What is a user list
A list is a way to organize users into groups, not necessarily using the same filters for all of them.
Definition
User list is a static form of user grouping. Users can be added to the list under different conditions that you set in: automations, filters, imports etc. Unlike segments, which update automatically every given period of time, user lists require rules not only to add new users, but also to remove the ones who no longer belong to it.
Usually user lists are used to define the recipient group for a specific campaign, as it can include a dedicated "unsubscribe from specific list" link, which allows the users to remove themselves from a list.
Types of User Lists
There are two types of the user list that you can see while creating one:
Public
These lists are visible to users on the subscription management page, where they are able to subscribe and unsubscribe a certain public list.Private
Users on a private list will not be aware of being on such a list. You can use this option for internal segmentation of the database.
How to Create User Lists
To create a user list go to Tools > Lists, and click “Create list +”. Type the name of the list, add description and select the checkbox if you want to make it a Public list.
We highly recommend to name all the user lists using the same style to keep the consistency and simplify the integration process.
Use Cases
Speaking about different options for segmentation User.com offers you 3 options:
Tags and segments can be applied to different objects in the application (users, companies, deals, etc.), but user lists are unique - they work for users only. You can use this aspect while planing the data structure on your account.
Campaign Recipients
What also makes lists stand out is that they have their own unsubscribe tags. You can find them in Tools > Lists section in front of the list name. These tags allow you to put a special link into your email message to allow a user to unsubscribe from a specific list, but still receive other email notifications from you.
For example, you send a newsletter campaign to all your subscribers using the "Newsletter" list. The email message includes a dedicated "unsubscribe from specific list" link. User clicks this link and gets removed from the "Newsletter" list. However, "unsubscribed from emails" attribute still has "false" value, what allows you send other materials like announcements about privacy policy changes.
You can divide users into different lists or allow them to subscribe to these lists with the help of the forms, pop-ups, landing pages and other sources.
However, along with that you need to think of a rule for removing the users from the lists. User lists scenarios should always contain the information about the way in and the way out.
For example, your user uses a general unsubscribe link and fully resigns from any email notifications from your side. In this case "unsubscribed from emails" attribute will be updated with the "true" value. It is a good moment to remove the user from the "Newsletter" (or any other) mailing list to keep the up-to-date number of subscribers.
This is the automation you can use for it:
Imports
You can also upload your database into different lists straight away and use them for different purposes later.
To apply this option you need to choose a predefined list right on the first step of the CSV import.
It might be useful if you are moving from another platform to User.com or if you have contacts from different sources (E.g. offline conference)
Apart from the described places you can meet lists in other sections of the application. To know more about them please check this article.