How to Create and Use Suppression Lists in PropFuel

Suppression Lists in PropFuel allow you to automatically pause check-ins for specific contacts within a campaign — without permanently removing them. This is especially useful for ongoing campaigns like renewals, where contacts may need to be temporarily held from receiving questions based on changing data in your AMS (such as membership status).

A Suppression List is a dynamic contact list that, when attached to a campaign, prevents anyone on that list from receiving check-ins in that campaign. Contacts who are suppressed remain enrolled in the campaign — they simply stop receiving questions for as long as they appear on the list. If they later fall off the list (for example, their membership lapses again), they re-enter the campaign and resume receiving check-ins where they left off.

This is different from removing a contact from a campaign entirely. Removal is permanent — the contact is pulled out and won't receive any future check-ins unless they are re-enrolled. Suppression is temporary and automatic, making it ideal for situations where a contact's eligibility can change over time.

Suppression Lists are powered by the Contact List feature in PropFuel. Contact Lists use filters based on contact fields, subscription status, campaign activity, and other data to dynamically group contacts. Because these lists can be set to refresh automatically (every hour), your suppression rules stay current as data flows in from your AMS or other integrations.

You might wonder why you can't just use a campaign workflow to remove contacts when their status changes. You can — but there's a limitation. Workflows only fire once per contact. Here's an example of where that causes problems:

Let's say you have a renewal campaign that enrolls members when their status is "expired." You also add a workflow that removes them when their status is to "full member." This might cause the removal trigger to be fired before people are enrolled into the campaign, so if they expire and renew again, they don't get removed the second time around.

Suppression lists solve this by continuously evaluating who should and shouldn't receive check-ins, regardless of how many times a contact's status changes. As long as the contact matches the suppression list criteria, they're suppressed. When they no longer match, they're back in.

1. Navigate to Lists: In your PropFuel dashboard, click on Lists.

2. Create a New List: Click Create New List and give it a descriptive name. For instance, if you're suppressing active members from a renewal campaign, name it something like "Suppression – Active Full Members."

3. Set List Update Frequency: Select Automatic so PropFuel updates the list continuously. This ensures contacts are added or removed from the list as their data changes in your AMS.

4. Add Criteria (Filters): The criteria you choose define who should be suppressed. Use contact fields that are kept up-to-date through your integration. Example: Contact Field > Member Type > equals > "Full Member." This creates a list of every contact whose member type is currently "Full Member."

5. Save Your List: Click Save. The list will now appear under Lists in your account and begin populating based on your filters.

Tip: If your integration syncs data frequently (most do within an hour), contacts will be added to or removed from this list shortly after their record changes in your AMS.

After creating your list, you need to connect it to the campaign where you want suppression to take effect.

1. Click on Campaigns in your PropFuel dashboard.

2. Select the campaign you want to suppress contacts from (for example, your Renewal Campaign).

3. Click on the Settings tab.

4. Scroll down to the Suppression Lists section and click Add Suppression List:

   

5. Select your list from the dropdown.

Once attached, PropFuel will immediately suppress any enrolled contacts who appear on that list. You'll see their status change to "Suppressed" in the campaign's enrolled contacts view.

When a contact is suppressed in a campaign, the following is true:

• They remain enrolled in the campaign but will not receive any scheduled check-ins.

• Their status in the campaign's enrolled contacts list shows as Suppressed.

• If you open their contact profile, you will not see any upcoming scheduled questions for that campaign.

• If the contact later falls off the suppression list (for example, their membership expires again), they are automatically un-suppressed and will resume receiving check-ins in the campaign.

Important: Suppression is not the same as removal. If you want a contact to permanently leave a campaign and never receive check-ins from it again, you need to remove them — either through a workflow action, manually, or by using a list's "Remove from Campaign" option.

If you no longer need a suppression list attached to a campaign:

1. Go to the campaign's Settings tab.

2. Find the suppression list in the Suppression Lists section.

3. Click Remove:

   

Once removed, all contacts who were previously suppressed by that list will immediately return to active status in the campaign and will resume receiving check-ins on their normal schedule.

Suppress active, current members from a renewal campaign so they only receive check-ins when their membership has expired or is approaching expiration. As members renew and their status updates in your AMS, they are automatically suppressed again.

Suppress contacts who have already registered for an event from a campaign encouraging registration. Once registration data syncs from your AMS, registered contacts are suppressed automatically.

Suppress contacts who have already rejoined from a lapsed or dormant member win-back campaign, so they stop receiving re-engagement messaging as soon as they're active again.

Suppress contacts who have been members for longer than a certain period, so only new members receive onboarding check-ins.

Use a naming convention that makes it obvious the list is for suppression and what it targets. For example: "Suppression – Active Full Members" or "Suppression – Event Registered." This makes it easy to identify when attaching to campaigns.

Always set your suppression lists to automatic updates so they stay current with your AMS data. Manual lists are useful for one-time actions but won't keep pace with ongoing status changes.

Attach both a Suppression List and a Conversion List to your campaigns. The Suppression List handles the operational side (pausing check-ins for the right people), while the Conversion List tracks the results (who actually converted). Together, they give you a complete picture of campaign performance.

Check your campaign's enrolled contacts list occasionally to make sure the suppression is working as expected. If contacts are being suppressed who shouldn't be (or vice versa), review the filters on your list.

Q: Will a suppressed contact receive reminders?

A: No. Suppressed contacts will not receive any check-ins or reminders for the duration of their suppression.

Q: What happens if I remove the suppression list from the campaign?

A: All previously suppressed contacts immediately return to active status and will resume receiving check-ins on their normal schedule.

Q: Can I attach multiple suppression lists to a single campaign?

A: Yes. If a contact appears on any of the attached suppression lists, they will be suppressed.

Q: Does suppression remove a contact from the campaign?

A: No. Suppression pauses check-ins for that contact. They remain enrolled and will resume receiving check-ins if they fall off the suppression list. To permanently remove someone, use a workflow action or the list's "Remove from Campaign" option.

Q: How quickly does suppression take effect after a contact's data changes?

A: If your list is set to update automatically, it refreshes every hour. Once the list updates and the contact appears on it, suppression takes effect immediately. Integration sync times vary by AMS — most update within an hour, and at most within 24 hours.

Q: I need help building my suppression list filters. Can PropFuel help?

A: Absolutely! Your dedicated PropFuel Client Success Manager can help you identify the right criteria for your suppression list. Just reach out to us at support@propfuel.com.