- A campaign purpose and documented inclusion criteria
- Verified contact records with channel-specific consent
- Current unsubscribe, suppression, and duplicate handling rules
- An expected audience count for review
Start with a business rule
Write the audience in plain language before opening the builder: “Active customers in the renewal list who expect email and have not unsubscribed” is testable; “everyone we can reach” is not.
Choose the source
| Source | Use when | Review |
|---|---|---|
| All contacts | A genuinely workspace-wide eligible population is intended | Highest governance risk; verify scope carefully |
| Tags | A governed label defines inclusion | Check stale or ambiguous tags |
| Lists | Manual judgment or smart rules already define a cohort | Confirm list purpose and refresh health |
| Custom field | One supported field condition is sufficient | Check blanks, type, operator, and boundaries |
| CSV | A bounded external cohort is authorized | Resolve parsing, duplicate, and identity issues before use |
Email campaigns select one or more contact lists. WhatsApp campaigns additionally support All, Tags, Lists, Custom field, and CSV, plus exclusion tags.
Review the funnel from selected to sendable
- Inspect the matched-contact count.
- Review duplicates removed so one person is not contacted twice through overlapping sources.
- Inspect skipped recipients and their reasons.
- For WhatsApp, check valid normalized phone and opt-in status.
- For email, check address validity, email eligibility, suppression, unsubscribe status, and shared-inbox readiness.
- Apply explicit exclusion tags or lists for protected cohorts.
- Review contact-pressure pauses separately from hard ineligibility.
From audience rule to eligible recipient
- 01ProofPermission evidence
Record why, when, and for which channel contact is permitted.
- 02GateChannel eligibility
Recipient identity and provider rules allow this communication.
- 03StopSuppression check
Unsubscribe, block, retention, and policy exclusions are applied.
- 04SendApproved communication
Only the intended, governed message may proceed.
- 05UpdatePreference or retention event
Future eligibility changes when the customer opts out or data expires.
Validate boundary examples
Search for at least one contact who should qualify, one who should be excluded, one opted-out record, one record with a missing contact method, and one person present in overlapping lists. The preview should explain each outcome.
Freeze intent, not bad data
A scheduled campaign may preserve a recipient snapshot according to the channel workflow. Fix contact data and re-run preflight before approval; do not assume later CRM changes will repair a previously approved audience. If the audience changes materially, return to review rather than treating it as the same launch decision.
When counts look wrong
Compare list or rule count with channel eligibility. Open excluded contacts and inspect consent, method, archive state, suppression, duplicates, and frequency pressure. Do not edit consent or remove suppression simply to meet a campaign target.
- Rule is written in plain language
- Source list or field is governed
- Known inclusions and exclusions tested
- Duplicates and skipped reasons reviewed
- Consent, suppression, and pressure remain separate
- Final sendable count matches launch intent