Subscriber Management

The Subscribers section is where you manage your contact list. From here you can add, edit, delete, and bulk import subscribers.

Overview

The subscribers table shows your entire contact list with the following information:

Column	Description
Email	Subscriber's email address
Status	SUBSCRIBED, UNSUBSCRIBED, or BOUNCED
Registration Date	When they joined your list
Metadata	Custom fields (name, company, etc.)
Actions	Edit or delete the subscriber

Adding Subscribers Manually

One Individual Subscriber

1. Click the "Add Subscriber" button in the upper right corner
2. Complete the form:
   • Email (required): Valid email address
   • Status: Default will be SUBSCRIBED
   • Metadata (optional): Custom fields in JSON format

{
  "name": "John Smith",
  "company": "My Startup",
  "role": "Founder",
  "signup_source": "Landing Page"
}

3. Click "Save"

Flexible Metadata

Metadata fields are completely customizable. You can store any information you need and then use it in your templates with Handlebars variables like {{name}} or {{company}}.

Subscriber States

SUBSCRIBED

• The subscriber can receive emails
• Default status when adding a new contact
• Can change to UNSUBSCRIBED if the user clicks the unsubscribe link

UNSUBSCRIBED

• The subscriber will NOT receive emails automatically
• SendDock automatically respects this status and filters these contacts from broadcasts
• Changed their status voluntarily or was manually marked

Legal Compliance

Sending emails to UNSUBSCRIBED contacts violates laws like CAN-SPAM and GDPR. SendDock prevents this automatically by filtering these contacts.

BOUNCED

• The email bounced (hard bounce) due to invalid or non-existent address
• Automatically marked when your SMTP provider reports a bounce
• DO NOT attempt to send to these contacts

Search and Filters

Search Bar

Use the search bar to find subscribers by:

• Full or partial email
• Name (if in metadata)
• Any metadata field

Example: Search "gmail.com" will find all subscribers with Gmail email

Status Filters

Use the tabs at the top to filter by status:

• All: Shows all subscribers
• Subscribed: Active only
• Unsubscribed: Unsubscribed only
• Bounced: Bounced only

Bulk Import (CSV)

Prepare Your CSV File

SendDock accepts CSV files with the following format:

email,name,company,status
john@example.com,John Smith,Startup Inc,SUBSCRIBED
mary@example.com,Mary Garcia,Tech Corp,SUBSCRIBED
carlos@example.com,Carlos Lopez,,SUBSCRIBED

CSV Rules:

1. Required header: First row must have column names
2. Required email column: It's the only required field
3. Optional status column: If not provided, will default to SUBSCRIBED
4. Custom columns: Any other column will be saved in metadata

Import Process

1. Click "Import Subscribers"

2. Drag your CSV file or click to select it
3. SendDock will validate the file and show a preview
4. Review the data and confirm the import
5. You'll see real-time progress

Automatic Validation

During import, SendDock:

• Validates that all emails have correct format
• Detects and skips duplicates (does not overwrite)
• Shows a summary at completion: X added, Y skipped

Import Example

email,name,plan,trial_ends_at
user1@example.com,Alice Johnson,pro,2024-12-31
user2@example.com,Bob Smith,starter,2024-11-15
user3@example.com,Carol White,free,

This CSV will result in metadata like:

{
  "name": "Alice Johnson",
  "plan": "pro",
  "trial_ends_at": "2024-12-31"
}

Migrating from Other Platforms

From Mailchimp

1. In Mailchimp, go to Audience → View contacts → Export Audience
2. Download the complete CSV
3. Open the file and ensure it has at least these columns: Email Address, First Name, Last Name
4. Optionally, rename the columns:
   • Email Address → email
   • First Name → first_name
   • Last Name → last_name
5. Import the file in SendDock

Detailed Guide

Check our complete migration guide from Mailchimp for a step-by-step process with screenshots.

Data Export

Export Your List

1. Click the "Export" button in the upper right corner
2. Select the format: CSV or JSON
3. Choose what data to include:
   • Emails only
   • Emails + metadata
   • Emails + metadata + sending history (requires Pro+ plan)
4. The file will download automatically

Export Format

CSV:

email,status,subscribed_at,name,company
john@example.com,SUBSCRIBED,2024-01-15T10:30:00Z,John Smith,My Startup

JSON:

[
  {
    "email": "john@example.com",
    "status": "SUBSCRIBED",
    "subscribedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
    "metadata": {
      "name": "John Smith",
      "company": "My Startup"
    }
  }
]

Editing Subscribers

Individual Edit

1. Click the pencil icon in the subscriber's row
2. Modify the fields you need:
   • Email (will validate that another with that email doesn't exist)
   • Status
   • Metadata (in JSON format)
3. Save changes

Bulk Edit

To change the status of multiple subscribers:

1. Select the checkboxes of the subscribers you want to edit
2. Click "Bulk Actions" at the top
3. Choose an action:
   • Change status to UNSUBSCRIBED
   • Change status to SUBSCRIBED
   • Delete selected (with confirmation)

Deletion is Permanent

Deleting subscribers is irreversible. Make sure to export a backup before deleting important data.

Pagination

The table shows 50 subscribers per page by default. Use the pagination controls at the bottom to navigate:

• Previous / Next: Previous/next page
• Go to page: Jump to a specific page
• Rows per page: Change how many subscribers to display (25, 50, 100)

Limits by Plan

The number of subscribers you can store depends on your plan:

Plan	Subscriber Limit
Free	300
Starter	5,000
Pro	20,000
Business	50,000

Need More Capacity

If you reach your limit, you can upgrade your plan or purchase an additional subscriber package that never expires.

API for Subscriber Management

In addition to the dashboard, you can manage subscribers programmatically with our API:

# Add a subscriber
curl -X POST https://senddock.dev/api/v1/subscribers \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sdk_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "email": "new@example.com",
    "metadata": {"name": "New User"}
  }'

# List subscribers
curl https://senddock.dev/api/v1/subscribers \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sdk_..."

# Delete a subscriber
curl -X DELETE https://senddock.dev/api/v1/subscribers/email@example.com \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sdk_..."

Check the complete API documentation for more details.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I recover deleted subscribers?

No. Deletion is permanent. Always export a backup before deleting.

Do UNSUBSCRIBED subscribers count toward my limit?

Yes, all subscribers in your database count toward the limit, regardless of their status.

Can I have the same email in multiple projects?

Yes. Projects are completely independent, so the same email can exist in different projects without conflict.

How does SendDock handle duplicates?

When importing CSV or adding via API, SendDock automatically detects duplicates by email and skips them. It does not overwrite existing data.

Next Steps

• Create templates for your emails
• Configure your SMTP provider
• Send your first campaign
• View analytics of your sends