Marketing Lists are used to store and manage groups of contacts that you can send to, update, and use across Act-On features. If you are new to Marketing Lists, this article helps you understand what they are, when they are useful, and where to go next.
Heads up: If you do not see Lists > Marketing Lists in the Act-On navigation, your account is using a different contact management experience. In that case, this article does not apply, and you should refer to the Audience Center documentation instead.
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- Marketing Lists store contact records you can send to, update, and report on.
- They are commonly used as destinations for imports, CRM syncs, and automation.
- Lists persist over time until you update or delete them.
- If Marketing Lists are not available in your account, this article does not apply.
What is a Marketing List?
A Marketing List is a reusable group of contact records in Act-On. Each list holds contact details such as email address, name, company, and any custom fields you track.
Marketing Lists are commonly used to:
- Send one-time or recurring email campaigns
- Store contacts imported from files or synced from other systems
- Act as entry sources or destinations for automated programs
- Support segmentation and reporting
Unlike temporary selections or filters, a Marketing List remains available until you change or remove it.
When should you use a Marketing List?
Marketing Lists are a good fit when you need:
- A stable audience you plan to reuse
- A destination for imported or synced contact data
- A list that can be updated automatically over time
If your goal is simply to target a subset of contacts for a specific send or campaign, you will usually want to use a segment instead of creating another list.
What’s next?
If Marketing Lists are available in your account, continue to Getting Started with Marketing Lists to learn where to find lists in Act-On and how to create your first one.