If you'd like to block certain leads from ever getting imported into any of your campaigns, you can use the Blocklist feature in Settings - Blocklist.
You can block the entire domain or a specific email from being imported into your campaigns using the following format:
mycompetitor.com (block all leads on that domain)
[email protected] (block specific email account)
There are four ways you can add leads/domains to your blocklist. Watch the full video here.
Blocklist
You can make a Google sheet, CSV or add them manually, and in the first column of your sheet, add a first row that says "Blocked", followed by the emails or domains you'd like to block.
After you upload your file, you'll be able to manage your global blocklist inside your workspace.
The blocklist tab is applied both during the uploading of lead data and across ongoing campaigns.
When you import new leads, our system always checks them against the blocklist. Additionally, if a lead is already imported into any campaign within the same workspace, our Default blocklist feature will also automatically prevent emails from being sent to them if they are subsequently added to the blocklist.
Using Google Sheets
Here are the following steps below.
Make a new Google sheet or check our sample sheet here, and in the first column of your sheet, add a first row that says "Blocked", followed by the emails and domains you'd like to block.
Click on the "share" button on the top right of your Google Sheets page.
Click "Change" below "Get link"
Change permissions to "Anyone with the link as Editor"
Click on "Copy link" and paste it back into Instantly.
When you finally click "Set block list", Instantly will notify you of the number of rows that have been imported, and inform you that these are now saved.
Delete columns B-Z so that your Google Sheet is simpler for you to keep track of (Optional)
The Google Sheet blocklist is checked only when importing or uploading leads.
If you'd like to block the emails to leads already in your active campaigns, it's recommended to upload the leads to the Blocklist tab instead.
Automatically add leads to the blocklist
Go to the Blocklist page and add unsubscribed leads to the blocklist automatically by enabling this option "Automatically add unsubscribes to blocklist".
Also, you can now set AI triggers to add leads under certain conditions to the blocklist automatically:
Leads with specific interest statuses(Not interested, etc)
Leads that send replies with certain keywords
Add leads to blocklist from Unibox
You can also move leads to blocklist from Unibox by following the steps below:
Go to Unibox
Open the reply from the leads you wish to block
Click the three dots in the top right corner
Select Add email to blocklist
Skipped Leads
You will see a lead be skipped if this lead is added to your Default blocklist after being added to a campaign.
In the meantime, our system analyzes bounce data in real-time to automatically skip any known high-risk recipients (based on the data from our logs and millions of emails sent). Check more details here.
Export leads in the blocklist
You can export all the leads in the blocklist by following the steps below:
Select all leads in the blocklist
Click on the Download CSV option
FAQ
Q: Why do I have an error when I try to upload a sheet in blocklist?
A: If you are experiencing the issue when you try to upload a sheet in the blocklist, please check the following:
The file is not public or is not shared as an editor. Please share the link of the document with "access to edit"
Google sheet has more than one column - make sure to have only one column.