Lists and segments

Lists and segments are the two ways to group contacts in Zalify Reach. A list is static: contacts are added and removed explicitly, and its membership only changes when something adds or removes a contact. A segment is dynamic: you define rules, and Reach keeps the membership up to date automatically as contacts start or stop matching. Both can be used as the audience for broadcasts and automations.

When to use a list vs. a segment

Use a list when membership is an event — someone did a specific thing once:

• They submitted your newsletter signup form.
• They joined through a specific popup or campaign.
• You imported them from another tool.

Use a segment when membership is a condition — something that is true about the contact right now:

• Subscribed contacts who haven't opened an email recently.
• Contacts with a specific property value, such as a country or plan.
• Contacts who have placed an order, based on order webhook data.

A simple test: if you would ever need to "refresh" the group to keep it accurate, it should be a segment. Lists never refresh themselves; segments always do.

The two work well together. A common pattern is a list as the raw intake (everyone a form has ever collected) and segments layered on top (subscribed members of that list in a given region).

How forms feed lists

Forms and popups built in Z1 Canvas add their submitters to a list. When a visitor submits the form, Reach creates or updates the contact and adds them to the connected list. This is the main way lists grow on their own — the list is still static, but the form keeps appending to it.

See Connecting a form to a list for the setup steps.

Create a list

1. Open the audience area of Reach and go to lists.
2. Choose the option to create a new list and give it a clear name. Name lists after the source or purpose ("Newsletter signups", "Black Friday popup") so you can tell them apart later.
3. Save the list.
4. Add contacts: connect a form to it, add contacts individually from their profiles, or add them in bulk.

To edit a list, open it and add or remove members directly. Removing a contact from a list does not delete the contact and does not unsubscribe them — it only changes list membership.

Create a segment

1. Open the audience area of Reach and go to segments.
2. Choose the option to create a new segment.
3. Define the rules a contact must match. Rules can reference contact properties and activity.
4. Save. Reach evaluates the rules and shows the current members.

You don't add or remove contacts from a segment by hand. To change who is in it, change the rules. When a contact's data changes — a new order arrives via webhook, a property is updated, the pixel records new activity — their segment memberships update accordingly.

Use a list or segment as an audience

When you set up a broadcast or an automation, you choose its audience, and both lists and segments are available as audience choices.

• Broadcasts: the send goes to the members of the list or segment at send time. See Sending your first broadcast.
• Automations: the list or segment defines who the automation applies to. See Building an automation.

Regardless of which you pick, Reach only sends marketing email to contacts whose subscription status allows it. Unsubscribed and suppressed contacts are skipped even if they are members of the audience — see Subscription status, consent & unsubscribes.

Related articles

• Managing customers (contacts)
• Subscription status, consent & unsubscribes
• Connecting a form to a list
• Sending your first broadcast
• Building an automation