Publication and Suppression Lists

Prerequisites

This document is intended for ExactTarget users who are responsible for sending and managing email and SMS message sending. An understanding of data extensions and the ExactTarget Web Service API may be required to work with publication and suppression lists.

What Is a Publication List

A publication list helps you manage how subscribers receive several different categories of emails or SMS messages. For example, you might send newsletters, advertisements, and alerts. Each of these is a different category, so you would create a separate publication list for each category. When you send a newsletter, you associate the send with the newsletter publication list to identify to the system what kind of content is inside the publication.

Why Use a Publication List

Publication lists help you manage subscribers' unsubscribe or opt-out actions. Having a separate publication list for each communication type (Newsletter, Weather Alerts, Coupons, etc.) enables you to honor an opt-out request from one publication type without unsubscribing that person from all previously subscribed-to publications. If you use only one publication list for all of a subscriber's communications, and if that person opts out of one publication, that subscriber will be opted out automatically from all publications.

Use a publication list to filter the audience of an email send, which ensures your publications are sent to the subscribers who want to see them.

Use a publication list to show and adhere to regulatory compliance to CAN-SPAM laws.

Use a publication list for each communication type, such as newsletter, weather alerts, and coupons.

Use a publication list to control who receives particular communications from a company. In Enterprise 2.0, publication lists can be shared between parent and child business units. An example of this is shown in the following illustration:

How to Create a Publication List

Note: To share your publication list, you must place it in the Shared Items folder.

1. Click the Subscribers tab.
2. Click my subscribers.
3. Click Publication Lists.
   The Publication Lists workspace opens.
4. Click the Create button.
5. Provide a name and description for the publication list.
6. The name and description appear in the Available Publications section of the subscription center. 
   

   Note: If the list is used for SMS, you must name your publication list with no spaces. Add information to the description that identifies this publication list is used for SMS.

7. (Optional) Check the Public checkbox to display the publication list in the subscription center.
8. Click the Save button.
9. (Optional) Click the checkbox next to the publication list and click the Move button
10. Click the folder in which you want to store your publication list and click the OK button.
    

    Note: Select the Shared Items folder under the Subscribers tab if you want to share the publication list.

11. (Optional) If you are sharing the publication list, select the Permissions menu item and set roles and permissions for the publication list.

How to Apply a Publication List to a Send

You can apply publication lists to user-initiated and triggered emails sent through the Interactions tab by completing the following steps:

1. Select Messages, Email, User-Initiated from the Interactions tab.
   The User-Initiated Emails workspace opens.
2. Click the desired email name.
3. Click the Edit Audience link.
   The Send Definition Audience workspace opens.
4. Select your audience for a target audience and (optional) for an excluded audience. 
5. Select any publications to opt-out of this email.
6. Click the Save button to save this information. 
   The publication list is applied the next time the email is sent. 

What Is a Suppression List

A suppression list prevents subscribers included on that list from receiving emails. When you select a suppression list at the time of send, the application doesn't allow messages to be sent to subscribers on that list. It "suppresses" those addresses from the send. Subscribers can also sign up for suppression lists in their subscription center, allowing them to specify what emails they receive from you.

Suppression lists are mainly used for data extension sends since data extensions don't use statuses the same way that subscribers on lists do. 

How to Create a Suppression List

 Note: To share your publication list, you must place it in the Shared Items folder.

1. Click the Subscribers tab.
2. Click my subscribers.
3. Click Suppression Lists.
   The Publication Lists workspace opens.
4. Click the Create button.
5. Provide a name and description for the suppression list.
   The name and description appear in the subscription center.
6. (Optional) Check the Public checkbox to display the suppression list in the subscription center.
7. Click the Save button.
8. (Optional) Click the checkbox next to the suppression list and click the Move button
9. Click the folder in which you want to store your suppression list and click the OK button.
   

   Note: Select the Shared Items folder under the Subscribers tab if you want to share the suppression list.

10. (Optional) If you are sharing the suppression list, select the Permissions menu item and set roles and permissions for the publication list.

How to Apply a Suppression List to a Send

You can apply a suppression list to a send through the Interactions tab using either a user-initiated send or a triggered send.

Follow these steps to apply a suppression list to a user-initiated send:

1. Click the Interactions tab.
2. Select Messages >> Email >> User-Initiated.
   The User-Initiated Emails workspace opens.
3. Click the desired email name.
4. Click the Edit Audience link.
   The Send Definition Audience workspace opens.
5. Select your audience for a target audience and (optional) for an excluded audience. 
6. Select any suppression list to use on this email.
7. Click the Save button to save this information. 
   The publication list is applied the next time the email is sent.

How to Apply a Suppression List to a Triggered Send

1. Click the Interactions tab.
2. Select Messages >> Email >> Triggered.
3. Click the desired email name.
4. Scroll down to the Suppression List section of the email.
5. Select any suppression list or shared suppression list to use on this email.
6. Click Save.

How to Import into a Suppression List

Refer to Import Activity for information on importing into a suppression list. You can import opt-out subscribers collected out of the ExactTarget application. If a subscriber does not exist in the ExactTarget system, the subscriber is added as Active, and then only Opted-out at the suppression list level. The suppression list level is the list to which they were imported. Importing into a suppression list is supported for Enterprise 2.0 only at this time.

Note: Subscriber attributes are not supported for suppression list imports. The system only supports the following:

• Email Address
• Subscriber Key (If the BR is turned on)
• Status (active or unsub)
• Reason (The unsub/opt-out reason)

How to Share a Suppression List

Enterprise 2.0 allows you to share suppression lists from parent business units to child business units. Therefore, the master suppression list that controls opted-out subscribers can be used to compare to subscriber lists, which ensures that only the subscribers who opted-in for the publication receive the publication. For more information, refer to Shared Items.

Note: A shared suppression list has a direct impact on the subscription center. When a subscriber visits the subscription center through an email sent from a business unit with a shared suppression list, the subscriber sees a list of publications either checked or unchecked. The checked publications will be sent to the subscriber. The unchecked publications will not be sent to the subscriber. The subscriber can check a list to add themselves to a suppression list and uncheck a list to remove themselves from that suppression list.