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How to segment and exclude contacts in a FirstSales campaign

Choose which lists a campaign targets and exclude contacts by list, campaign, tag, or active/completed enrollment so you never double-touch a prospect.

  1. See the segmentation summary

    The Contact Segmentation step shows a read-only summary (Contact Selection, Lists included, and Exclusion rules counts) and points you to “Edit contact selection in the Campaign Settings tab.” You can't edit lists here, only confirm them.

  2. Open Campaign Settings

    Go to the Campaign Settings tab. This is where include and exclude rules are actually edited.

  3. Choose Include Lists

    Under Include Lists, add the contact list(s) this campaign should target. The section shows “N list(s) selected” so you can confirm your choice.

  4. Exclude by Lists

    Under Exclusions → Exclude by Lists, add any suppression or do-not-contact lists whose contacts should never receive this campaign.

    Exclude by Lists
  5. Exclude by Campaigns and Tags

    Use Exclude by Campaigns and Exclude by Tags to skip contacts already enrolled in other campaigns or carrying a specific tag, so audiences don't overlap.

  6. Exclude active/completed enrollments

    Toggle “Exclude contacts in active campaigns”: skips anyone currently enrolled in a running campaign: and “Exclude contacts in completed campaigns”: skips anyone who already finished a previous sequence. Both default to off.

  7. Save

    The included lists minus every exclusion rule becomes the actual campaign audience.

Pro tips

  • Always exclude active campaigns

    It's the single best guard against double-touching a prospect who's already mid-sequence somewhere else.

  • Tags are your suppression layer

    Tag opt-outs or bad-fit contacts once, then exclude that tag everywhere: it updates automatically as you tag new contacts.

  • Exclude completed for fresh-only outreach

    Turn on “Exclude contacts in completed campaigns” when you want this campaign to reach only net-new prospects.

  • Edit in Settings, verify in the node

    Make changes in Campaign Settings, then check the Contact Segmentation step's counts as your sanity check that exclusions actually took.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I actually edit contact selection?

In the Campaign Settings tab. The Contact Segmentation node in the builder only shows a read-only summary.

How do I stop emailing people already in another campaign?

Use Exclude by Campaigns to name specific campaigns, and/or turn on Exclude contacts in active campaigns to skip anyone currently enrolled anywhere.

What's the difference between excluding active vs completed campaigns?

Active skips contacts currently enrolled in a running campaign. Completed skips contacts who already finished a previous sequence.

Can I exclude a whole list of do-not-contact addresses?

Yes: add that list under Exclude by Lists.

Do tag exclusions update automatically as I tag contacts?

Yes: Exclude by Tags is evaluated by tag, so newly tagged contacts are excluded automatically.

Is there a formal suppression list?

No dedicated suppression-list feature exists. Use excluded lists and tags to achieve the same effect.

What audience actually sends?

The contacts in your Include Lists, minus everyone matched by any exclusion rule.

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Install with AI

Your coding agent sets up the FirstSales CLI and skills for you.

Prompt for Claude Code

I'm setting up FirstSales (https://firstsales.io), an AI outbound sales platform: campaigns, contacts, a reply inbox, deliverability and lead signals. Help me get my workspace sending real, good emails end to end, from Claude Code.

Read these first so you know how FirstSales works:
- Developer docs and API: https://developer.firstsales.io
- CLI: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@firstsales.io/cli
- Skills for coding agents: https://github.com/firstsalesio/firstsales-skills (read README.md and GUIDE.md)

Setup
1. Install the CLI: npm install -g @firstsales.io/cli
2. Install the FirstSales skills:
   claude plugin marketplace add firstsalesio/firstsales-skills
   claude plugin install firstsales@firstsales
3. Ask me if I already have a FirstSales account. If not, send me to https://app.firstsales.io to sign up.
4. Ask me to create an API key under Settings → API → API Keys, with only the scopes we need.
   Never ask me to paste the key into this chat. Tell me to run this in my own terminal, so the key stays hidden:
   read -rs FS_KEY && firstsales auth login --api-key "$FS_KEY"; unset FS_KEY
5. Run `firstsales whoami` and tell me which workspace and organisation we are connected to.

Then ask me about my business: what I sell, who I sell to (roles, company size, countries), my best customers, and what I use today for outbound (tools, lists, mailboxes). Walk me through:
1. Teaching FirstSales my business: website, offer, proof points and case studies in the knowledge base, so the AI writes like someone who knows the product.
2. Connecting my sending mailboxes and checking my sending domain: SPF, DKIM, DMARC and warm-up. If anything is unhealthy, tell me the exact DNS record to add.
3. Bringing in contacts: import my CSV or CRM export into a clean list, remove duplicates and bad emails, and block domains I must never email (customers, competitors, my own).
4. Building my first campaign: the right list, senders, steps and timing. Write the sequence with me, show me the drafts, and do not launch until I say yes.
5. Setting up Signals if it fits: find people engaging with LinkedIn posts about topics my buyers care about, and turn them into leads.
6. Inviting my team and giving each person the right access.

Once campaigns run, show me how to work the reply inbox from here: which replies need an answer, draft responses in my voice, and move good conversations into deals. If I use Cal.com, connect it so follow-ups can offer my booking link (not the first email).

Throughout, as you learn about my business, proactively suggest and help create:
- Reply templates for the questions and objections my prospects are likely to raise, based on my product, site and codebase if you can see them.
- Campaign ideas and segments worth testing, with the reason for each.

Safety rules:
- Show every change as a dry run (--dry-run) first and wait for my yes. Never send emails, launch campaigns or delete anything without my yes.
- Tell me before anything that spends credits, and how many.

Be opinionated. If the docs give a sensible default, just use it. Don't make me choose between five options.