Zoho Marketing Automation Update: Topics, Contacts, and List Management

At Zoho Marketing Automation, our highest priority is making it easier for you to use our product to accomplish your business goals. With that in mind, we are updating three of our pivotal features: Topic, Contacts, and List Management.

 

These existing features have been tweaked to be more user-friendly and intuitive. They are exclusively designed to give the end-user the power to choose the kind of content they want to receive.

 

Existing users have time till September 30, 2022 to migrate to the new system. We have ensured a seamless migration, not impacting the previous set up. However, you can always reach out to support@zohomarketingautomation.com if you need assistance. 

 

Here are some of the key developments 

 

List and Contact Management

 

• When adding contacts (called "leads" within the app), you will have to choose a subscription type for each contact: a marketing contact, a non-marketing contact, or an unsubscribed contact.

• When adding contacts, you can directly import them to the "All leads" database.

• It is now possible to associate multiple Topics to contacts on the same list. When a user sends an email campaign to a list, only those contacts who are subscribed to the same Topic as the one associated with the email campaign will receive the email. For example, the campaign "Webinar promotion" is assigned to the list "New signups." Now only those contacts associated to the topic "Webinars" from the mailing list "New signups" will receive the email.

 

Topic Management 

 

• Topics will be maintained at the organization level. This means when someone unsubscribes, the contact is removed from the organization. 

• However, the "Manage preferences" link will be present in the confirmation page where subscribers will get to choose the Topics they are interested in.

• Enabling Topics for all their email campaigns is now mandatory. Also, Topics must be assigned to automated emails that are part of journeys.

• Topics will no longer be associated with a list. Instead, they will be directly associated with contacts.

 

These updates will be made available globally by September 21, 2021. 

 

We will enforce this new topic management setup for all users that sign up after September 21, 2021. 

 

For existing customers

 

• Existing customers do not have to worry as any manual adjustments will not be required. The migration will be seamless and won't impact any previous setup that they might have had. 

• An existing organization that doesn't have Topics enabled can enable it at any time until September 30, 2022. When enabled, we will enforce the new Topic Management system by creating a default Topic called "Marketing." Users can manage their organization's products and Topics as desired. 

• Existing organizations that already use Topics can choose to migrate to the new Topic Management system anytime until September 30, 2022. Once enabled, this change cannot be reverted. We have put in place all the necessary implementations to make sure this transition is frictionless. 

 

A user can choose to opt for the new Topic Management system with just the click of a button. Beyond September 30, 2022, we will automatically enable new Topic Management for all existing users. 

Here is a side by side comparison of the old and the new topic management approach.

Highlights

Topics

Contacts

Marketing Types

Misc

FAQs

When do these updates go live?
You can adopt the new Topic Management approach any time before September 30, 2022. Once you switch, every functionality, from campaign sending to list and contact management, will take effect and you can experience hassle-free email marketing.

I've already set up topics in my Zoho Marketing Automation account. Will switching to the new setup erase all my previous topics? 
No, all your current topics will be seamlessly migrated to the new setup. We will provide any help you need.

I don't have even a single topic created in my account. What happens when I set up topic management? 
We mandate that your organization has at least one topic created. Zoho Marketing Automation adds a topic named Marketing by default when you configure topics for your account.  

What happens to my active journeys after these changes?

The active journeys remain unchanged.

 

 

We highly recommend you go through this page and watch this video to get a detailed breakdown of this update.

**Note: Release Notes Attached as PDF

• Topic Participants

• Moncy Samuel

• Oliver

  

• Steve Baxter

  

• Orlanda Toska

• Santhosh A

  

• Sticky Posts

• Marketer’s Space - Automating CRM Actions with Journeys – Part 2

  Hello marketers! Welcome back to another post in Marketer’s Space. In our previous post, we explored how CRM actions in Journeys help marketing and sales teams work together by nurturing CRM leads and pushing only engaged prospects back to sales. If you

• Introducing automation and utility conversations in WhatsApp marketing

  We’re excited to announce the addition of two new features to our WhatsApp integration: Automation and Utility conversations. These enhancements will allow you to streamline your marketing efforts and engage with your customers more effectively by automating

• Tip of the week 02 - The art of 'seeing' your leads

  What's the last page that your lead visited before signing up for your brand? What was the page that first convinced your lead to explore more about you? Where are your leads coming in from? Well, these are some perennial questions today's marketers live upon. And, knowing the answers to these questions is crucial, considering the vitality of leads in every business. In the journey of finding lead opportunities, it's important to understand that every detail about a lead is useful. While the channels

• Zoho Marketing Automation Update: Topics, Contacts, and List Management

  At Zoho Marketing Automation, our highest priority is making it easier for you to use our product to accomplish your business goals. With that in mind, we are updating three of our pivotal features: Topic, Contacts, and List Management.   These existing

• Important: Zoho MarketingHub is now Zoho Marketing Automation

  Hello Everyone,   We hope you all are doing well. We'd like to notify you that we have rebranded Zoho MarketingHub to Zoho Marketing Automation. We'll discontinue using the term "MarketingHub" from May 26, 2021. However, there will be no changes in the

