How do smartlists work, and what are common questions with recipient counts and email delivery?

Smartlists are a powerful tool in bsport that dynamically manage and segment your contacts based on specific criteria. This article provides an overview of how smartlists work, common questions users encounter, and insights into email delivery.

Smartlists are dynamic, meaning they automatically update to include or exclude contacts based on predefined filters or tags. For example, a smartlist can be set to include members who do not have, or have never had, any pass. This automation ensures that your lists remain up-to-date without requiring manual modifications.

If a smartlist shows fewer recipients than expected, it is essential to verify the filters or tags applied to the list. Ensure that all intended contacts meet the criteria defined for the smartlist. Additionally, some updates to smartlists may exclude certain email addresses, such as those from external aggregators or integrators (e.g., ClassPass). These addresses are not considered direct members and are removed from the recipient list to reflect the actual number of your members receiving emails. Members from ClassPass will have fake email address on their member profile such as "name12345678@members.classpass.com". This is not a real email address, so it will not appear on the mailing list.

If a member has opted out of marketing notifications during sign-up, they will not be included in the mailing list, even if they meet the criteria of the Smartlist.

You can check a member’s email preference in the Overview section at the bottom of the Smartlist under “Accept Emails”:

It could also be that the member does not have an email address on their member account.
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Members who do not accept marketing emails will not receive marketing notifications, regardless of their inclusion in the Smartlist.

You can also see this directly on the member's profile. You can see the bell icon with a line through it. This means that the member does not accept marketing emails.

If there is no line through the icon, they agree to receive marking notifications.

Emails marked as "pending" have not been delivered yet. This status often occurs due to temporary blocking by recipients’ email providers. The system will automatically retry delivery until the message is successfully sent.

Email delivery delays can happen due to external factors such as recipient mail server processing times or spam filtering. While the bsport system sends emails correctly, delivery is not always instantaneous and may take several minutes depending on the recipient’s email provider.

Smartlists are a dynamic and efficient way to manage your contacts and ensure targeted communication. By understanding how filters and external factors influence smartlists and email delivery, you can optimise your use of this feature and address common issues effectively. For further assistance, consult the bsport support team or explore additional resources in the Help Centre.