It's a common question among B2B and higher education clients: Can I send a campaign to a distribution list (also known as a listserv)? While it's technically possible, the more important question is—should you?
Our strong recommendation is no, you should not add distribution list email addresses to your Delivra account.
There are several important reasons why this practice goes against both best practices and Delivra's permissions policy:
Violates Permission Policy
Delivra’s Anti-Spam policy (Section 4D) prohibits sending to recipients who have not directly opted in. In a distribution list scenario, individual recipients haven’t provided explicit consent to receive your messages.
Unsubscribes Affect the Entire Group
If any person receiving the message through the list clicks “Unsubscribe,” it opts out the entire distribution email address. Once opted out, that address cannot be re-subscribed, even if individuals want to receive future communications.
Inaccurate Reporting
Opens, clicks, and other engagement metrics will be logged under the shared list email, not by individual recipients—making it impossible to track real engagement.
Instead of sending directly to a listserv, consider one of the following approaches:
Ask Recipients to Subscribe
Encourage each member of the distribution group to sign up through your email signup form. This ensures proper consent and individual engagement tracking.
Send Directly or Use Forwarding
If you need to inform the group, consider sending a direct email from your personal email account, or use Delivra’s Forward to a Friend feature to share the message in a compliant way.