and removing contacts manually, through bulk import, or via the subscriber management interface.

Static lists are best for:

  • Hand-picked audiences (e.g. VIP customers, event attendees).

  • One-off campaigns to a specific group.

  • Lists built from external sources (imported CSVs).

Segment-Based Lists

A segment-based list is linked to a CRM segment. Instead of storing a fixed set of contacts, it evaluates the segment's filter criteria at send time and includes all matching contacts.

Segment-based lists are best for:

  • Dynamic audiences that change over time (e.g. "all contacts in London", "contacts tagged Premium").

  • Campaigns that should always target the freshest data.

  • Avoiding manual list maintenance, as contacts enter or leave a segment, the list automatically reflects the change.

When you create a segment-based list, you select an existing CRM segment. The list's subscriber count is recalculated each time you view it or when a campaign resolves recipients.

Creating a Mailing List

  1. Navigate to Email > Lists.

  2. Click New List.

  3. Fill in the details:

    • Name: A descriptive name (e.g. "Newsletter Subscribers", "Q2 Product Launch").

    • Description: Optional internal notes about this list's purpose.

    • Type: Choose Static or Segment.

    • If Segment: select the CRM segment to link.

    • Double opt-in: Toggle on if you want contacts to confirm their subscription via email before being added (see "Double Opt-In" below).

  4. Click Create.

Adding Contacts to a Static List

There are several ways to populate a static list:

Manual Addition

  1. Open the mailing list.

  2. Click Add Subscribers.

  3. Search for contacts by name or email.

  4. Select one or more contacts.

  5. Click Add.

Each contact is added with a "subscribed" status and a subscription timestamp.

Bulk Addition

You can add multiple contacts at once:

  1. Open the mailing list.

  2. Click Add Subscribers.

  3. Select contacts in bulk from the contact picker.

  4. Click Add All Selected.

From the CRM

When viewing a contact in the CRM, you can add them to one or more mailing lists directly from their contact record.

Removing Contacts from a List

Manual Removal

  1. Open the mailing list.

  2. Find the contact in the subscriber list.

  3. Click Remove.

The contact is removed from this specific list. They remain in your CRM and in any other lists they belong to.

Unsubscribed Contacts

When a contact unsubscribes (via the unsubscribe link in a campaign email), they are removed from the sending pool. See "Unsubscribe Management" below for details.

Double Opt-In

Double opt-in adds a confirmation step to the subscription process. When enabled:

  1. A contact is added to the list with a "pending" status.

  2. The contact receives a confirmation email.

  3. The contact clicks the confirmation link.

  4. Their status changes to "subscribed" and they become eligible to receive campaigns.

When to Use Double Opt-In

  • Required for GDPR compliance in many situations, particularly when collecting email addresses from website forms.

  • Recommended for any list where contacts are being added from external sources.

  • Produces a higher-quality list with fewer bounces and complaints, because only contacts who genuinely want to receive emails confirm their subscription.

When to Skip Double Opt-In

  • Internal lists where you have a pre-existing business relationship with all contacts.

  • Lists built from your own CRM data where consent was obtained through other means.

You can enable or disable double opt-in per list.

Unsubscribe Management

How Unsubscribes Work

Every campaign email sent through concorbit includes an unsubscribe link. When a contact clicks the unsubscribe link:

  1. They are taken to a confirmation page.

  2. They confirm they want to unsubscribe.

  3. A global unsubscribe record is created for that contact in your workspace.

  4. The contact is excluded from all future campaign sends for your workspace, regardless of which mailing list the campaign targets.

Global vs Per-List Unsubscribe

concorbit uses a global unsubscribe model. When a contact unsubscribes from any campaign, they are excluded from all future campaigns for your workspace. This is the safest approach for compliance and prevents contacts from receiving unwanted emails on other lists.

Viewing Unsubscribed Contacts

Unsubscribe records are tracked with:

  • The contact who unsubscribed.

  • The campaign that triggered the unsubscribe (if applicable).

