Contact Management Essentials

Your email list is your most valuable business asset. It's the only audience you truly own. Let's build and organize it for maximum impact.

Why Contact Management Matters

The Reality Check

Social media followers:

• Algorithm controls reach (2-6% typically)
• Platform can disappear (remember Vine?)
• You don't own the relationship

Email subscribers:

• Direct access (20-30% open rates)
• You own the list
• Builds real relationships
• Drives 80% of revenue for most creators

Building Your Contact List

The Foundation: Lead Magnets That Convert

What works in 2024:

1. Quick Win Templates (35% conversion)

   • Notion templates
   • Spreadsheet calculators
   • Canva designs
   • Email swipe copy

2. Mini Courses (28% conversion)

   • 3-5 day email series
   • One specific outcome
   • Daily actionable steps

3. Assessment/Quiz (42% conversion)

   • "What's your X type?"
   • Personalized results
   • Actionable recommendations

4. Resource List (25% conversion)

   • Tools you use
   • Curated recommendations
   • Exclusive discounts

5. Free Challenge (38% conversion)

   • 5-day transformation
   • Daily emails + tasks
   • Community component

Opt-in Forms That Convert

High-converting placements:

Copy that converts:

❌ "Subscribe to our newsletter" ✅ "Get the 5-minute morning routine that doubled my productivity"

❌ "Enter your email" ✅ "Where should I send your free template?"

Organizing Your Contacts

The Three-Layer System

Layer 1: Lists (Broad categories)

• Newsletter subscribers
• Customer list
• Event attendees
• Lead magnet subscribers

Layer 2: Tags (Specific identifiers)

• Interests: [Design] [Marketing] [Development]
• Stage: [Lead] [Customer] [VIP]
• Source: [Facebook] [Google] [Referral]
• Behavior: [Engaged] [At-risk] [Champion]

Layer 3: Custom Fields (Personal data)

• First name
• Company
• Website
• Birthday
• Purchase history
• Lifetime value

Smart Segmentation

Behavioral Segments:

Engaged Stars (Your best contacts)

• Opened last 5 emails
• Clicked in last 30 days
• High email engagement score

Warming Up (Re-engagement needed)

• Opened 1-2 of last 5 emails
• No clicks in 30 days
• Medium engagement score

Going Cold (Risk of leaving)

• No opens in 30 days
• No clicks in 60 days
• Low engagement score

Dead Weight (Time to clean)

• No opens in 90 days
• No clicks ever
• Consider removal

The Contact Lifecycle

Subscriber → Lead → Customer → Advocate → VIP

Progression triggers:

• Subscriber → Lead: Downloaded lead magnet
• Lead → Customer: Made first purchase
• Customer → Advocate: Left review/testimonial
• Advocate → VIP: Multiple purchases or referrals

Data Collection Best Practices

Progressive Profiling

Don't ask for everything upfront. Build over time:

First touch: Email only Second touch: First name After download: Interest/goal After purchase: Company/role Over time: Birthday, preferences

GDPR Compliance

Requirements:

• Clear consent checkbox
• Explain data usage
• Easy unsubscribe
• Data portability
• Right to deletion

Consent language: "I agree to receive marketing emails about [topics]. I can unsubscribe anytime."

Double Opt-in Strategy

Why use it:

• Better deliverability
• Higher quality list
• Legal compliance
• Reduced spam complaints

Optimization tips:

• Compelling confirmation email
• Clear value reminder
• Set expectations
• Add to whitelist instructions

Managing Contact Quality

List Hygiene Schedule

Weekly:

• Remove hard bounces
• Update changed emails
• Process unsubscribes

Monthly:

• Tag engagement levels
• Segment by activity
• Clean duplicate entries

Quarterly:

• Remove inactive contacts
• Re-engagement campaign
• Full list audit

The Re-engagement Campaign

Subject lines that work:

• "Should I remove you?"
• "Is this goodbye?"
• "One last thing..."
• "Permission to delete your email?"

