Building Audience Lists and Importing Contacts

What lists and contacts are

Your marketing audience lives under the Audience tab. It has two core pieces:

• Lists — named groups you send campaigns to, like Newsletter subscribers or New clients.
• Contacts (subscribers) — the people on those lists. Each has an email, an optional name, and a status (subscribed or unsubscribed).

Only subscribed contacts receive campaigns, and anyone on your suppression list is skipped automatically — so your lists stay compliant without extra effort.

Step 1 — Create a list

1. Open StretchMail → Audience.
2. Click New list.
3. Give it a clear name, e.g. Newsletter subscribers.
4. Save. The list appears with a live subscriber count (which counts only subscribed contacts).

You can rename a list any time, or delete one you no longer need. Deleting a list removes its membership — export or move contacts first if you want to keep them elsewhere.

Step 2 — Add contacts one at a time

1. Select the list.
2. Click New contact.
3. Enter the email (required) and optional name.
4. Save. New contacts default to subscribed.

Step 3 — Import contacts from a CSV

For bigger audiences, import in bulk:

1. Prepare a CSV with an email column and, ideally, a name column. A minimal file looks like:

   email,name
   jordan@example.com,Jordan Lee
   sam@example.com,Sam Rivera
   

1. Select the target list and choose Import contacts.
2. Upload the file. StretchMail adds each row as a contact, de-duplicating by email so re-importing the same file won't create doubles.
3. Review the imported count against your file to confirm everything landed.

Step 4 — Manage contact status

Each contact carries a status:

• Subscribed — will receive campaigns sent to the list.
• Unsubscribed — kept on the list for your records but never emailed.

You can update a contact's name or status, or delete a contact entirely. Changing a status to unsubscribed is the safe way to stop mailing someone without losing the record that they were ever a subscriber.

Step 5 — See everyone with Subscribers

The Subscribers view rolls up contacts across all your lists in one place, showing each person's list, email, name, and status. It's the fastest way to answer "is this person on any of my lists, and are they subscribed?"

Worked example

Payne Coaching Co. imports its client base:

1. Beau creates a list called New clients.
2. He uploads a 47-row CSV with email,name. All 47 import as subscribed; the list count reads 47.
3. Two clients later ask to stop receiving the newsletter — he sets them to unsubscribed. The list still shows them for his records, but his next campaign only queues 45 sends.

Tips

• Clean your CSV first. One email column, valid addresses, no empty rows. Bad addresses hurt deliverability.
• Segment by intent, not just source. Separate Newsletter, New clients, and Event RSVPs so each campaign hits the right people.
• Never re-subscribe people who opted out. Respect unsubscribed — it protects your domain's reputation.
• The count is subscribed-only. If your list "looks small," remember unsubscribed contacts aren't counted.

FAQ

Will importing the same file twice duplicate contacts?
No — contacts are de-duplicated by email address within a list.

Can one person be on multiple lists?
Yes. The Subscribers view shows each membership separately.

What columns does the CSV need?
At minimum email. Add name for a friendlier "Hi {name}" experience.

Troubleshooting

• Import added fewer contacts than expected. Rows with blank or invalid emails are skipped, and duplicates collapse. Check the file.
• A contact isn't getting campaigns. They're likely unsubscribed, or on your suppression list — check their status in Subscribers.
• List count looks wrong. It reflects only subscribed contacts; unsubscribed ones exist but aren't counted.