This article explains how to add, edit, remove, archive, delete, and restore contacts.

	In This Article
	Customizing the Contacts Section Columns Adding Contacts Adding or Removing a Contact From a Group Archiving Contacts Archive Versus Delete Contacts in the Opt-Out or Error Status Archiving Contacts Within a Group or Segment Restoring Archived Contacts Deleting Archived Contacts Important Notes About Restoring and Deleting Contacts Additional Resources

Customizing the Contacts Section Columns

In the Contacts section, you can select which of your contact fields are shown by changing the column display.

1. Navigate to your Audience tab.
2. Click on the Column display button.
3. In the pop-up window that appears, check the box next to each field that you want displayed.
4. Click on the Save button.

Adding Contacts

The preferred method of adding contacts to your account is to import them from a spreadsheet. However, you can also manually add individual contacts by following these steps:

1. Navigate to your Audience tab.
2. Click on the Add contact button.
3. Enter the contact's email address in the "Email" field. This is the only required field.
4. Enter additional contact information, as desired.
5. Check the box next to each group or subscription that you'd like to add the contact to.
6. Click on the Save and close button if you're done. Or, click on the Save and add another button to add another contact.

☑	Tip
	When adding contacts individually, you can only add data to the existing contact fields. All accounts start with the default fields: Email, First Name, and Last Name. This means that if you also know the person's date of birth and want to add it, you will need to first create a new contact field for their birthdate and then add the new contact.

Adding or Removing a Contact From a Group

Groups keep your contacts organized, and can also be useful for sending more targeted content. Contacts can also be added to more than one group in your audience. For example, if you send to three groups at the same time and a contact is in all three, we'll make sure that they only receive the mailing once.

When editing a contact record, you can add or remove a contact from a single group or from all groups. Here's how:

1. Head to your Audience tab.
2. Find and open the Contact Record
• Clicking on the email address once will expand the Quick View Contact Profile Drawer. Click the email address in the drawer or the expansion icon to open the full record.
3. Head to Tags
4. In the "Groups" section, check or uncheck the boxes to add or remove the contact from each group.

✎	Note
	If you don't add a new contact to any groups, they are considered to be in limbo. They will still be added to your audience with an Active status, but it may be difficult to locate them when you're choosing recipients for a mailing.

Archiving Contacts

1. Navigate to your Audience tab.
2. Check the box next to each contact that you want to archive.
3. Click on the Actions button at the top.
4. Select Archive from the dropdown menu.
5. In the pop-up window that appears, click on the Archive button to confirm your choices.

Archive Versus Delete

If you have contacts that you no longer want to send emails to, you can archive them or delete them for permanent removal from your account. In most cases, we suggest archiving over deleting a contact, so that you have the option to restore them to active status, if needed.

Archiving a contact removes them from any groups or segments that they belong to. You can also restore archived contacts to your audience at any time. Whereas deleting a contact will permanently delete all of their data from your account, which cannot be undone.

Contacts in the Opt-Out or Error Status

It’s generally best to leave all addresses in the Opt-out and Error statuses in your account, so don't archive them. Emma will always remember Error and Opt-out addresses and will never send to them. Contacts with a status of Error or Opt-out do not count toward your audience total for billing purposes.

Archiving Contacts Within a Group or Segment

1. Navigate to your Audience tab.
2. Click on the Groups section or the Segments section in the panel on the left.
3. Click on the name of the desired group or segment to open it.
4. Click on the Actions button at the top.
5. Select Archive all from the dropdown menu.
6. Read the pop-up window carefully and click on Archive to confirm your choices.

⚠	Warning
	Contacts who are archived in bulk will not retain their group assignments when restored to the audience.

Restoring Archived Contacts

It's not possible to restore a deleted contact, but you can restore archived contacts.

1. Navigate to your archive.
   • Tiered accounts: Navigate to the appropriate subaccount, click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen, and choose Archived items from the dropdown menu.
   • Standalone accounts: Click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of your screen and choose Archived items from the dropdown menu.
2. Click on the Contacts tab.
3. Check the box next to each email address that you want to restore.
4. Click on the Actions button and select Restore to return the selected contacts to your audience. You can also restore a single contact by clicking on the corresponding dropdown arrow and selecting Restore from the menu.
5. Read the pop-up message carefully and then confirm your selection.

Deleting Archived Contacts

1. Navigate to your archive.
   • Tiered accounts: Navigate to the appropriate subaccount, click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen, and choose Archived items from the dropdown menu.
   • Standalone accounts: Click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of your screen and choose Archived items from the dropdown menu.
2. Click on the Contacts tab.
3. Check the box next to each email address that you want to delete.
4. Click on the Actions button and select Delete to return the selected contacts to your audience. You can also delete a single contact by clicking on the corresponding dropdown arrow and selecting Delete from the menu.
5. Read the pop-up message carefully and then confirm your selection.

⚠	Warning
	Deleted contacts cannot be restored.

Important Notes About Restoring and Deleting Contacts

• Contacts archived using the "Archive all" function do not retain group memberships when restored and will be placed in limbo. Afterward, you can use the segment builder to create a segment to find limbo contacts and create a campaign specifically for them.

• Contacts who were individually archived retain their group memberships only when restored in-app from the archive one-at-a-time.

• You must be at the Administrator level and above in order to delete archived contacts.

• Deleting a contact will permanently delete all of the contact's data from your account. This cannot be undone.

• For billing purposes, all active contacts that are in your account during a calendar month are included on your invoice; this includes any active contacts that were archived.

Additional Resources

• Audience Tab: Overview
• Audience Tab: Segments
• How to View or Change a Contact's Status
• Making the Most of Your Audience Groups