Filter your contacts by tags when sending or scheduling an email

Segment your target audience when you schedule an email by selecting the lists you want to send to, and then choose to send only to contacts with a specific tag or exclude the tagged contacts from receiving the email

When you're ready to schedule your email and you're sending to less than 10,000 contacts, you can send it to everyone on your list, or you can filter out a portion of your audience using tags. After choosing the lists you want to send to, you have the option of sending your email only to the tagged contacts or excluding the tagged contacts from receiving your email:

• Why should I use tags when I send an email?
• How do I apply tags to filter out contacts when sending an email?
• How do I send an email to tagged contacts if I have over 10,000 contacts on my list?

Why should I use tags when I send an email?

When your contacts are organized into defined segments, it's easier to create targeted email content that appeals to them. A contact list is a very basic form of segmentation, where contacts are grouped together for a specific reason, and tags let you build upon it. Think of tags as simple labels you can apply to contacts across different lists without having to move the contacts off the lists they're currently on.

• Using contact lists, tags, and segments based on your list size
• Create and manage tags

For example, a restaurant has a list of customers interested in monthly specials, and some of those contacts are vegetarian. Instead of moving the contacts to a new list for vegetarians, the contacts are tagged as vegetarians. Then, no matter what list they are a part of, they're still identified as vegetarians. Now the restaurant can send emails to the known vegetarians by selecting the monthly specials list and sending only to the contacts that are tagged as vegetarians, or they can send an email that is targeted to meat eaters and exclude it from being sent to the contacts tagged as vegetarians. When the restaurant later starts using a food truck and then creates a new list for their weekly food truck menu, the same tags can be used to get the right food truck menu content in front of the right contacts.

How do I apply tags to filter out contacts when sending an email?

1. While scheduling your email, select the lists you want to send to from within the Audience section.
2. Click the "Filter by tag" link.
   Note: The link is only visible if you've already created tags and have fewer than 10,000 contacts in your account (see below).
   
   
   
   
3. Choose how you want to narrow by tag:

• Send only to contacts who are also tagged with - This option sends your email only to the contacts on your selected lists who have been tagged with your selected tags. For example, in the image below, an email about a chicken sandwich will only be sent to contacts if they are on the Seasonal Menu and Specials list and are tagged as meat-lovers. Everyone else is excluded from getting the email.
  
  
  
  
• Don't send to contacts who are also tagged with - This option excludes the contacts on your selected lists from receiving your email if they have been tagged with your selected tags. For example, in the image below, an email about a chicken sandwich will be sent to everyone on the Seasonal Menu and Specials list unless they are tagged as vegetarians.
  
  
  
  

4. Select the tags you want to send to or exclude.
5. Click the Apply filter button. You can edit or remove the tag filter up until you send the email.

After you send your email, give your contacts a little time to open it, and then check your reporting on the Email Details page.

How do I send an email to tagged contacts if I have over 10,000 contacts on my list?

If you have are sending to 10,000+ contacts, the tag feature isn't available when you schedule your email, but you can segment your contacts by tag and then send to the segment instead. You still have the same flexibility to include all the contacts with a tag or to exclude them:

• Create lists and segments
• Choosing criteria and using AND/OR logic in the Segment Builder
• Send an email to a segment of contacts

Questions?