Add and manage canonical contacts
How to add and manage canonical contacts in K2Mailer: one contact across multiple email lists, per-list subscription states, and delivery protections.
Quick answer: how do you add and manage contacts in K2Mailer?
To add a contact in K2Mailer, open Contacts → Contacts, use the Add Contact drawer, enter the email address and profile values, and select one or more lists. K2Mailer keeps one canonical contact per email address, so adding an existing email reuses that person instead of creating a duplicate.
To manage a contact, open Contact Edit to review profile values and each list membership. Subscription state is stored per list, while complaint, hard-bounce, global opt-out, and suppression protections apply across the whole account.
What is a canonical contact?
A canonical contact is the single master record for one email address inside your K2Mailer account. Instead of storing a separate copy of the same person for every list, K2Mailer stores the person once and links them to lists through memberships.
This keeps data clean. A name or timezone is updated in one place, a person is not counted twice, and consent is tracked separately for each list the person belongs to.
One person, multiple list memberships
K2Mailer keeps one canonical contact identity for an email address inside a tenant. The same contact can then have zero, one, or many list memberships instead of being duplicated once per list.
The Add Contact drawer lets you select multiple lists. If the email already exists, K2Mailer reuses that person rather than silently creating a second identity. Contact Edit shows the current memberships and their individual states.
Add a contact step by step
To add many contacts at once, use Import contacts and map fields safely. To create the lists first, see Create lists and manage contact memberships.
- 1
Open Contacts → Contacts.
- 2
Open the Add Contact drawer.
- 3
Enter the email address and any profile values you have, such as first name, last name, phone channels, timezone, and preferred email format.
- 4
Select one or more lists for the contact.
- 5
Save the contact, then open Contact Edit to confirm each membership and its state.
Profile and membership states
- System profile fields
- First name, last name, SMS, WhatsApp, landline number, contact timezone, email, and preferred email format are contact-level values.
- Subscribed
- The current list membership can receive mail when all other eligibility rules pass.
- Pending DOI
- A double-opt-in membership is waiting for valid confirmation evidence.
- Unsubscribed
- The specific list membership has opted out and stays protected until an explicit valid resubscription workflow is used.
- Active / Inactive
- Membership activity is separate from subscription consent and can independently prevent delivery.
- Verified
- Address verification status used by verification workflows. Verification does not override consent or suppression.
Tenant-wide protections are more restrictive
Per-list subscription state is not the only send rule. An explicit global marketing opt-out, complaint evidence, hard-bounce protection, or an applicable global suppression can prevent delivery across memberships.
This means a contact can be subscribed to List B while unsubscribed from List A, but a tenant-wide complaint or hard-bounce state can still make both memberships unsendable.
Deleting a suppression is not proof of renewed consent
Global marketing opt-out is stored separately from suppression. Use the explicit consent-restoration workflow only after the contact has asked to receive marketing again. Complaint or hard-bounce evidence prevents that global clear operation.
Available contact actions
- Create, view, edit, activate, deactivate, or delete the canonical contact.
- Attach one contact to multiple tenant-owned lists or remove individual memberships.
- Explicitly resubscribe a protected membership when renewed consent exists. DOI lists return to pending confirmation.
- Import and export contacts with field mapping and membership-aware protections.
- Search by email, name, and supported phone channels, and download an individual vCard.
Contact management best practices
- Collect permission before you add anyone, and keep a record of how each person joined.
- Add a returning email to another list from the Add Contact drawer instead of creating it again.
- Treat Unsubscribed as final until the person asks to hear from you again.
- Verify uncertain addresses before a send. See Verify an email address or an entire list.
- Review Email suppression and blacklists to understand what blocks delivery.
- Link every campaign to the preference center so people can manage their own choices. See Understand the Email Preference Center.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a canonical contact in K2Mailer?
- It is the single contact record for one email address in your account. The same contact can belong to many lists through separate memberships.
- What happens if I add an email that already exists?
- K2Mailer reuses the existing contact rather than silently creating a second identity, and attaches the lists you selected.
- Can one contact be on several lists with different statuses?
- Yes. A contact can be subscribed to one list and unsubscribed from another, because each list membership has its own state.
- Why is a Subscribed contact not receiving my campaign?
- Membership activity, global marketing opt-out, complaint evidence, hard-bounce protection, or an applicable suppression can prevent delivery even when the list membership is Subscribed.
- Can I resubscribe someone who unsubscribed?
- Only with an explicit resubscribe action when valid renewed consent exists. A double-opt-in list returns the membership to Pending DOI and requires fresh confirmation.
- Does importing a CSV re-subscribe unsubscribed contacts?
- No. A normal import cannot silently reopen an unsubscribed membership, and it does not create proof of renewed consent.
- Does removing a list membership delete the contact?
- No. Removing a membership does not by itself delete the canonical contact from the directory.
- How do I find a contact?
- Search by email, name, and supported phone channels in Contacts → Contacts. You can also download an individual vCard.
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