Using lists, blocklists, filters and groups

Population is the name used for a collection of contacts selected to take part in a campaign, usually as recipients of email or SMS messages.

The populations used in Splio include lists (and blocklists), filters and groups. They can be dynamic, meaning that this population is recalculated regularly. It can be used as a population for a campaign, either for inclusion or exclusion.. Conversely, they can also be static/frozen, meaning that they are defined at a given moment and are not recalculated afterwards; they do not change.

Lists

Lists are subscribed populations: contacts added to a list belong to it until they are removed from that list. A list is therefore dynamic because it is fed from an import, updates itself, and follows changes in the database.

Use lists to represent and identify opt-in contacts (those who have given their explicit consent to receive email). You can create a list for each opt-in type you have – such as newsletters, websites, products, etc. – to organize contacts and provide high-level targeting.

To learn more about list limitations, read our guide “Storage value for list subscriptions.”

To access lists, go to Data > Lists.

Blocklists

Blocklists are email and cellphone contacts who are excluded from all campaigns sent from your Splio universe.

The role of blocklists is to reduce the risk and increase the efficiency of sending campaigns: you can avoid sending email or SMS to non-existent mailboxes or phone numbers, to contacts who have complained of receiving spam, or to contacts who have unsubscribed from your database. Blocklists are static populations (the exclusion is permanent).

To access blocklists, go to Data > Blocklists.

Filters

Filters are dynamic populations calculated according to predefined criteria.

Filter definitions can be based on field values (eg, address, contact source), and contact activity (eg, purchases, use in campaigns). A filter is also dynamic, but it depends on a list.

To access filters, go to Target > Filters.

Groups

Groups are static, frozen populations extracted from a campaign that has already been sent or saved as a snapshot of an existing filter.

It is possible to apply additional criteria (eg, delivery state or contact behavior) at the creation of a group. Groups are often used to schedule a specific relaunch of a campaign, eg, to target contacts who have clicked on a specific image or link.

To access groups, go to Target > Groups.