Distribution Lists
Saved groups of contacts you send to repeatedly. The fastest way to skip rebuilding the same audience every time.
A distribution list is a saved group of contacts. Instead of filtering Contactbase from scratch every time you need to send to "the environment journalists" or "our regional partners," you build the list once and reuse it.
What They're Good For
- Recurring sends. If you send to the same audience more than once, make a list.
- Campaign work. A campaign list groups everyone you'll touch during an initiative — journalists, stakeholders, partners.
- Audience segmentation. Keep separate lists for separate angles ("press — national", "press — regional", "stakeholders — federal level") so you can tailor the message.
- Team continuity. A colleague who takes over your work can pick up your list instead of guessing who you'd been sending to.
A Typical Flow
Scenario: you're running a multi-week campaign on transport policy. You'll send four updates and you don't want to rebuild the audience each time.
- Open Contactbase and filter to the right people (journalists on transport, ministry contacts on transport, key stakeholders).
- Save the filtered set as a Distribution List — give it a clear name like "Transport campaign — June 2026".
- Send your first update to that list.
- Three days later, send the second. No rebuilding needed.
- Adjust the list if someone should be added or removed mid-campaign.
A Good Habit: Name Lists Clearly
A list named "press" will mean nothing to anyone in two months. A list named "Health journalists — DACH region" will. Use names a teammate could understand without asking you.
Some patterns that work:
<Topic> — <Audience type>— for example "Climate policy — journalists".<Campaign name> — <Date>— for example "EU AI Act response — May 2026".<Region> — <Role>— for example "Bavaria — local press".
When To Make A List (And When Not To)
Make a list when:
- You've sent to the same audience before, or
- You expect to send to it again.
Don't bother when:
- This is a one-off send that won't repeat.
- The audience is small enough to pick by hand.
A bloated set of lists is harder to navigate than a smaller, well-named set. Quality over quantity.