• Recent Topics

• Subfrom Changes are NOT included in Audit Logs and Timeline

  In the Timeline the subform changes are not tracked We have an important custom module for Recording Pricing Information It has a subfrom, now if Changes are made to the subform fields they are not shown in the timeline, ONLY the aggregated fields This

• Changing Link Color

  When I create a link from a block of text, the text color changes to a color i do not want. After scrolling through the CSS and HTML files I cannot find the setting for the link color. Changing the link color word by word seems inefficient and must be a setting somewhere? Greg Aanes 2109 Queen Street Bellingha WA USA

• Content Management System

  Is there any plan to develop a CMS application that allows us to manage all of the ZOHO services such as Writer, Sheet, and Planner? Besides that, it would be nice to manage the files and logs of WebNMS using SOA. Otherwise i'll try to make it. Thanks, Takash F

• How do I pause or halt a running campaign?

  Hi, I set up an A/B campaign - and after testing, scheduled the campaign, I noticed an error in the subject line and had to pause or halt the campaign 'mid-flight' - could not find this, and the only option was to delete the entire campaign to halt the send (it was an emergency). Is there a campaign Pause or Stop function/button? I could not find it - am I missing something? (Thank you for your help  - I searched the resources and could not find an answer)

• Contact Segments with multiple CRM modules

  Hello, We have a somewhat unique setup in our system involving various components: Contacts, Accounts, Deals, and a couple of custom modules named Properties and Audit Logs. We're looking to implement a notification system via SMS and Email specifically

• Having issues with creator, flow and calendar

  So I have made a creator app when engineer puts in the date and time for when they are going to out on site , this then passes the calendar data to flow and then should populate the inputed data to the calendar. So If use${system.zf_current_date_time}.

• Problem when forwarding emails

  When I want to forward an email received through Zoho, the layout changes: Buttons are cut Pictures change size Text changes alignment (left/right/center) Is this a common problem in Zoho? Thank you, Suzannah 

• View Audit Trail field

  The Audit Trail feature is great, but its data is only available to admin users. It would be really great to have a system field "Audit trail" that we can add to the detailed view of a record. This would allow supervisors, directors and etc. to quickly track what changes have been done by whom for each record. It is a current feature from a client of mine and while it's probably possible to hard code it, since this data is already available in Zoho, I would be surprised to hear how hard it would

• Recuring bills payments

  I've entered recuring bills that are auto drafted from my account monthly. Can I set up the recuring payment or do I continue to manually do it monthly?

• Automatically assign Contact Roles to a Deal

  Hi guys, Is there a way to assign multiple Contact Roles to a Deal via a workflow or similar? Thanks

• on submit of creator form then record is create in Zoho crm purchase module then on automatically task want to create in the crm

  on submit of creator form then record is create in Zoho crm purchase module then on automatically task want to create in the crm

• Zoho CRM Webinar – Automate everything across Customer Journeys in CommandCenter 2.0

  How efficient is your current CRM automation setup? As customer journeys become more dynamic, it's common for data and actions to get scattered across teams and modules. This leads to broken processes and inconsistent customer experiences—especially across

• Changing employees email address

  How do I change an employee's email address? I am an administrator on the account but it says that I am "not allowed" to do it?

• MULTI-SELECT LOOKUP - MAIL TEMPLATE

  Dear all how are you? We need to insert data from MULTI-SELECT LOOKUP in a email template, but I can't do that, when I'm creating the template I can't find the field to insert it. is there any solution? PVU

• Changing the owner of a call

  Am I correct in my conclusion that I cannot change the owner of a call in Zoho? The field does not show up in the screen, nor can I make it show up as the systems does not give me that option. I cannot "mass update" it either. I tried it, but Zoho refuses to change the name of the owner. Please help out: how do I change the owner of a call.

• Global Fields

  Just like Global Sets for Picklists, we would like to have global fields for any kind of field. Three things that should be saved globally: 1. The Existence of the field 2. The Name and 3. Association with a module should be set up in a respective place

• Introducing Screen Share with Audio

  Share your entire screen or just the chrome tab with audio for more engaging presentations. Your audience will hear sound just like you do, whether it's a video, demo or any other content. This is ideal for training sessions, team meetings, and client

• Need Help Preventing Overselling in Zoho Inventory

  Hi fellow Zoho Inventory users, I'm reaching out for advice on managing inventory control in our growing business. We've recently encountered situations where sales orders get confirmed despite insufficient stock, creating operational challenges. Our

• Tip #53: Populate and search values from tables using Table Lookup

  Qntrl supports tables to store organization-related data and access it easily. Data stored here can be populated and displayed in orchestration using Table Lookups. This helps organizations list sizeable data in dropdown or multiselect dropdown fields

• Introducing more AES digital signature options in Zoho Sign

  Greetings! Zoho Sign has continually strived to partner with trust service providers across the globe to give you complete security and confidence, so you can e-sign documents no matter where you are. We've recently partnered with IgniSign, a trust service

• Shuffling between one note to the next

  I usually start all my notes per interaction with a contact with the date and then a little detail. But when I search for it it only see a small portion of the note and can't immediately tell which contact its associated with. can we make the note content

• Important Update: TRAI Mandates New SMS Header Format

  Hello everyone, We have an announcement regarding a new regulation by the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that affects all application-to-person (A2P) SMS services. Starting on May 6, 2025, TRAI has mandated that telecom service providers

• Preview generation in progress for days

  I uploaded a video file to Zoho webinar. The file has been showing Preview generation in progress for days. Pls help, why is not approved?