Email structure:

Hey [Name],

I noticed you haven't opened my emails lately.

No worries - I get it. Inboxes are overwhelming.

Quick question: Should I keep sending you [value]?

[YES - Keep me] | [NO - Unsubscribe]

If I don't hear back in 7 days, I'll remove you automatically.

[Your name]

Results: 20-30% typically re-engage

Import & Export Mastery

CSV Import Best Practices

Preparation checklist:

• [ ] UTF-8 encoding
• [ ] Headers in first row
• [ ] Email validation
• [ ] Remove duplicates
• [ ] Format dates (YYYY-MM-DD)
• [ ] Clean special characters

Mapping fields:

email,first_name,last_name,tag,joined_date
john@email.com,John,Doe,customer,2024-01-15

Export Strategies

What to export:

• Full backups (monthly)
• Segment lists (for campaigns)
• Engagement data (for analysis)
• Customer data (for CRM)

Format options:

• CSV for spreadsheets
• JSON for developers
• XML for integrations

Contact Analytics

Key Metrics to Track

Contact Lifetime Value

CLV = Average Purchase × Purchase Frequency × Customer Lifespan

Example:

• €50 average × 3 purchases/year × 2 years = €300 CLV

Use this to:

• Determine acquisition spend
• Identify VIP thresholds
• Prioritize support

Advanced Strategies

The Welcome Series

Email 1 (Immediate): Deliver promise + set expectations Email 2 (Day 2): Your story/why Email 3 (Day 4): Best resource Email 4 (Day 7): Social proof Email 5 (Day 10): Soft pitch

Results: 3x more revenue than one-off emails

Birthday Campaigns

Setup:

1. Collect birthdays progressively
2. Set automation 1 week before
3. Send special offer on day
4. Follow up 1 week after

Results: 5x higher transaction rates

Win-Back Campaigns

For lost customers:

Month 1: "We miss you" + what's new Month 2: "Special offer" + 20% discount Month 3: "Last chance" + exclusive bonus Month 6: "Different approach" + survey

Success rate: 10-15% typically return

Integration with Selgora Features

Connecting Everything

Automatic tagging:

• Purchase → Tag: [Customer]
• Course complete → Tag: [Graduate]
• Event attendance → Tag: [Event-Name]
• Support ticket → Tag: [Support-User]

Smart workflows:

New Contact → Welcome Series → Engagement Tracking → 
Segmentation → Targeted Offers → Purchase → 
Customer Onboarding → Retention Campaign

Using with Marketing Flows

Trigger examples:

• Tag added → Send campaign
• Field updated → Move to segment
• Link clicked → Start sequence
• Purchase made → Add to VIP

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Buying Email Lists

Why it fails: Low quality, spam complaints, damaged reputation Do instead: Build organically with value

Mistake 2: Never Cleaning

Why it fails: Poor deliverability, skewed metrics Do instead: Monthly hygiene routine

Mistake 3: Over-segmenting

Why it fails: Complex management, small segments Do instead: Start with 3-5 key segments

Mistake 4: Under-communicating

Why it fails: List goes cold, forgotten brand Do instead: Weekly valuable content minimum

Mistake 5: No Backup

Why it fails: Platform issues, data loss Do instead: Monthly CSV exports

Your 7-Day Action Plan

Day 1: Audit current contacts Day 2: Clean and deduplicate Day 3: Set up basic segments Day 4: Create welcome series Day 5: Design lead magnet Day 6: Build opt-in forms Day 7: Launch and test

Quick Reference

Essential Tags to Create

• [Lead]
• [Customer]
• [VIP]
• [Engaged]
• [At-Risk]
• [Newsletter]
• Source tags
• Interest tags
• Product tags

Custom Fields to Add

• First Name (required)
• Last Purchase Date
• Total Spent
• Interest/Goal
• Lead Source
• Birthday (optional)
• Company (B2B)
• Phone (high-touch)

Remember: Your list is only as valuable as your relationship with it. Treat every contact like a real person with real needs, and they'll reward you with loyalty and revenue.