45 Exclusion Lists
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 Exclusion Lists

Overview

An Exclusion List consists of individuals who should not be targeted in your marketing Campaign, such as email addresses from competitors, for example. The Exclusion List automatically overrides all other criteria, including Filters, Seed Lists, and Proofing Groups. For example, if a specific individual appears within an Exclusion List, and that same person meets the Filter criteria used to define the Campaign audience, that person would still not receive the Campaign message.

Conceptually, an Exclusion List is the opposite of a Seed List. Both groups are designed to override the audience Filter criteria. The system will always send the Campaign message to a recipient on a Seed List, and never send a Campaign message to a recipient on an Exclusion List.

Messaging supports two different types of Exclusion Lists -- Standard and Virtual.

Standard Exclusion Lists

A Standard Exclusion List is populated with recipients that are provided by the user.

Unlike some of the other types of recipient groups in Engage+ (like Proofing Groups or Alert Groups), Engage+ does not allow you to type in the individuals who are to comprise a Standard Exclusion List. Instead, the system assumes that the individuals to be excluded are contained within an external text file that you must then import into the system. Therefore, before you can define a Standard Exclusion List in Engage+, you must first have this text file created and stored in an accessible location. This file must be saved as a text file (.txt), and must contain ONLY the properly-formatted relevant contact information.

The contact information contained in the file depends on the marketing channel being utilized:

Note: Standard Exclusion Lists are available only for Email, Push Notification, and SMS Text channels.

You can also manage your Standard Exclusion Lists through the Exclusion Lists API. This API endpoint allows you to retrieve information about a Standard Exclusion List, to manage the recipients within a Standard Exclusion List, or to define a new Standard Exclusion List.

Virtual Exclusion Lists

A Virtual Exclusion List is populated with recipients based on parameters that the user defines.

Virtual Exclusion Lists are used by the Messaging's Load and Send feature. Load and Send allows you to import "campaign-ready" files containing all the information needed to build and deploy the Campaign (such as personalization fields, and contact information like Email Address). This data is loaded into a special table dedicated specifically to the Load and Send feature, rather than into the regular relational database tables. Client who execute Campaigns from both the Load and Send feature, and from a relational database, must define a Virtual Exclusion List in order to synchronize consumer opt-out information between the two Campaign methods.

A Virtual Exclusion List is defined by selecting the primary source table for your relational database Campaigns. From that table, you select an "Email" field, and an associated Sender Profile. The system will then create an Exclusion List comprised of all the recipients on that table who have an "ineligible" Sender Profile Status ID Code. You must assign this Exclusion List to your Load and Send Campaign, in order to suppress those recipients from that Campaign.

For Load and Send Campaigns, you're required to assign a Virtual Exclusion List to the Campaign, if you select a "promotional" Sender Profile (that is, a Sender Profile intended to be used for promotional marketing messages, rather than for operational messages like shipping notifications). When you launch the Load and Send Campaign, the system will verify that you've assigned at least one Virtual Exclusion List; if not, an error message is displayed.

Access

The Exclusion Lists screen is accessible by the following method:

Features

 Create a New Standard Exclusion List

Click hereClick here

Messaging supports two different types of Exclusion Lists -- Standard and Virtual. A Standard Exclusion List is populated with recipients that are provided by the user. Conversely, a Virtual Exclusion List is populated with recipients based on parameters that the user defines.

To create a new Standard Exclusion List:

  1. Above the list of existing Exclusion Lists, click + New button.

  2. A "New Exclusion List" pop-up window is displayed. In the "Name" field, enter a name for the new Exclusion List.

  3. From the "Type" drop-down menu, select "Standard (Default)."

  4. Click Create. The Workspace is refreshed to show the Exclusion List details screen.

  5. In the "Data Options" section, select the appropriate data type (Email Address, Mobile Phone, or Push Registration ID) from the "Data Type" drop-down menu.

  6. In the "Exclusion File" section, click browse. An "Open File" dialog box is displayed. Navigate to the appropriate file and click open.

  7. If the import file has a header row, make sure the "Header Row" check box is checked (this box is checked by default). If your file does not have a header row, uncheck this check box.

  8. The toggle buttons at the bottom of the "Exclusion File" section allow you to indicate whether you're adding new records to the Exclusion List, or deleting records from the Exclusion List. When defining a brand new Exclusion File, you will be adding new records, so make sure that the append records in file to list button is selected (this button is selected by default).

  9. In the Tool Ribbon, click Save.

  10. The system begins the file import process. To check the status of the import, click "Imported Files" in the Function Menu. This screen displays a log of all file import activities, with the most recent activity listed at the top. If needed, click the refresh button (double-arrow icon) to get a refreshed view of the import process. When the import is complete, the system displays the final information about the import, including the number of records added, and the date / time.

