How to Create a Segment from Contact Lists

The Create Segment tool lets you combine one or more contact lists into a new, deduplicated contact list. If a contact appears on more than one of the lists you select, they will only appear once in the new list.

This is the primary way to deduplicate contacts across multiple contact lists in VipeCloud. You can also optionally narrow the segment before it is created - removing or including contacts based on engagement history, list membership, or contact field values.

This feature works entirely with contact lists and is separate from filter views. Filter views are rules-based and update automatically as contact data changes. Everything described in this article creates static contact lists only. Your original contact lists are never modified.

Important: VipeCloud does not automatically deduplicate when you send to multiple contact lists directly. If a contact appears on more than one list and you send to all of those lists without creating a segment first, they will receive the communication multiple times - once for each list they are on. Creating a segment first is the correct way to prevent this.

If your goal is simply to merge two or more lists into one without duplicates, no additional configuration is needed.

VipeCloud will create a new contact list containing all contacts from the lists you selected. Any contact that appears on more than one of the selected lists will be included only once. Your original lists are not changed.

This is the recommended workflow any time you need to send to multiple lists without risking duplicate sends.

Use this method when you want to combine lists and also narrow the result - such as removing contacts who are already on another list, or limiting by engagement or contact field values.

The new contact list will process in the background. Refresh the page if it does not appear immediately.

Use this method when you are actively setting up a mass email and want to narrow your audience on the fly before sending. The resulting list is also saved to your Contact Lists for future use.

Both methods use the same set of options. Each is optional and expandable via an accordion in the modal. These options narrow which contacts are included in the new contact list - they do not create filter views or affect any existing lists.

Use this to exclude contacts based on how they have interacted with your emails.

Expand Remove by Engagement and check any of the following:

You can check multiple options. Contacts matching any checked condition will be excluded.

Note: Reply data requires Inbox Sync to be active on your account.

Use this to include only contacts who have interacted with your emails in a specific way. This is the inverse of Remove by Engagement.

Expand Include by Engagement and check any of the following:

You can check multiple options. Only contacts matching at least one checked condition will be included.

Note: Reply data requires Inbox Sync to be active.

Use this to exclude contacts who also appear on one or more other contact lists.

This is commonly used to exclude contacts who have already received a specific communication. For example, if you sent a mass email to a list called "Spring Campaign Recipients," select that list here to prevent those contacts from being included in your new segment.

Use this to limit the segment to contacts who match specific contact field values. This option uses contact fields - the same fields stored on each contact record - and is separate from filter views.

Only contacts matching all specified rules will be included in the new contact list.

Sending to multiple lists without using Filter Contact Lists. If you select multiple lists and click Preview Send without using Filter Contact Lists, contacts on more than one list will receive the email multiple times. Always use Filter Contact Lists when sending to multiple lists.

Skipping Apply Filters during a mass email send. When using the Filter Contact Lists modal during a send, you must click Apply Filters before clicking Save and Preview Send. If you skip this step, the engagement options will not be applied.

Not refreshing after clicking OK. The segment processes in the background. If you do not see it immediately, refresh the page and check the Contact Lists table.

Expecting the segment to update automatically. The resulting contact list is static. Changes to the original lists after the segment is created are not reflected. Recreate the segment when you need a current version.

Using reply options without Inbox Sync. Reply data is only available if Inbox Sync is active. The Replied option will not reflect accurate data if Inbox Sync is off.

How do I merge two contact lists without duplicates? Select both lists in the Contact Lists table using the checkboxes, click the X Selected dropdown, choose Create Segment from Selected, give the new list a name, and click OK. No additional configuration is needed. The result is a single deduplicated contact list.

What happens if I send to multiple lists without creating a segment first? Contacts who appear on more than one of the selected lists will receive the email multiple times - once for each list they are on. VipeCloud does not automatically deduplicate when sending to multiple lists directly. Always create a segment first, or use the Filter Contact Lists option during a mass email send, to ensure each contact receives the communication only once.

How do I remove contacts from a list if they are already on another list? Use the Remove if on Other Lists option in the Create Segment modal. Select the list you want to suppress contacts from, and any contact found on that list will not be included in the new segment.

If I add contacts to a list after scheduling a send, will they receive it? It depends on the send type. For series, the current version of the contact list at the time each step fires is used - contacts added to the list after launch will receive future steps if they are on the list when those steps send. For scheduled mass emails, the contact list is also evaluated at the time of sending, so contacts added after scheduling but before the send time will be included. Note that the email template itself is locked at the time of scheduling - changes to the original template after scheduling will not affect what goes out.

Is this the same as a filter view? No. Filter views are rules-based and update automatically as contact data changes. Everything in this article works with contact lists only. The result is always a static contact list - it does not update automatically and it does not create or modify any filter views.

Will this change or delete my original contact lists? No. Creating a segment only creates a new list. Your original contact lists are not modified.

What happens if the same contact is on multiple selected lists? They will appear only once in the new segment. Duplicates are removed automatically.

Are unsubscribed or bounced contacts included? No. Contacts who have unsubscribed, bounced, or been suppressed are automatically excluded regardless of any other settings.

Can I use both Remove by Engagement and Include by Engagement at the same time? Yes, but the options interact. Remove conditions are applied after include conditions, so a contact excluded by Remove by Engagement will not appear in the final list even if they qualified under Include by Engagement.

Does the list created during a mass email send get saved? Yes. The new contact list is saved to your Contact Lists automatically and can be reused for future sends.

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