Managing Your Subscribers

Subscribers Overview

The Subscribers page is your central hub for managing all your contacts. Here you can view, search, import, export, tag, and segment your audience to send more targeted campaigns.

Importing Subscribers

There are several ways to add subscribers to your MailPilot account:

Bulk CSV Import

The fastest way to add multiple subscribers at once is through CSV import:

1. Navigate to Subscribers in the sidebar
2. Click Import Subscribers
3. Prepare your CSV file with at least an email column
4. Optionally include columns for first_name, last_name, phone, and any custom fields
5. Upload your CSV file
6. Map the CSV columns to MailPilot fields
7. Review the preview and click Import

Manual Entry

To add individual subscribers one at a time:

1. Click Add Subscriber
2. Enter the subscriber's email address (required)
3. Optionally fill in first name, last name, phone number
4. Add any custom field values
5. Assign tags if desired
6. Click Save

Through Signup Forms

The most organic way to grow your list is through signup forms embedded on your website. When visitors submit a form, they're automatically added to your subscriber list. See the Forms documentation for more details.

Custom Fields

Custom fields let you store additional information about your subscribers beyond the default fields (email, name, phone).

Creating Custom Fields

1. Go to Subscribers and click Custom Fields
2. Click Add Custom Field
3. Choose a field type:
   • Text: For short text values (e.g., company name, job title)
   • Number: For numeric values (e.g., purchase count, account balance)
   • Date: For dates (e.g., birthday, anniversary, membership date)
   • Dropdown: For predefined options (e.g., interests, preferences)
4. Give your field a name and optional description
5. Click Create

Once created, custom fields can be used in:

• Email personalization with merge tags like {'{'}custom_field_name{'}'}
• Segmentation to target specific groups
• Workflow triggers and conditions
• Form fields to collect data during signup

Tags

Tags are labels you can apply to subscribers to organize them into groups. Unlike lists, a subscriber can have multiple tags, making them perfect for segmentation.

Adding Tags

You can add tags to subscribers in several ways:

• Manually: Select one or more subscribers and use the bulk actions menu to add tags
• On import: Assign tags during CSV import
• Through forms: Automatically tag subscribers based on which form they submitted
• In workflows: Use the "Add Tag" action node to tag subscribers based on behavior

Tag Best Practices

• Use descriptive names like "Newsletter Subscriber" or "Product Launch Interested"
• Create a consistent naming convention (e.g., "Interest: Coffee" vs. just "Coffee")
• Use tags to track lifecycle stages (Lead, Customer, VIP, etc.)
• Tag based on interests, purchase history, engagement level, or geographic location

Segmentation

Segmentation allows you to send targeted campaigns to specific groups of subscribers based on criteria you define.

Creating Segments

1. Go to Subscribers and click Segments
2. Click Create Segment
3. Give your segment a name
4. Add conditions:
   • Has/doesn't have specific tags
   • Custom field values match criteria
   • Subscribed before/after a certain date
   • Opened/clicked specific campaigns
   • Engagement level (active, inactive)
5. Combine multiple conditions with AND/OR logic
6. Click Save Segment

Example Segments

• VIP Customers: Tag is "Customer" AND custom field "total_purchases" > 5
• Re-engagement Target: Last opened email more than 90 days ago
• Birthday This Month: Custom field "birthday" month equals current month
• New Subscribers: Subscribed date within last 7 days

Managing Unsubscribes

MailPilot automatically handles unsubscribe requests to keep you compliant with email marketing laws.

Unsubscribe Link

Every email you send automatically includes an unsubscribe link in the footer. When a subscriber clicks this link:

• They're immediately removed from your active subscriber list
• They won't receive any future campaigns from you
• They'll see a confirmation page
• The unsubscribe is logged in your analytics

Viewing Unsubscribed Contacts

To see who has unsubscribed:

1. Go to Subscribers
2. Use the filter dropdown to select Unsubscribed
3. View the list of unsubscribed contacts and when they unsubscribed

Manual Unsubscribe

If someone asks you directly to remove them from your list:

1. Find their profile in Subscribers
2. Click on their email address to open their profile
3. Click Unsubscribe
4. Confirm the action

GDPR Compliance

MailPilot helps you stay compliant with GDPR and other privacy regulations:

Double Opt-In

Enable double opt-in on your forms to ensure subscribers actively confirm their subscription. This is required in many jurisdictions and helps maintain list quality.

Data Access Requests

If a subscriber requests to see what data you have on them:

1. Search for their email in Subscribers
2. View their complete profile including custom fields, tags, and campaign history
3. Export their data using the export button

Right to be Forgotten

To completely delete a subscriber's data:

1. Open their subscriber profile
2. Click Delete Subscriber
3. Confirm the permanent deletion

This will remove all their data including email history, custom fields, and analytics. This action cannot be undone.

Consent Tracking

MailPilot automatically tracks:

• When and how each subscriber was added (form submission, import, manual)
• IP address of signup
• Timestamp of subscription and any updates
• Consent changes and unsubscribe events

Searching and Filtering

Quickly find subscribers using the search and filter tools:

• Search bar: Search by email, name, or any custom field value
• Status filter: Active, Unsubscribed, or Bounced
• Tag filter: Show only subscribers with specific tags
• Date filter: Filter by subscription date range
• Engagement filter: Recently active, inactive, never opened

Exporting Subscribers

To export your subscriber data:

1. Go to Subscribers
2. Apply any filters to narrow down the list (optional)
3. Click Export
4. Choose which fields to include in the export
5. Click Download CSV

The exported CSV will include all selected fields and can be opened in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet application.