  11. Optionally, you can assign one or more tags to your Exclusion List. To assign a tag, click on the "Add tag" field in the Edit section of the Tool Ribbon. The system displays a pop-up menu of all the existing tags. You can select one of these tags, or type in a new one and press Enter. You can repeat this process to add more tags. To remove a tag, click the "X" icon next to the tag label.  

  12. When finished, click Edit > Save in the Tool Ribbon.

 

 

 Create a New Virtual Exclusion List

Click hereClick here

Messaging supports two different types of Exclusion Lists -- Standard and Virtual. A Standard Exclusion List is populated with recipients that are provided by the user. Conversely, a Virtual Exclusion List is populated with recipients based on parameters that the user defines.

To create a new Virtual Exclusion List:

  1. Above the list of existing Exclusion Lists, click + New button.

  2. A "New Exclusion List" pop-up window is displayed. In the "Name" field, enter a name for the new Exclusion List.

  3. From the "Type" drop-down menu, select "Virtual."

  4. Click Create. The Workspace is refreshed to show the Exclusion List details screen.

  5. In the "Data Options" section, select "Email Address" from the "Data Type" drop-down menu.

  6. In the "Entity" section, select the primary Campaign source table used by your relational database Campaigns.

  7. Based on the table you selected above in step 6, the field drop-down menu in the "Map to Profile" section is populated with all of the fields in this table that have a Data Type of "Email," and that have been associated with at least one Sender Profile. From this menu, selected the desired field that will be used to synchronize opt-out information from the primary Campaign source table.

  8. Based on the "Email" field you selected above in step 7, the Sender Profile drop-down menu is populated with all of the Sender Profiles associated with this "Email" field. From this menu, selected the desired Sender Profile.

  9. Click the add button (plus-sign icon). The combination of table / field / Sender Profile is displayed in the "Map to Profile" section. If you want to remove this combination, click the remove button ("X" icon).

  10. Repeat steps 6 through 9 as needed to add more table / field / Sender Profiles to the Virtual Exclusion List.

  11. Optionally, you can assign one or more tags to your Exclusion List. To assign a tag, click on the "Add tag" field in the Edit section of the Tool Ribbon. The system displays a pop-up menu of all the existing tags. You can select one of these tags, or type in a new one and press Enter. You can repeat this process to add more tags. To remove a tag, click the "X" icon next to the tag label.  

  12. When finished, click Edit > Save in the Tool Ribbon.

 

 

 Copy an Exclusion List

Click hereClick here

To copy an existing item to use as the basis for a new item:

  1. Search for the desired item (see Search for an Item for more details).

  2. Click on the item name. The main item screen is displayed and populated with the details of the selected item.

  3. In the Tool Ribbon, click Edit > Save As. A "Save as" dialog box is displayed.

  4. Enter a name for the new item.

  5. By default, the new item will be saved in the same folder location as the base item. Optionally, click the magnifying glass icon to browse to and select a different folder location.

  6. Click save a copy. The system creates a copy of the selected item.

 

 

 

 View or Edit a Standard Exclusion List

Click hereClick here

To view or edit an existing Standard Exclusion List:

  1. When the screen is displayed, a list of all the current Exclusion Lists is displayed in the left-hand side of the Workspace. Optionally, you can filter this list by typing in all or part of an Exclusion List name in the "Search by Name" field.

  2. Click on the Standard Exclusion List that you want to view. The Workspace is refreshed to show the details of the selected Exclusion List.

  3. Optionally, to view detailed information about the Exclusion List, click the Exclusion List tab in the Tool Ribbon. The Item Details screen is displayed, showing who created the item, who modified it last, and what the last actions taken on the item were. On this screen, click "Related Items" in the Function Menu to see other items in the system that reference or utilize this Exclusion List. When finished, click the Edit tab in the Tool Ribbon to return to the main edit screen.

  4. Optionally, to view a log of all the file imports that have occurred for this Exclusion List, click "Imported Files" in the Function Menu. This screen shows the total number of records currently in this Exclusion List, along with a detailed history of every file import. Please note that changes made to the Exclusion List contents via the Exclusion List API are not considered a file import, and therefore aren't displayed within the file import history.

Note: The Messaging application doesn't provide a way to view the contents of the Exclusion List through the user interface. However, you can retrieve a list of the recipients in an Exclusion List by means of the Exclusion List API.

  1. The system allows you to either add new records to this Exclusion List, or to indicate records that need to be deleted from the Exclusion List. In either case, your changes must be stored within an external text file (.txt) that you import into the system. This text file must contain ONLY the properly-formatted relevant contact information (either email addresses, mobile phone numbers, or Push IDs).

Modify the contents of the Exclusion ListModify the contents of the Exclusion List

    1. In the "Exclusion Files" section, click browse. An "Open File" dialog box is displayed. Navigate to the appropriate file and click open.

