How to Create Contacts and Send Email Campaigns in Brevo

Learn how to manually create a contact list, add new clients to your CRM, and send templated email campaigns using Brevo.

July 22, 2026 By Elliot

This guide walks you through setting up a contact list, manually adding a new client, and dispatching a targeted email campaign using customized templates in Brevo. Completing these steps ensures that your personalized client communications are accurately addressed and delivered.

This process is designed for marketing teams, financial advisors, and relationship managers who need to send one-off, templated communications to new clients or individual prospects during their onboarding workflow.

1. Create a contact list

Step #1: Click on CRM in the main navigation. — Click on **CRM** in the main navigation.

Step #2: Navigate to Lists. — Navigate to **Lists**.

Step #3: Click Create a list in the upper right corner. — Click **Create a list** in the upper right corner.

Enter a descriptive name for your new list.

Step #5: Select the appropriate folder, such as Clients. — Select the appropriate folder, such as **Clients**.

Step #6: Click Create list to save. — Click **Create list** to save.

2. Add a contact to the list

Step #7: Navigate to Contacts. — Navigate to **Contacts**.

If you have multiple contacts, you can import them using an Excel file. For one or two contacts, adding them manually is faster.

Step #8: Click Create a contact. — Click **Create a contact**.

Step #9: Fill out the contact details, starting with the FIRSTNAME. — Fill out the contact details, starting with the **FIRSTNAME**.

Step #10: Enter the LASTNAME. — Enter the **LASTNAME**.

Step #11: Enter the contact's email address. — Enter the contact's email address.

Step #12: Open the Lists dropdown menu within the form. — Open the **Lists** dropdown menu within the form.

Step #13: Navigate to the folder containing your list (e.g., Clients). — Navigate to the folder containing your list (e.g., **Clients**).

Step #14: Find and select the list you just created. — Find and select the list you just created.

Step #15: Scroll to the bottom of the panel and click Create. — Scroll to the bottom of the panel and click **Create**.

3. Create an email campaign

Step #16: Click on Marketing in the sidebar navigation. — Click on **Marketing** in the sidebar navigation.

Step #17: Click Create campaign. — Click **Create campaign**.

Step #18: Select the Email campaign type. — Select the **Email** campaign type.

Enter an internal name for your campaign.

Step #20: Click Create campaign to proceed to the setup dashboard. — Click **Create campaign** to proceed to the setup dashboard.

4. Design the email

Step #21: Click Start designing. — Click **Start designing**.

Step #22: Find your preferred design layout and click Use template. — Find your preferred design layout and click **Use template**.

Step #23: Click on the text blocks to customize appointment details such as the date, time, and location. — Click on the text blocks to customize appointment details such as the date, time, and location.

Step #24: Remove any irrelevant information from the template, such as removing office directions for an online video call. — Remove any irrelevant information from the template, such as removing office directions for an online video call.

Step #25: Click Save & quit. — Click **Save & quit**.

5. Configure sender and subject

Step #26: Click Select sender. — Click **Select sender**.

Step #27: Choose your generic "no reply" address from the dropdown list. — Choose your generic "no reply" address from the dropdown list.

Step #29: Click Add subject. — Click **Add subject**.

Type your subject line in the main input field.

Enter the preview text that recipients will see alongside the subject line in their inbox.

6. Select recipients and finalize settings

Step #33: Click Add recipients. — Click **Add recipients**.

Step #34: Navigate to Lists and open the relevant folder (e.g., Clients). — Navigate to **Lists** and open the relevant folder (e.g., **Clients**).

Step #35: Check the box next to your new contact list to select it. — Check the box next to your new contact list to select it.

Step #37: Scroll down to the bottom of the campaign dashboard and click Edit settings under Additional Settings. — Scroll down to the bottom of the campaign dashboard and click **Edit settings** under Additional Settings.

Step #38: Select Use a custom unsubscribe page. — Select **Use a custom unsubscribe page**.

Step #39: Choose the Default unsubscribe page from the dropdown menu. — Choose the **Default unsubscribe page** from the dropdown menu.

7. Preview and schedule the campaign

Step #41: Click Preview & Test to verify your design renders properly. — Click **Preview & Test** to verify your design renders properly.

Step #42: Review the email layout, then click the close icon to exit the preview window. — Review the email layout, then click the close icon to exit the preview window.

Step #43: Click Schedule to dispatch the campaign. — Click **Schedule** to dispatch the campaign.

Step #44: Select your preferred delivery method and click Send. — Select your preferred delivery method and click **Send**.

When scheduling a campaign, Brevo provides multiple delivery options. Choose the one that best suits your communication style:

Option	Description
Send now	Immediately dispatches the email to your recipient list.
Schedule for later	Allows you to select a specific date and time for the email to be sent.
Send at best time	Automatically sends the campaign at the optimal time for engagement.
Send in batches	Staggers delivery over time to improve deliverability and manage response volume.

Q: How do I add multiple contacts at once?

A: If you have multiple contacts to import, you can format them into an Excel spreadsheet and use the Import feature. However, if you only have one or two contacts, it is easier and faster to create them manually using the "Create a contact" button.

Q: What happens if I try to add an email address that is already in my CRM?

A: Brevo will recognize duplicate email addresses and display an error message alerting you that the contact already exists in your database.

Term	Definition
Brevo	A software platform used for managing marketing campaigns, contact databases, and client communications.
CRM	Customer Relationship Management platform used to manage interactions with clients and prospects.
Campaign	An organized email marketing effort sent to a targeted list of recipients.