  • The reason (if provided).

  • The date and time of the unsubscribe.

Re-subscribing a Contact

If a contact requests to be re-added to your mailing list, you can remove their global unsubscribe record. This should only be done with explicit consent from the contact.

List Hygiene

Maintaining clean mailing lists is critical for deliverability. Poor list hygiene leads to high bounce rates, which can damage your sender reputation and result in your emails being flagged as spam.

Automatic Exclusions

concorbit automatically excludes the following contacts from campaign sends:

  • Globally unsubscribed contacts: Contacts who have opted out.

  • Contacts without an email address: Contacts missing the email field in the CRM.

  • Inactive contacts: Contacts marked as inactive in the CRM.

  • Hard-bounced contacts: Contacts whose email addresses have permanently bounced.

Manual Hygiene Steps

Regularly review your lists:

  1. Remove invalid addresses: If you notice soft bounces from specific contacts, verify their email addresses and update or remove them.

  2. Prune inactive subscribers: Contacts who have not opened or clicked any email in 6+ months may be disengaged. Consider moving them to a re-engagement campaign or removing them.

  3. Update segment criteria: If using segment-based lists, periodically review the segment filters to ensure they still target the right audience.

  4. Monitor subscriber counts: A sudden drop in subscriber count may indicate a data issue. A sudden spike may indicate an unintended import.

Suppression Lists

Suppression is handled through the global unsubscribe mechanism. Any contact who has unsubscribed is suppressed across all campaign sends. Additionally, contacts who have filed complaints (marked your emails as spam) are automatically flagged and excluded from future sends.

You do not need to maintain a separate suppression list. concorbit manages this automatically through the unsubscribe and bounce tracking systems.

GDPR Compliance

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes requirements on how you collect, store, and use email addresses for marketing. concorbit provides tools to help you comply, but you are responsible for ensuring your use of the platform meets your legal obligations.

  • Only add contacts to mailing lists if you have a lawful basis for processing their data (consent, legitimate interest, etc.).

  • Use double opt-in for lists built from web forms or external sources.

  • Record when and how consent was obtained.

Right to Unsubscribe

  • Every campaign email includes an unsubscribe link.

  • Unsubscribe requests are processed immediately and globally.

  • concorbit records the timestamp of every unsubscribe for audit purposes.

Right to Erasure

  • If a contact exercises their right to be forgotten, remove them from all mailing lists and delete their CRM record.

  • concorbit's soft-delete and audit trail features help you track what data existed and when it was removed.

Data Minimisation

  • Only collect and store the contact data you need for your campaigns.

  • Use merge fields to personalise emails from CRM data rather than embedding personal data directly in template content.

Record Keeping

  • concorbit logs every email sent, including the recipient, timestamp, and campaign. This provides an audit trail of your marketing communications.

  • Mailing list subscription records include timestamps for when contacts were added and (if applicable) when they unsubscribed.

Managing Lists

Searching and Filtering

On the Lists page:

  • Use the search bar to find lists by name.

  • View each list's subscriber count, type (static/segment), and active status.

Activating and Deactivating

Lists have an active/inactive toggle. Inactive lists do not appear in the mailing list picker when creating a campaign.

Refreshing Subscriber Counts

For static lists, the subscriber count is cached and updated when contacts are added or removed. For segment-based lists, the count is recalculated when you view the list. You can manually refresh the count from the list detail view.

Deleting Lists

Deleting a mailing list soft-deletes it. The list is removed from the interface but can be recovered if needed. Deleting a list does not affect the contacts themselves, they remain in your CRM and in any other lists they belong to.

Canvas Panels

The Email module provides two canvas panels for list management:

  • Mailing Lists: Shows all lists with subscriber counts. Click a list to scope the detail panel. Includes an inline + New button for quick list creation.

  • Mailing List Detail: Shows a single list with its name, description, type, subscriber count, and double opt-in setting. Supports inline editing.

Both panels are included in the Email Workspace canvas template.