Broadcast Channels

Channels are the foundation of how Broadcast organizes your email marketing. Each channel is a fully isolated environment with its own subscribers, email campaigns, templates, and sending infrastructure. If you run multiple brands, serve different audiences, or simply want to keep your email programs cleanly separated, channels are how you do it.

What Is a Channel?

A Broadcast Channel represents a distinct email program. You might think of it as a separate “account within your account.” Everything inside a channel is independent from everything in your other channels.

When you send a broadcast, manage subscribers, or check analytics, you are always working within the context of a single channel. This keeps your data organized and prevents cross-contamination between different audiences or brands.

What’s Isolated Per Channel

Each channel maintains its own completely separate set of:

  • Subscribers – Your contact list is unique to each channel. A person can be a subscriber on multiple channels, but their data, tags, and status are tracked independently on each one.
  • Broadcasts – All email campaigns belong to a specific channel. Sending history, open rates, and click data are tracked per channel.
  • Email Sequences – Automated drip campaigns are configured and run within a single channel. Subscriber enrollment and progress are channel-specific.
  • Templates – Reusable email designs are stored per channel, so each brand can have its own look and feel.
  • Email Servers – Each channel connects to its own email service provider(s). This means you can use different sending domains, IP addresses, or providers for different brands.
  • Analytics – All reporting and metrics are scoped to the channel, giving you a clear picture of each program’s performance.
  • Suppression Lists – Bounced and complained addresses are tracked per channel (in addition to global suppressions that apply everywhere).
  • Opt-in Forms – Signup forms are tied to a specific channel, so new subscribers land in the right place.

This isolation is a major advantage. It means a deliverability issue on one channel won’t affect another. A subscriber who unsubscribes from your product updates channel can still receive your blog newsletter if they are subscribed there.

Creating a New Channel

When you create a new channel, Broadcast walks you through a short setup wizard with three steps:

Step 1: Name Your Channel

Give your channel a descriptive name that helps you identify it at a glance. For example, “Acme Product Updates” or “Weekend Recipe Newsletter.” You can also add an optional description for your own reference.

Step 2: Configure Sender Details

Set the default “From” name and email address for this channel. This is what recipients see in their inbox. You can always override these on individual broadcasts, but having a good default saves time.

Make sure you use an email address on a domain you own and have properly configured with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Good sender authentication is essential for deliverability.

Step 3: Connect an Email Server

Every channel needs at least one email server to send through. Choose from your supported providers – Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Resend, or a custom SMTP server – and enter your credentials.

If you’ve already set up an email server on another channel and want to reuse the same provider, you’ll still need to configure a separate connection for this channel. This keeps each channel’s sending infrastructure independent.

Once you complete the wizard, your channel is ready. You can start adding subscribers and creating broadcasts right away.

Switching Between Channels

If you have multiple channels, switching between them is quick and easy. Look for the channel selector in the sidebar – it displays your current channel along with quick-access icons for your other channels.

Your dashboard shows channel cards with at-a-glance stats like subscriber count, recent broadcast activity, and sequence status. Clicking on a channel card takes you into that channel’s workspace.

Broadcast remembers which channel you were last working in, so when you log back in, you’ll pick up right where you left off.

Example Use Cases

Channels are flexible enough to support many different organizational strategies. Here are a few common patterns:

Multiple Brands

If your company operates several brands, give each one its own channel. “Brand A Newsletter” and “Brand B Product Updates” each get their own subscriber base, templates, and sending domain. This keeps brand identity clean and deliverability separate.

B2B vs B2C Audiences

A company that serves both business and consumer audiences can use separate channels to tailor messaging. Your B2B channel might send weekly industry reports, while your B2C channel sends promotional offers and product announcements.

Geographic Audiences

If you communicate with audiences in different regions or languages, channels help you keep content and compliance requirements separate. A “Europe” channel and a “North America” channel can each have their own opt-in forms, suppression rules, and sending schedules.

Content Types

Some organizations separate by content rather than audience. A “Product Changelog” channel for release notes, a “Community Digest” channel for user stories, and a “Marketing” channel for promotions. Subscribers can opt in to exactly what interests them.

Channel Deactivation

If you no longer need a channel, you can deactivate it rather than deleting it. Deactivation:

  • Preserves all data – Subscribers, broadcasts, analytics, and configuration remain intact.
  • Cancels scheduled sends – Any broadcasts or sequence emails scheduled for the future will not be sent.
  • Stops new activity – You cannot send new broadcasts or enroll subscribers in sequences on a deactivated channel.
  • Is reversible – You can reactivate the channel at any time and pick up where you left off.

This approach is safer than deletion. If you’re pausing a seasonal campaign or retiring a brand, deactivation keeps your historical data available for reference without any risk of accidentally sending emails.

Best Practices

Start with a clear naming convention. As your account grows, descriptive channel names like “Acme Blog - Weekly Digest” are much easier to manage than generic names like “Channel 1.”

Keep channels focused. Each channel should serve a single, well-defined purpose. If you find yourself sending very different types of content to the same channel, consider splitting it into two.

Set up email servers early. A channel without an email server cannot send anything. Configure your ESP connection as part of the setup wizard so you’re ready to go from day one.

Use separate sending domains when possible. If you run multiple channels for different brands, using distinct sending domains (e.g., mail.brand-a.com and mail.brand-b.com) protects each brand’s sender reputation independently.

Review inactive channels periodically. If a channel hasn’t sent in months, consider deactivating it to keep your workspace tidy. You can always bring it back.

Take advantage of channel-level analytics. Because metrics are scoped per channel, you get a true picture of each program’s health. Compare open rates and engagement across channels to identify what’s working and where to invest more effort.

Ready to set up your first channel? The Quick Start Guide walks you through the process step by step.