---
title: "Managing Attendees and Subscribers in Promoter"
source: "https://docs.nexcess.com/software/the-events-calendar/add-subscribers/"
description: "By default, Promoter automatically imports attendees from your events — anyone who purchased a ticket or registered via RSVP. But what if you want to promote yo…"
vertical: "Software"
area: "The Events Calendar"
date: "2019-10-18"
last_modified: "2026-07-02"
---

# Managing Attendees and Subscribers in Promoter

By default, Promoter automatically imports attendees from your events — anyone who purchased a ticket or registered via RSVP. But what if you want to promote your events to people who haven’t attended before? You can create custom lists for that purpose.

💡 Custom lists are limited to a total of 5,000 email addresses across all lists combined. Attendee lists imported automatically from your events are unlimited and do not count toward this limit.

## Custom Lists vs. Attendee Lists

It’s worth understanding the distinction between the two list types in Promoter:

- **Attendee lists** are created automatically from your event registrations. Every person who purchases a ticket or RSVPs to an event is added to that event’s attendee list. These lists are unlimited in size and managed by Promoter.
- **Custom lists** are lists you build and manage yourself, typically for contacts who haven’t attended an event yet — prospects, newsletter subscribers, or any audience you choose to import manually. These are capped at 5,000 addresses across all custom lists.

## Creating a Custom List

1. Click the **Lists** menu in Promoter.
2. Click **Create Custom List**. ![The Create Custom List button on the Promoter Lists page](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/create-custom-list.png)
3. Enter a **List Title** — choose a name that will help you identify the list.
4. Optionally, set a **custom color** for the list. This is useful when you have several custom lists and want to tell them apart at a glance. ![The list color picker on the Create Custom List screen in Promoter](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/list-color.png)
5. Add at least one subscriber using one of the three methods below.
6. Fill in the **Remind Subscribers why they are on this list** field. This text appears in the footer of every email sent to members of this list and is required for compliance with email marketing laws and regulations. ![The remind subscribers field on the Create Custom List screen in Promoter](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/remind.png)
7. Check the permission checkbox to confirm that you have consent to send marketing and promotional emails to the addresses you’ve added. Ensuring proper opt-in consent is essential for any email marketing campaign — failure to do so can have serious legal and financial consequences. ![The permission confirmation checkbox on the Create Custom List screen in Promoter](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/permission.png)
8. Click **Create & View List**.

## Adding Subscribers

Promoter provides three methods for adding subscribers to a list. These options are available both during list creation and when adding to an existing list from the Lists menu.

![The three subscriber addition options on the Promoter Lists page](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/subscribers.png)### Import a CSV File

Prepare a CSV file with up to three columns: **First Name**, **Last Name**, and **Email**. Email is the only required column, but including First Name and Last Name allows you to personalize messages with the recipient’s name.

[Download example CSV file](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Promotereventimport.csv)

![The CSV import option on the Promoter Lists page](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/add-subscribers.png)### Copy and Paste Email Addresses

Select this option to reveal a text field where you can paste email addresses directly. Separate each address with a comma and submit the form to add them to the list.

![The copy and paste email addresses option on the Promoter Lists page](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/copy-paste.png)### Add Subscribers Manually

This option lets you enter subscriber details one at a time directly on the page. You’ll see the same fields as the CSV import — First Name, Last Name, and Email — with Email being the only required field.

![The add individual subscriber form on the Promoter Lists page](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/individual.png)