Who will receive my email campaign?
The number beside an audience is not everybody whose email address Bernard knows. It is everybody in that group who can receive this campaign now.
That distinction keeps an address book useful without turning it into a mailing list. A customer can stay in Contacts for order history while remaining outside marketing.
The groups you can choose
Depending on what your site contains, Community can show:
- Everyone who's said yes, across the site's recorded marketing permissions.
- Buyers who gave the matching marketing permission at checkout.
- Students who gave the matching marketing permission when enrolling.
- People from a particular form, including named form segments where your forms create them. Only confirmed signups count.
These groups are defined by the actions and permissions your site recorded. They are not a loose list assembled from an uploaded file or every contact with an address. When do I need someone's permission to email them? explains what each kind of yes permits.
Why somebody may be left out
A person is excluded when the required permission is absent, still awaiting confirmation, withdrawn, or blocked by a suppression for this site. A bounce or complaint can also stop later marketing mail. Bernard checks the evidence tied to the actual recipient address instead of trusting a label copied onto a contact.
Unsubscribing affects future audiences for that site. It does not erase the contact or alter audiences belonging to another business. How does unsubscribing from my emails work? explains that boundary.
The count you approve
Audience counts are live. Someone can confirm, unsubscribe or become ineligible after you first open the page. At the final step, Bernard freezes the exact eligible recipients and asks you to approve their count alongside the saved version, digest and timing. If the count changed while you were deciding, the old approval is refused and a new quote appears.
The count also has to fit inside your remaining monthly allowance. See How many campaign emails can I send? before choosing between two large groups, then use Send an email campaign to my audience for the final review.
The prompt
“Show me the lawful audiences for [my site], their current eligible counts, and why [a person or group] would be included or left out. Do not send anything.”
Press Copy, then paste it into your AI and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard first - a one-time setup in bernard → your site → Use your own AI.
Questions people ask
- Does everyone in Contacts receive my campaign?
- No. Contacts is your address book; an audience is the people in it with recorded permission for that kind of email. Bernard also removes anyone suppressed for the site before showing the count. You approve the exact eligible count, not the size of the address book.
- Can I email all buyers or students?
- Only the buyers or students who also gave the relevant marketing permission. A purchase or enrolment allows practical messages about that transaction, but does not silently create permission for every campaign.
- Why is a form signup missing?
- Form audiences require the permission recorded by that form and the person's confirmation click. Someone still waiting to confirm stays out.
- Can the number change after I preview?
- Yes. Someone may confirm or unsubscribe while you are deciding. Bernard checks again before sending; if the approved recipient count no longer matches, it refuses the old approval and gives you a fresh quote.