VIP Business Marketing Messaging: How to Create and Manage Contact Lists

Discover effective strategies for managing contact lists to enhance your business marketing messaging and improve customer engagement.

Written By Gideon O'Daniel (Administrator)

Updated at February 25th, 2026

 

Who is this Guide For?

  • All users with access to Business Marketing Messaging

What You’ll Accomplish

  • Create and manage contact lists
  • Sort lists for easier organization
  • Share lists (parent account admins only)
  • Export lists to CSV
  • Delete lists safely

Overview

Contact Lists in Business Marketing Messaging help you group recipients for targeted messaging and better organization. This guide shows you how to create, sort, share, export, and delete lists.


Access the Contact Lists Page

  1. In Business Marketing Messaging, navigate to Contacts > Lists.
  2. Review the Lists table (if you already have lists created).

What the Lists table shows

  • List name
  • Added date (when the list was created)
  • Contacts (total contacts in the list)
  • List email (alias used when sending SMS via email)
  • Shared with / Shared by (who has access when list sharing is enabled)
  • More options (⋮) (Send message, Edit, Manage list sharing, Export contacts, Delete list)
Business Marketing Messaging - Contacts > Lists page with New list button

Create a New Contact List

  1. Go to Contacts > Lists.
  2. Click New list.
  3. Enter a List name.
  4. (Optional) Enter a List email if you plan to send SMS via email.
  5. Click Create list.
Create a contact list modal showing List name and List email fields

Tip: A List email can be used for “Email to SMS” style sending to the list (bulk send via email alias).


Sort Contact Lists

You can sort lists by Name or Added date to find what you need faster.

Sort by Name

  1. Click the Name column header.
  2. Click again to toggle A–Z vs Z–A.
Lists sorted by Name (A-Z / Z-A toggle)

Sort by Added Date

  1. Click the Added date column header.
  2. Click again to toggle oldest-to-newest vs newest-to-oldest.
Lists sorted by Added date (oldest/newest toggle)

Share Contact Lists (Parent Account Admins Only)

Important: Only parent account administrators can manage shared lists.

  • Sub-account users can typically view and send to shared lists.
  • If you need changes to a shared list, contact a parent account administrator.
  1. Go to Contacts > Lists.
  2. Click the More options (⋮) menu on the list you want to share.
  3. Select Manage list sharing.
  4. Choose the list you want to share and select the sub-accounts that should have access.
  5. Click Save.
More options menu showing Manage list sharing
Manage sharing modal for a contact list

Export Contact Lists (CSV)

Exporting lists is useful for record-keeping and for maintaining a backup before making major changes.

  1. Navigate to Contacts > Lists.
  2. Select one or more lists using the checkboxes.
  3. Click Export. Your file downloads as a .CSV.
  4. To export a single list, open More options (⋮) and choose Export contacts.
Export button shown above selected lists

Note: You can also use exports to download lists such as unsubscribed/opted-out contacts, depending on how your account is configured.


Delete Contact Lists (Use Caution)

Important: Deleting lists (and/or contacts) is irreversible.

  • Export the list first if you may need it later.
  • Be careful with options that delete contacts from the database.
  1. Go to Contacts > Lists.
  2. Click More options (⋮) for the list.
  3. Select Delete list.
  4. In the confirmation modal, select the list(s) to delete.
  5. (Optional) Check Delete contacts within the selected lists only if you intend to remove those contacts from your entire database.
  6. Click Delete.
More options menu showing Delete list
Delete list permanently modal with optional delete contacts checkbox

Troubleshooting

I can’t see “Manage list sharing.”

  • This option typically requires parent account administrator permissions.
  • If you’re in a sub-account, you may only be able to view/send to shared lists.

I exported a list but don’t see the file.

  • Check your browser’s downloads area and confirm pop-ups/downloads are allowed.
  • Try exporting again after selecting the list(s) checkbox(es).

I accidentally deleted a list or contacts.

  • Deletion is irreversible. If you exported the list previously, you may be able to re-import contacts from your CSV backup.
  • If you need help validating what was removed, contact Crexendo Support.

Need More Help?

If you need additional assistance, please contact Crexendo Support at 855-211-2255 or email us at support@crexendo.com — our team is happy to help!