To send campaigns, automations, and transactional emails with Brew, you’ll need to add contacts to your audience. Brew makes it simple to import existing contacts and collect new ones through multiple methods. Add contacts page in Brew showing import options

​
How to add contacts to Brew

Brew offers four ways to add contacts to your audience.
We recommend importing your existing contacts via CSV first, then setting up forms, integrations, or API to collect new contacts going forward.

CSV Upload

Upload a spreadsheet with contacts — duplicates are removed automatically

Sign-Up Forms

Create customizable forms to collect contacts directly on your website or landing pages

Integrations

Connect your tools and platforms to automatically add contacts when people sign up, make a purchase, or take any other action

API

Use our API to automatically sync contacts from your application, database, or custom tools

​
Understanding Contact Properties

Every contact in Brew has properties that store information about them. These properties can be used for personalization in your emails and for segmenting your audience.

​
Default Properties

All contacts include these default properties:
PropertyDescriptionExample
EmailContact’s email address (required) - used as the unique identifier[email protected]
First NameContact’s first nameJane
Last NameContact’s last nameSmith
User IDUnique external identifier from your system (optional)user_12345
SourceWhere the contact originated from (defaults to “API” or “Form”)Website signup
SubscribedWhether the contact can receive marketing emailstrue

​
Custom Properties

In addition to default properties, you can create custom properties to store additional information about your contacts. These can include:
  • Demographics (location, industry, etc.)
  • Preferences (communication preferences, interests)
  • Account information (plan type, subscription status)
  • Behavioral data (purchase history, feature usage)
Reserved Field Names: The following field names are reserved and cannot be used for custom properties: email, firstName, lastName, userId, source, subscribed, and subscriptionGroups. Use descriptive alternatives like companyEmail or workEmail if you need similar fields.
To add a custom property to your audience:
  1. Go to the Audience page
  2. Click on any column header in the table (or the + icon on the far right of the table header)
  3. Select “Add property” from the dropdown menu
  4. In the modal that appears, enter a clear and descriptive name for your property
  5. Select the property type from the dropdown menu
  6. Click “Add” to create the property

​
Property Types

Brew supports four types of custom properties:
Custom properties are powerful for segmenting your audience and personalizing your emails.

​
Contact Profiles

Each contact in your audience has a detailed profile page that shows their properties and activity history. To view a contact’s profile:
  1. Go to the Audience page
  2. Click on the contact’s email address in the table
Contact profile view in Brew showing properties and activity This opens the contact profile view, which includes:
  • All contact properties (default and custom)
  • A chronological timeline of the contact’s activity
  • Email engagement history (opens, clicks, etc.)
  • Subscription group memberships

Learn about Contact Management

Discover how to handle bounces, manage suppression lists, and maintain contact data

​
Importing Existing Contacts

If you already have contacts that you want to import into Brew, the simplest way to get started is with a CSV upload.
1

Prepare your CSV file

Format your CSV file with at least these columns:
  • Email (required)
  • First Name (optional)
  • Last Name (optional)
  • Subscribed (optional, defaults to true if not set)
Include any custom properties you want to add as additional columns in your CSV.
2

Import your contacts

  1. Go to the Audience page
  2. Click the “Add Contacts” button in the top right
  3. Select “CSV Upload”
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the import
3

Review import results

After uploading, you’ll see a summary of:
  • Successfully added contacts
  • Updated contacts (if they already existed)
  • Any errors that occurred
Brew will not re-subscribe contacts who have previously unsubscribed, even if they’re included in your CSV import.
For detailed CSV import instructions, see our CSV Upload Guide.

​
Collecting New Contacts

To continuously grow your audience, you’ll want to set up at least one method for collecting new contacts:

​
Website Forms

Add a sign-up form to your website to collect new subscribers:
  1. Go to the Forms page in Brew
  2. Customize your form’s appearance and fields
  3. Copy the generated code to your website
For detailed instructions, see our Sign-Up Forms Guide.

​
Integrations

Connect Brew to your existing tools to automatically sync contacts:
  • E-commerce platforms
  • CRM systems
  • Payment processors
  • Marketing tools
  • And more
This ensures new customers, leads, and users are automatically added to your audience.

​
API Integration

For programmatic contact management, use our REST API: 
// Example: Creating a new contact via API
fetch('https://api.getbrew.ai/v1/contacts/create', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    email: "[email protected]",
    firstName: "New",
    lastName: "Contact"
  })
})
Visit our API Documentation for complete reference.

​
Targeting Your Contacts

Once you’ve added contacts to Brew, you have two main methods for targeting your communications: Audiences and Subscription Groups.

Audiences

Dynamic filters based on contact properties and engagement

Subscription Groups

Explicit membership groups with subscription preferences

​
Need Help?

Our team is ready to support you at every step of your journey with Brew. Choose the option that works best for you:

Search Documentation

Type in the “Ask any question” search bar at the top left to instantly find relevant documentation pages.

AI Assistant Chat

Click the sparkle ✨ icon next to the “Ask any question” search bar in the top left to chat with our AI assistant that’s been trained on our entire documentation.

ChatGPT/Claude Integration

Click “Open in ChatGPT” at the top right of any page to analyze documentation with ChatGPT or Claude for deeper insights.