A mailing list is a set of email addresses used when sending email campaigns. There's a variety of ways to create a mailing list, and the steps are pretty similar.
For this post, we'll be starting a new list from scratch. If you'd like to watch a video of this process, check out our Create a New Mailing List from Scratch video tutorial.
Key Steps Steps in Creating a New Mailing List:
1. Select the list type.
2. Name your list.
3. Edit your template and envelope settings.
4. Create a subscription form.
5. Import your subscribers.
Let's get started!
There are two places you can go to create a new mailing list. The first place is from your Site Dashboard and the second option is from the Left-hand menu, under Subscribers as you can see below.
Both starting points bring you to the same page:
1. Select the list type.
As you can see, there's a few different ways you can create a mailing list. For this post, we'll Create From Scratch.
2. Name your list.
Begin by giving your list a name and brief description. Keep in mind your subscribers can see this information when they go to update their preferences or unsubscribe.
We suggest keeping it simple and to the point.
3. Edit your template and envelope settings.
Now you're ready to edit your basic email template in our drag and drop visual template editor. This is used for your content emails and also activation emails, notifications sent to imported subscribers, and other transactional emails associated with this list.
With our visual template editor, you can easily upload your logo, change the colors, switch fonts, edit social icons, and more. When you're ready to work in the VTE, be sure to be sure to check out the guided quick tour that's in the bottom right corner for more tips.
Once you have things in place, you can preview this email on desktop and mobile at any time as well as send a test email.
When your template is ready, hit next to enter the information for your envelope settings. This lets subscribers know who the email is being sent from and the sending address for replies.
As a side note, you can always see your setup progress and upcoming steps here on our progress bar.
4. Create a subscription form.
Up next is to create your first subscription form. Just like our template editor, there are many adjustments you can make when creating your forms. You can see a beginning form and ending form below. Changes made with the editor only show after saving or clicking Preview.
To begin collecting email addresses, navigate to the code tab and select the code for sidebar widget, a full page or popup and add the code to your website accordingly.
5. Import your subscribers.
Hitting continue takes you to our next step which is importing your subscribers where you'll find three options to choose from:
- Yes, I want to upload my subscribers now. Choose this if you're ready to start the import process now.
- No thanks, I'll import my subscribers later. This option is great if you'd prefer to tinker around a bit before importing your subscribers. You can hold off on importing while you work on your subscription form and template, no problem. Hit next to return to your site dashboard.
- I don't have any existing opted-in subscribers yet. If you're growing your list from scratch, choose this option, hit next, and you'll return to your site dashboard.
Choosing option 1, you can import your subscribers by uploading a file, pasting them in individually or conducting a silent import through FeedBlitz and a few of the main ESPs.
On this page, we also remind you of our dual opt-in policy and terms of service. We take protecting the deliverability and sending reputation of our clients seriously. These policies and measures work to support this effort.
We'll select Upload Text File and get ready to upload our subscribers. Before any imports, we remind you of our importing policy and terms of service. Again, we're pretty serious when it comes to these items, so you'll need to select “I agree” before you can proceed.
When importing a list of subscribers, you can choose to overwrite existing field values, which is ideal if the users are current subscribers and you have edited their custom field information, or create fields on import. If you're creating this list from scratch as we are right now, you'll want to choose this option to bring over any tags and custom field data you've gathered in a previous email provider.
If you ever forget which option is which, hit one of these blue question marks for a brief reminder:
Your next step is to customize the opt-out email sent upon import. This email will use the template you created earlier in the setup process as well as the envelope settings you set. While we supply the content of the opt-out information, you can edit the subject line, introduction and closing.
This email is to let subscribers know you have switched email service providers. They won't have to do anything to remain on your list, but they do have the opportunity to unsubscribe and information on how to update your contact in their safe senders or whitelist.
Give your opt-out email a quick glance over and when you're ready, begin your import.
You'll see your success message once your import has begun and an email will be sent to the email address on your account when the import is complete.
And that's how to create a new mailing list from scratch in FeedBlitz. As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let us know. You can find all of our great support resources and how to get in touch with us via email, chat or phone on our Support Page.