How to Make an Email List

Want to be able to communicate to groups of constituents easily? MonkeyPod's email lists provide an easy way to manage those groups!


Where can I find email lists in my MonkeyPod?

You can find all things email under Email Outreach in the main menu.

Screenshot showing where to find Email Lists

Choose Email Lists to create a new list, see all of your existing lists, and view all the ways to work with the lists.

Screenshot showing the Email List window.


How do I create an email list in my MonkeyPod?

From the "Email List" page, click Add a List.

Screenshot showing where to Add an Email List

Enter the information about your new email list, starting with the list name, the "from" email address, and the "from" name.

  • List Name: The name of the email list you are creating (limited to 100 characters).

    When someone subscribes or unsubscribes from your list they will see the name, so choose something appropriate to be publicly viewed. You'll have an option to enter a private, internal name for the list later.

  • From Email: The email address you want to send emails from.
  • From Name: The name that you want to send emails from.

For example, this setup creates an email list named "Newsletter", sent from "Your friends at MonkeyPod" at info@monkeypod.io.

Screenshot showing an example list name, from name, and from email address

Click the green check mark at the end of the line to create the list. You'll then be taken to the Settings page where you can complete a few more details about the list.

List Info

List Name (Public) is the orginal name you entered when creating the list. This is the name that subscribers will see when they subscribe or unsubscribe from the list—so make sure it's acceptable for that purpose!

If you'd like to give your list a more descriptive name for internal use (e.g. Lapsed Donors Targeted for Reengagement), use the optional List Name (Private) field for that.   

Screenshot of the List Info fields highlighting

Default Sender

Confirm that your sender email is verified by MonkeyPod to send emails. You'll see an alert if it is not. Follow the links in the onscreen alert to verify your sending domain if necessary.

The "Reply-to" email defaults to the sender ("From Email") address. If you'd like recipients to reply to a different email address and name, enter that here. For example, you might want to setup the message to come from your director, and have the replies go to an email address managed by another staff member.

Screenshot of

Reports

Choose whether you would like reports on activity related to this list automatically sent to you or someone else on your team of MonkeyPod users.

Screenshot of Reports options for email lists.

Syndication / RSS

Select the option in the "Syndication / RSS" section if you want to publish an RSS feed of all email campaigns sent to this list.


How to add subscribers to an email list

There are a number of ways to add subscribers to email lists:

  1. Manually add a single subscriber at a time
  2. Add a batch of subscribers from search results
  3. Importing subscribers
  4. Accepting signups through your website

We'll cover each option below.

Important! The first three of these approaches skip the normal opt-in workflow, so make sure you have permission to email these contacts! In all cases, MonkeyPod will only add someone as a subscriber if they:

  • are NOT marked "Do Not Email"
  • have not previously unsubscribed from this email list
  • have a valid email to the email list

Manually add a single subscriber at a time

To begin adding subscribers to an email list, select the address book icon to view the subscriber window.

MonkeyPod displays the current subscribers on this list. To add more subscribers select Add subscribers.

If the relationship is already in your MonkeyPod, begin typing the name or email address and then select the name from the list to add them as a subscriber. If the contact is not in your MonkeyPod, select Create new and enter them.


Adding new subscribers from Advanced Relationship Search results

If you'd like to subscribe a group of relationships to a mailing list based on specific criteria, you'll want to use the advanced relationship search to find them, and then add them to a list. For example, you may want to subscribe donors who have given $500 or more in the last fiscal year and live in the state of California, or subscribe everyone who has a specific role in your MonkeyPod.

This can be done using your MonkeyPod's Advanced Relationship Search.  You can access the search from the Add Subscribers tab of an email list, or go directory to the Relationships menu and select Advanced Search.

If this search interface is new to you, check out this article about how to use MonkeyPod's Advanced Relationship Search. It's a powerful tool to find the exact set of relationships you need based on all kinds of criteria including: personal and household attributes, geography, financial activity, email list subscriptions, custom attributes, and their record history in your MonkeyPod.

Once you have your search completed, click the Subscribe to Mailing List button above the list of search results and you'll be prompted to choose an existing list, or create a new list to subscribe them to.

Screenshot showing where to click to subscribe your search results to a list

Important! This process skips the normal opt-in workflow, so make sure you have permission to send emails to these contacts.


Importing an email list

If you're migrating an email list from another system and have a list of subscribers to import, check out this article to learn more about using MonkeyPod's importer to get those relationships into your MonkeyPod.


Allow supporters to subscribe directly from your website

MonkeyPod lets you embed subscription forms on your website so supporters can sign themselves up for your email list. If you're interested in this option, be sure to check out this article for details.


Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a way for our supporters to control their subscriptions directly?

All email campaigns automatically include an unsubscribe link in the footer to let any recipient opt out. You can also give your supporters the option of managing list subscriptions through their Community Portal. See How to Use the Community Portal for details.


I can't see all of my lists, is there a place where archived lists show up?

Yes! Archived lists are hidden by default to help keep your workspace clean and on task. If you would like to see your archived lists, simply click the "Show Archived" box at the top right.

Screenshot showing where to find archived lists


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