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How to email someone who isn't on any list (Add Contact)

  • Updated

To email someone who isn't on any of your lists, such as a sponsor, a field contact or a board member, add them as a Personal Contact: on Communications > Send Communication, click Add Contact, enter their name and email address and click Add. They're then listed under Personal Contacts in your To list, for this email and every later one.

Applies to: Org admins who send communications (Add Contact needs Program Recipients in your admin role) · All plans · Emails and texts sent with Send Communication

Where: Communications > Send Communication > Add Contact

Add a contact and email them

  1. Go to Communications > Send Communication.
  2. Click Add Contact at the top of the page.
  3. Enter the Contact Name and Email Address. Both are required, up to 50 characters each.
  4. Optional: enter the Phone Number, all 10 digits.
  5. Click Add. You'll see "Your Personal Contact has been added."
  6. In To, click the arrow next to Personal Contacts and check the person. Check any other lists you want to include as well.
  7. Click Next, write your message on Create Your Message, and click Send Now (or Next, then Send on Send Options).

What you'll see: the contact listed by name under Personal Contacts, at the top of the To list. "(Text Enabled)" follows the name once their phone has signed up for your organization's texts. They get their own copy of your email, like every other recipient. Next time, they're already there: just check them.

Change or remove a personal contact

  1. Go to Communications > Custom Contact Lists. Your personal contacts are listed under Personal Contacts, below your lists.
  2. To change one, click the pencil (Edit) next to it, change the name, email address or phone number and click Save. You'll see "Personal contact has been successfully updated".
  3. To remove one, click the red X (Delete) next to it, then OK when asked "Are you sure you want to delete the contact "(name)"?". You'll see "The personal contact has been deleted."

You can also add a personal contact on that page, with Add Personal Contact.

If it doesn't work

  • There's no Add Contact button. Your admin role doesn't include Program Recipients, which also controls the Advanced Communications tab. The Administrator, Registrar and Communicator roles include it; ask your organization's administrator.
  • Personal Contacts isn't in the To list. Your admin role doesn't include Organization Contacts. The same roles include it.
  • "This email address is already available on your Personal Contact List." The person is already one of your personal contacts. Open Personal Contacts and check them.
  • "Contact Name field is required." or "Email Address field is required." Fill in both and click Add again.
  • "The format of the Email Address does not appear to be correct." Check the address for typos and spaces.
  • "Incomplete phone number entry." Enter all 10 digits, or leave Phone Number blank.
  • The contact is grayed out and can't be checked. Their address has an email filter, such as Opt Out, Bad or Marked As Spam, so your emails don't reach it. Point to the name to see "Filtered, Filter Reason:" and the filter. See What does the red flag next to an email address mean?, under Related articles.
  • Another admin can't find a contact you added. Personal contacts belong to the admin who adds them. To share people with other admins, put them on a Custom Contact List.

Which to use

You want to Use
Email one or two people who aren't on any of your lists, once or now and then Add Contact (a Personal Contact, yours only)
Email the same group again and again, such as sponsors or board members, or share a list with other admins A Custom Contact List; see How to create and manage a Custom Contact List
Get a copy of every communication at one address, such as your organization's shared admin mailbox Communication BCC (below)

Good to know

  • Personal contacts are yours: other admins don't see them, and you don't see theirs.
  • Each recipient gets a separate copy, so a personal contact doesn't see who else got your email. Who do our emails come from? explains the From and Reply To they see.
  • A personal contact gets your texts only after their phone has signed up for your organization's texts. See How to get members to opt in to text messages.
  • Communication BCC: to copy an address on every communication, go to Communications > Configurations > General, click Add Communication BCC, enter the Email and click Add. You'll see "The Communication BCC was successfully added." Each address on that list gets one copy of every communication sent with Send Communication, by any admin. A red flag next to an address there means it's invalid or isn't accepting TeamSideline emails.

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