    2. If the import file has a header row, make sure the "Header Row" check box is checked (this box is checked by default). If your file does not have a header row, uncheck this check box.

    3. If adding new records to the Exclusion List, click append records in file to list. If deleting existing records from the Exclusion List, click remove records in file from list.

    4. In the Tool Ribbon, click Edit > Save. The system begins the file import process.

    5. To monitor the import process, click "Imported Files" in the Function Menu. Click the refresh button (double-arrow icon) as needed to refresh the view. When the import is complete, the system displays the final information about the import, including the number of records added or deleted, and the date / time.

 

 

  1. Optionally, to rename the Exclusion List, click Edit > Rename. A "Rename Item" dialog box is displayed. Enter a new name for the Exclusion List, then click save new name.

  2. Optionally, you can assign one or more tags to your Exclusion List. To assign a tag, click on the "Add tag" field in the Edit section of the Tool Ribbon. The system displays a pop-up menu of all the existing tags. You can select one of these tags, or type in a new one and press Enter. You can repeat this process to add more tags. To remove a tag, click the "X" icon next to the tag label.  

  3. To save your changes, click Edit > Save in the Tool Ribbon.

 

 

 View or Edit a Virtual Exclusion List

Click hereClick here

To view or edit an existing Virtual Exclusion List:

  1. When the screen is displayed, a list of all the current Exclusion Lists is displayed in the left-hand side of the Workspace. Optionally, you can filter this list by typing in all or part of an Exclusion List name in the "Search by Name" field.

  2. Click on the Virtual Exclusion List that you want to view. The Workspace is refreshed to show the details of the selected Exclusion List.

  3. Optionally, to view detailed information about the Exclusion List, click the Exclusion List tab in the Tool Ribbon. The Item Details screen is displayed, showing who created the item, who modified it last, and what the last actions taken on the item were. On this screen, click "Related Items" in the Function Menu to see other items in the system that reference or utilize this Exclusion List. When finished, click the Edit tab in the Tool Ribbon to return to the main edit screen.

  4. Optionally, make any necessary changes to the table / field / Sender Profile combinations defined for this Exclusion List.

    • To add a new combination, select the source table from the "Entity" drop-down menu, then select the email field from the Field drop-down menu, then select the Sender Profile from the Sender Profile drop-down menu. Click the add button (plus-sign icon).

    • To remove a combination, click the remove button ("X" icon) next to the combination.

  1. Optionally, to rename the Exclusion List, click Edit > Rename. A "Rename Item" dialog box is displayed. Enter a new name for the Exclusion List, then click save new name.

  2. Optionally, you can assign one or more tags to your Exclusion List. To assign a tag, click on the "Add tag" field in the Edit section of the Tool Ribbon. The system displays a pop-up menu of all the existing tags. You can select one of these tags, or type in a new one and press Enter. You can repeat this process to add more tags. To remove a tag, click the "X" icon next to the tag label.  

  3. To save your changes, click Edit > Save in the Tool Ribbon.

 

 

 Delete an Exclusion List

Click hereClick here

To delete an item:

  1. Search for the desired item (see Search for an Item for more details).

  2. Click on the item name. The main item screen is displayed and populated with the details of the selected item.

  3. In the Tool Ribbon, click Edit > Delete. A confirmation dialog box is displayed.

  4. Click delete item to confirm the deletion.

Foldered items are moved to the Recycle Bin. Non-foldered items are permanently deleted.

 

 

 Assign an Exclusion List to a Campaign

Click hereClick here

Campaigns in the Email, Push Notification, and SMS Text channels can optionally be assigned one or more Exclusion Lists. The data type associated with the Exclusion List must match the Campaign channel (for example, you can't use an Exclusion List containing Push IDs in an email Campaign).

Note: For Load and Send Campaigns, you're required to assign a Virtual Exclusion List to the Campaign, if you select a "promotional" Sender Profile (that is, a Sender Profile intended to be used for promotional marketing messages, rather than for operational messages like shipping notifications). When you launch the Load and Send Campaign, the system will verify that you've assigned at least one Virtual Exclusion List; if not, an error message is displayed.

To assign an Exclusion List to a Campaign:

  1. Navigate to the desired Campaign (see Campaigns for more details).

  2. In the Tool Ribbon, click Options > Audience > Add Exclusion List. A "Browse Exclusion Lists" dialog box is displayed.

  3. Click on the desired Exclusion List.

  4. Within the "Audience" section of the Campaign screen, the system adds a new "Exclusion List" field. To view or edit the Exclusion List, click on the List's name. To remove this Exclusion List from the Campaign, click the "X" icon to the right of the List name.  

  5. Repeat steps 2-4 as needed to add more Exclusion Lists to this Campaign.

  6. In the Tool Ribbon, click Edit > Save.

 

 

 

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