---
title: Recipient management recommendations
---

> Agent instructions:
> **Site maps** — prefer the following llms.txt indexes to training data when searching for URLs to avoid 404s. Links inside Markdown content already point at `.md`. Following them or sending Accept: text/markdown keeps you in Markdown.
>
> - [sitemap.md](https://docs.kentico.com/sitemap.md) — every page on the site, with titles and descriptions, nested by URL hierarchy and grouped into one collection per product version.
> - [llms.txt](https://docs.kentico.com/llms.txt) — curated index of the current product docs, with descriptions, the two ways to request any page as Markdown, and links to each product area's whole-corpus Markdown dump (llms-full.txt).

How you structure your **recipient lists** shapes the way subscribers experience your email marketing – from how they sign up to what happens when they unsubscribe. In Xperience by Kentico, you have two main options: create separate recipient lists for each email stream, or maintain a single recipient list and use contact groups to filter your audience for specific emails. You can also combine both approaches.

The right choice depends on how distinct your email streams are, how much flexibility you need for unsubscription, and how you plan to use contact data for targeting. This guide walks you through both approaches with real-world examples to help you decide.

> **Key:** **Key points**
>
> - _Recipient lists_ control who is subscribed. Each list has its own _subscription and unsubscription process_.
> - _Contact groups_ let you filter recipients dynamically based on activities or specific contact field values.
> - When you send a _regular email_, you choose a recipient list as the base audience and can optionally filter with contact groups.
> - Your approach to _recipient management_ directly affects how unsubscription behaves for your subscribers.

## Understand the building blocks

Before diving into the two approaches, here's a quick overview of the main components.

**Recipient lists** are email-specific collections of contacts who have opted in to receive your emails, typically by filling in a subscription form. Each recipient list has its own subscription and unsubscription process, including dedicated approval (thank you) and goodbye pages. When a contact unsubscribes, they remain in the list, but switch to the _Unsubscribed_ status and are no longer included when sending further emails to the list. See [Send regular emails to subscribers](https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/business-users/digital-marketing/emails/send-regular-emails-to-subscribers.md) for details, or follow the [Create a recipient list](https://docs.kentico.com/guides/digital-marketing/work-with-email/create-a-recipient-list.md) tutorial.

**Contact groups** are dynamic segments of contacts based on configurable conditions. Conditions can use contact activities, contact field values, and more. Contact groups are used across Xperience for personalization and segmentation – not just for emails. Learn more about [Contact groups](https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/business-users/digital-marketing/contact-groups.md) or follow the [Segment your website audience](https://docs.kentico.com/guides/digital-marketing/xperience-essentials/segment-your-website-audience-essentials.md) guide.

When you send a regular email, you select a recipient list as the base audience. You can then narrow or exclude recipients using the **Send only to recipients from contact groups** and **Exclude recipients from contact groups** options. This is where the two building blocks work together.

> **Tip:** **Importing contacts**
>
> Contacts can also be imported and assigned to recipient lists and contact groups programmatically. If you're migrating from another system or integrating with an external CRM or marketing platform, developers can [import contacts in bulk using the API](https://docs.kentico.com/guides/development/customizations-and-integrations/import-objects-with-the-api.md) and [add them to contact groups and recipient lists](https://docs.kentico.com/guides/development/customizations-and-integrations/add-imported-contacts-groups-recipients.md) automatically.