How to structure your audience in Phound Wave using Contacts and Collections for targeted broadcast messaging.

Contacts and Collections

Good SMS marketing starts with a well-organized list. In Phound Wave, your audience lives in two places: Contacts (individual people) and Collections (curated groups of contacts). Getting the structure right upfront makes every campaign easier to send and every result easier to measure.

Contacts: The Foundation

A Contact in Wave is a single person. Each contact has:

Phone number (required, and the only truly required field)
First name and last name (optional but recommended for personalization)
Email (optional)
Tags — flexible labels you apply to group contacts dynamically (see Tags, Custom Fields, and Templates)
Custom fields — structured data like "customer since" date, preferred service, or birthday
Opt-in status — tracks whether the contact has consented to receive messages
Subscription source — where they opted in (form, QR code, in-person, etc.)

Adding Contacts

You can add contacts three ways:

One at a time — Click New Contact on the Contacts screen and fill out the form.
CSV import — Upload a spreadsheet with columns for phone, first name, last name, email, and any tags or custom fields. Wave walks you through mapping each column.
API / integrations — Pro and Business plans can sync contacts from your CRM. See integrations documentation for details.

Warning: Every contact you import must have given you explicit permission to text them. Importing purchased lists or contacts who opted out elsewhere is a fast track to a suspended account.

Collections: Curated Groups

A Collection is a saved group of contacts you send to repeatedly. Think of it like a playlist — instead of re-building a recipient list every campaign, you pick the Collection and go.

There are two types of Collections:

Static Collections

A static Collection is a fixed list. You manually add or remove contacts. It stays the same until you change it.

Use static Collections for:

One-time events ("2024 Customer Appreciation Dinner Attendees")
Snapshot audiences you want to preserve exactly as they are
Small, specific groups you curate by hand

Dynamic Collections

A dynamic Collection is rule-based. You define criteria, and Wave automatically includes every contact that matches — updated in real time as contacts come and go.

Example dynamic rules:

All contacts with the tag vip
All contacts whose customer_since date is more than 1 year ago
All contacts tagged lead AND with custom field city = Austin

Use dynamic Collections for:

Ongoing segments (VIPs, recent leads, lapsed customers)
Audiences that change frequently
Rule-based automation triggers

Tip: Start with 3–5 dynamic Collections that reflect how you think about your audience: Active Customers, Leads, VIPs, Opted-Out-of-Marketing, and Everyone. These five alone cover most use cases for small businesses.

Organizing Your List

A few patterns make Wave's Collections work harder for you:

Layer Your Tags

Use tags in combinations to create useful Collections:

customer + active = current paying customers
customer + churned = win-back audience
lead + hot = qualified sales pipeline

Keep Custom Fields Clean

Pick standard formats for your custom fields:

Dates: YYYY-MM-DD
Dollar amounts: whole numbers, no currency symbol
Yes/no flags: true / false

Consistency makes rules reliable.

Separate Your Personas

If you have multiple personas in Phound, consider using tags like persona:sales or persona:support so you never send a sales blast to a customer-support-only audience.

Viewing and Editing Contacts

From the Contacts screen you can:

Filter by tag, Collection, or custom field
Search by name, phone, or email
Bulk edit — select multiple contacts and add tags or update fields
Export — download a CSV of any filtered view (handy for backups or CRM syncs)
Merge duplicates — Wave flags likely duplicates and lets you combine them with a click

Opt-In and Opt-Out Handling

Wave takes opt-in and opt-out tracking seriously because TCR and the carriers require it.

Opt-in is tracked per contact. Without a recorded opt-in source, a contact cannot be included in broadcast campaigns.
Opt-outs are automatic. When a contact texts standard opt-out keywords like STOP, they are immediately removed from your sending audience and marked as opted out.
Opted-out contacts stay in your list but are excluded from every Collection and campaign. This is by design — it prevents you from accidentally re-importing and re-messaging them.

Warning: Never try to "re-opt in" a contact who has opted out of your messages. US law and carrier policy require you to respect an opt-out unless the recipient explicitly reaches out and asks to be re-added.

Next: Personalize Your Messages

Now that your audience is organized, the next step is making messages feel personal. Head to Tags, Custom Fields, and Templates to see how Wave uses your contact data to personalize every send.

Still need help?

If you couldn't find what you were looking for, our support team is ready to assist. Contact Phound Support and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.