Importing contacts is straightforward, which is a relief. You can upload any standard file format for contacts, including .csv, .xls(x), and comma-separated text files. If you have an existing email application or a spreadsheet full of addresses, you can easily import your list in one of those formats.

Your chosen file can include various details about your contacts, such as their names, physical addresses, phone numbers, sign-up dates, and any other relevant information stored in a table-style database. Brevo will parse this data, making it searchable and sortable. You can also copy and paste data directly from an XLS file (like Microsoft Excel), and Brevo will perform the same data-parsing magic.

If you want to import addresses from the same file but place different addresses on separate lists, simply copy and paste the addresses as needed. Ah, the beauty of copy and paste—truly a lifesaver for digital workers.

You can also create a web form and embed it on any page to gather email addresses, such as the traditional newsletter sign-up form—ideally not in a pop-up.

All imported addresses can be assigned to specific mailing lists or added to a blacklist, which is especially handy for managing “unsubscriptions.” It’s important to note that in many jurisdictions, you are legally required to provide a way for individuals to opt-out of receiving emails. Thankfully, Brevo automatically includes an unsubscribe link in every email, which may sound unfavorable but is crucial for compliance.

And let’s not forget the ethical side—non-consensual spamming is unacceptable.

When importing email addresses, you must guarantee that everyone on your list has consented to receive emails from you. While there’s nothing preventing you from lying, maintaining your account requires honesty.

Once your contacts are imported, it’s time to sort and manage them for your email campaigns. There are four main aspects of managing your email lists:

Listing Options: These refer to how you can sort the email addresses you’ve collected. Generally, you can quickly sort them by name, IP address, subscription date, etc. Brevo allows you to include whatever information you provide. If you don’t import IP addresses, you won’t be able to filter by that criterion. Note that IP addresses are not automatically collected through forms, so you would need a manual method or developer assistance to capture them.

Segmentation: This practice involves sorting your contacts based on more specific criteria. For instance, if you run an email campaign promoting a veterinary school and see good analytics, you’ll want to follow up with specific segments of your audience. Segmentation allows you to filter contacts by their engagement with your emails or other criteria. You could create a segment for those who opened your emails or clicked on links. You could even filter by a specific name, like “Gary,” if that’s what you need.

Brevo facilitates segmentation through its advanced search function. After conducting a specific search with various rules (like “find contacts named Gary who opened my emails”), you can save these search parameters as a filter for future use.