Overview: this section guides you through the entire process of setting up and overseeing your recipient lists. Learn how to create new lists, add contacts from various sources (including direct input and directory integrations) and manage individual recipients or entire lists. Creating a new distribution list allows you to pre-organise your recipients for efficient communication. These lists can be conveniently selected later before dispatching your sendings. This is a significant advantage as it saves substantial time during newsfeed creation and other communication processes, especially for recipient groups that are frequently contacted.
1. Create a new distribution list #
There are two main ways to initiate the creation of a new distribution list, depending on your current location in the Sendings module:
1.1 Start your new list: choose your top bar option
Navigate to the Sendings module in the left sidebar. The functionality of the “+ Create New” button in the top action bar changes based on the section you are currently viewing in the left sidebar. If you are in a Send section (e.g. Planner, Favourites or Drafts), directly clicking the “+ Create New” button will quickly open the Create Newsfeed wizard as this is designed for speed due to it being the most frequent use case. To create a distribution list from here, you must click the small dropdown arrow next to the “+ Create New” button and then select Distribution Lists from the menu (screenshot: Create New – dropdown selection for distribution list). Alternatively, if you are already viewing Distribution Lists under the Manage section in the left sidebar, directly clicking the “+ Create New” button will open the Create Distribution List modal window, ready for you to define your new list (screenshot: Create New – direct button from distribution lists overview).
1.2. Name your new list and add details: the Create Distribution List modal window will appear (screenshot: Create distribution list – title and description). You will be prompted to enter a title (e.g. Marketing Team & Key Stakeholders) and a description (e.g. Internal distribution list for weekly marketing performance reports, campaign updates and urgent announcements. Includes all core marketing personnel and relevant cross-functional leads.). Once these details have been entered, click Create. This will save the new list and direct you to the main Distribution Lists Overview.
2. Manage your distribution lists #
This section guides you through overseeing and controlling your existing recipient lists within the Sendings module.
2.1 Find your lists: overview and search
Access your distribution lists by navigating to the Manage section in the left sidebar and clicking Distribution Lists (screenshot: Distribution lists – overview table). This shows you a tabular overview of all your lists, whether created by you or a colleague. Above this table, you will find a Filter button and a search bar. These tools help you as follows:
- Filter: refine the displayed list of distribution lists based on various criteria.
- Search: perform a live search, instantly narrowing down the list as you type (e.g. Marketing Team & Key Stakeholders).
For each list in the table, you can view:
- the Name you assigned;
- the Number of recipients currently on the list;
- when it was last modified and by whom (Created by);
- when it was Created.
- (coming soon) You will also be able to add labels for better categorisation, allowing for quick searches later based on keywords (e.g. press, internal).
2.2 Dive into list details: overview, recipients and logs
To manage a specific distribution list in detail, click on its name in the table (e.g. Marketing Team & Key Stakeholders). This opens a comprehensive detail view on the right side of the screen. This detail view is organised into several tabs, giving you full control over your list’s elements.
a) Overview tab: understand your list’s summary & performance.
This tab provides a summary of the list, including its name and description (which you can edit by clicking the pencil icon next to the name). It also features a Sendings Overview section, showing past sendings that used this list (e.g. Daily Sales Newsletter, including the send date, number of openings and clicks) (screenshot: Distribution list detail view – Overview tab).
b) Recipients tab: add and manage your contacts.
This is where you actively manage the individual contacts on your list (screenshot: Distribution list detail view – Recipients tab). It displays a table of all recipients, showing their name, job title, email and company. Above the table, you will find a Refresh button, a search bar that provides live filtering (e.g. typing “stef” or “hay” to instantly narrow results) and a three-dots menu for actions applicable to selected recipients (screenshot: Individual recipient context menu).
Add new contacts: to add new contacts, click the “+ Add Recipients” button. This opens a Choose Source to add Recipients modal (screenshot: Choose Source to add Recipients modal), offering multiple flexible options: choose a distribution list, add email address manually, import from spreadsheet or integrate contacts from services like Microsoft Directory (AAD), Google Directory, Avenue Contacts, Dynamics 365 and Salesforce. You can also import from another list already in ARGUSintelligence.
Manage existing contacts: once recipients are added, you can manage individual contacts by selecting them using checkboxes. Click the three-dots menu (…) next to a selected recipient to access actions like Change contact data, Export contact or Remove (to delete them from the list).
Below the table, pagination controls allow you to define how many entries are displayed per page (e.g. 10, 20, 50, 100) and navigate through them.
Comments tab: collaborate and track notes (coming soon). This feature will allow you to leave and receive comments or feedback on the distribution list, facilitating team collaboration.
Log tab: review list activity and export data (coming soon). This feature will provide a log or history of activities related to the distribution list, including export options.
3. General list management actions #
Whether you are in the list overview or the detail view, you have general management options:
- Duplicating lists: click the three-dots menu (…) for a list (in the overview or detail view) and select Duplicate List to create an identical copy.
- Exporting lists: click Export List from the three-dots menu to export the contact data.
- Deleting lists: click Delete List from the three-dots menu (in the overview or detail view) to permanently remove a list.
4. Conclusion #
The Manage section, specifically for distribution lists, offers you full control over your recipient management. From creating new lists and adding contacts from various sources to detailed management of individual recipients and comprehensive list actions, you can efficiently maintain your communication channels. Thanks to the comprehensive overview lists and detail views, you always maintain a clear overview of your target audiences.