• Workdrive Upload Notification

  Is there a way to be notified when someone externally has uploaded files to a folder? The "Unread" tab is really worthless because it shows all files from every directory on the system. I just need an email (or bell at worst) that says "someone has uploaded into <foldername>".

• Workflow for "Expenses" module?

  Hi there, over the last 2 years, Zoho Expense has seen tremendous growth and we are happy with it. But, sometimes it is frustrating to see things are being implemented halfheartedly, or so it seems. For example, There is the possibility to create workflows

• Allow Mapping of Zoho Desk Knowledge Base Categories to Multiple Departments in Zoho SalesIQ

  Hello Zoho Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to the Zoho SalesIQ integration with Zoho Desk, specifically regarding the way Knowledge Base (KB) articles are mapped and displayed across departments. Current Limitation

• Announcing new features in Trident for Windows (v.1.27.4.0)

  Hello Community, Trident for Windows is here with exciting new features to elevate your communication and enhance productivity. Let’s dive into what’s new! Smart Sign-in. You can now sign in to Trident with Smart Sign-in. With this new addition, you can

• Time Entry : Auto fill fields Hours minutes seconds

  Hello world, Do someone know a script (for workflow rules) which fill automatically fields hours spent, minutes spent, seconds spent when we fill Executed time and End time Formula should start from (End time - Executed time) Thx in advance

• Zoho Forms - edit the settings of the Zoho CRM field to change the integration with CRM

  I've created a Zoho CRM field in my form to pre-populate selected CRM details into the form, following the instructions here https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/integrations/zoho/zoho-forms/articles/zoho-forms-crm-integration#Step_2_-_Add_Zoho_CRM_Field_in_the_form

• Ability to add notes to an appointment and add notes/attach docs to a consultation

  As an idea for the future, it would be helpful to be able to add notes to an existing appointment--there is a place to add notes for the customer, but I don't see one for the appointment. It would also be helpful to be able to add notes or attach documents

• Im trying to white list domain dynamically in zoho desk extension

  Im trying to white list domain dynamically in zoho desk extension. But it show error Error: {errMsg: 'No entry found in plugin-manifest whiteListedDomains for requested URL'} syntax "config": [ { "displayName":"Shopify Admin API access token ", "name":

• Zoho Payroll: Product Updates for India - May 2025

  This May, we are glad to unveil new capabilities in Zoho Payroll that simplify your payroll activities. Here's the list: Let Employees Choose Their Tax Deduction Method for One-Time Payments Calculate variable earnings based on percentage of CTC Carry

• Bulk Update Tasks/Task Lists/Milestones

  Is there a way to bulk update tasks/task lists/milestones? We have several projects that are in the same template, and our staff complete them tasks at a time - and would like to go in an bulk update all related tasks/task lists/milestones at once. But you can't do this. I remember in an old version you could export your tasks, update the excel doc and reimport. But it doesn't seem like that option is available anymore. Can someone provide a solution/idea? Otherwise we are spending a lot of time

• Sync failed: Invalid Date value

  Hi, I have a local .sqlite database. After importing one table through the Databridge, and produced my dashboards, I cannot sync. I get an error regarding the date column: [Line: 2 Field: 4] (2018-07-12) -ERROR: Invalid Date value The data found at the

• Office 365 is marking us as "bulk"

  All of a sudden (like a couple of days ago) all of our customers who are on Office 365 are getting our mails in their junk email. This is not the case with Gmail or other random mail servers, nor between us. We got a 10/10 score on mail-tester.com. Also,

• Zoho Assist

  Hi, We are using zoho assist unattended access in some windows server 2012 and recently the agent lets you connect but not let you do anything on the remote machine. Sometimes you can click on something but nothing happens. There's a issue with this new

• Modify workflow from "ON CREATE & EDIT" to "ON CREATE" only

  Salut, Is there a way to easilly change my choice of trigger of workflow from on create & edit to on create only, or do I have to re-do the whole worklow from scratch ? Sylvain

• Access custom modules via API?

  Is it possible to access a custom module in Zoho Inventory via the API? I can not find any reference to this in the API docs.

• Welcome to the Zoho Service Plus community

  Hey everyone, We are excited to welcome you to be a part of the Zoho Service Plus community. Here's a quick overview of what Service Plus is all about and how the community can help us work together. What's Zoho Service Plus? Zoho Service Plus is a unified

• Restrict Zoho Cliq Webinars and Announcements to Admins Only

  Hi Zoho Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to raise a feature request regarding in-app announcements in Zoho Cliq, such as the recent webinar popup about the Cliq Developer Platform: While these announcements are useful, they are not always

• Next Page