Subscriber Lists Report: Know the Health of Every List at a Glance
Your text lists are the lifeblood of your text ministry. Whether you’re sending weekly reminders, prayer prompts, or invitations to respond to the gospel, every message depends on having healthy, engaged subscriber lists. But when was the last time you checked whether those lists are actually healthy? Which ones are growing? Which ones are quietly losing people? And which ones haven’t been touched in months?
From Guessing to Knowing
Until recently, the only way to answer those questions was to click into each list one by one, count the numbers, and try to piece together the big picture yourself. If you have five lists, that’s manageable. If you have twenty? You’re spending an afternoon on something that should take thirty seconds. The Subscriber Lists Report changes that. It gives you a complete health check of every text messaging list in your ministry—all on one page. At a glance, you can see which lists are growing, which need attention, and which are at risk of going silent.
Each list receives a health badge: Healthy (green), Needs Attention (yellow), or At Risk (red). These badges are based on growth trends, opt-out rates, and recent activity. High opt-out rates or too many invalid numbers can hurt deliverability for all your messages—so knowing which lists to clean up first matters. The report also shows geographic insights: which area codes your subscribers call home, and which carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) they use. That helps you understand your congregation’s reach and plan for any carrier-specific delivery quirks.
AI-Powered Insights and Actionable Data
Beyond the raw numbers, the report includes an AI Health Assessment that analyzes your list data and provides plain-language recommendations. It highlights lists that need attention, explains why growth might be slowing, and suggests next steps. You can export the full report as CSV for spreadsheets, save it as PDF for board meetings, or schedule automated email delivery so key staff receive the report weekly or monthly without logging in.
In this article, we’ll overview the OnlineGiving.org Subscriber Lists Report feature.
Subscriber Lists Report User Guide
The Subscriber Lists Report at /admin/textmessagingreports/subscribers provides comprehensive subscriber list health analytics for your text ministry. It displays every phone number list with health badges, growth trends, opt-out analysis, geographic distribution by area code, carrier breakdown, and an AI-powered list health assessment. The report supports filtering by date range, list type, and health status, with CSV export, PDF/print, and scheduled email delivery.
Key Takeaways
- List Table: Paginated table of all lists showing list name, type, active subscribers, new this period, opt-outs, invalid numbers, growth %, and health badge.
- Health Badges: Each list is classified as Healthy (green), Needs Attention (yellow), or At Risk (red) based on growth, opt-out rates, and activity.
- Health Distribution: Visual breakdown of how many lists fall into each health category with top list names.
- Growth Trends: 6-month subscriber growth trend chart plus multi-period comparison (30d, 90d, YTD, 12mo).
- Geographic & Carrier Analysis: Area code breakdown and carrier distribution (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) for subscriber reach insights.
- AI Health Assessment: GPT-powered narrative analysis with recommendations and optional executive briefing PDF.
- Export & Email: CSV export, full report PDF, briefing PDF, and scheduled email delivery.
Table of Contents
- Accessing the Subscriber Lists Report
- Filter Bar and Date Ranges
- At-a-Glance Metric Cards
- Health Distribution and Badges
- All Subscriber Lists Table
- Top Lists and Growth Trends
- Day of Week Analysis
- Recent Subscribers Feed
- Area Code Breakdown
- Carrier Breakdown
- Stale Lists Warning
- AI Health Assessment
- CSV Export, PDF, and Email Scheduling
- Frequently Asked Questions
Accessing the Subscriber Lists Report
To open the Subscriber Lists Report:
- Log in to the control panel.
- Click “Text Marketing” in the left navigation menu.
- Click “Reports”.
- Find the “Subscriber Lists” card and click “View Report”.
You can also navigate directly to /admin/textmessagingreports/subscribers. Users with Donor Admin or Text Marketing Admin role can access the report. The Text Marketing plan must be active for your domain.
Filter Bar and Date Ranges
The filter bar at the top of the report lets you narrow results by date range, list type, and health status. Use the date range picker to select a custom start and end date, or use the period shortcuts: This Month, Last Month, Last 90 Days, or Year to Date. Click “Run Report” to apply your filters.
List Type Filter
Filter by list type: All Types, Custom, System, or Text Givers. Custom lists are ones you create manually. System lists are managed by the platform. Text Givers lists contain people who have given via text. Use this filter to focus on a specific category of lists.
Health Filter
Filter by health status: All Health, Healthy, Needs Attention, or At Risk. This is useful when you want to quickly see only the lists that need cleanup or to verify that your healthy lists are performing as expected.
Sort and Pagination
The main list table supports sorting by Subscribers (default), Growth, or Name. Click the column header to toggle ascending or descending order. Pagination shows 25 lists per page with “Showing X–Y of Z lists” and page navigation controls.
At-a-Glance Metric Cards
Four snapshot cards appear immediately below the filter bar:
- Total Lists: Count of all subscriber lists with average subscribers per list.
- Total Subscribers: Sum of active subscribers across all lists.
- Net Growth: New subscribers minus opt-outs for the selected period. Positive means you gained more than you lost.
- Opt-Out Rate: All-time opt-out percentage. Color-coded: green (≤5%), amber (≤15%), red (>15%). High opt-out rates can hurt deliverability.
Health Distribution and Badges
A horizontal bar chart shows the distribution of lists across the three health categories. Each bar displays the category label, count, and percentage share of total lists. Below the bars, compact stat cards show Total Lists, Avg List Size, and Health Rate (percentage of lists classified as healthy).
Health Badge Criteria
Each list receives a health badge based on the following criteria:
- At Risk (red): No new subscribers this period AND fewer than 10 active subscribers. These lists are dormant or nearly empty and may need re-engagement or archiving.
- Needs Attention (yellow): Growth percentage is less than −5% (shrinking by more than 5%), OR opt-outs this period outpace new subscribers. These lists are losing people and warrant cleanup or messaging adjustments.
- Healthy (green): Growing or stable, with active engagement. Default when the list does not meet the At Risk or Needs Attention criteria.
Use these badges to prioritize which lists to clean up first. High opt-out or invalid rates can hurt deliverability for all your messages.
Health Snapshot Cards
Three health category cards provide an at-a-glance breakdown. Each card shows the count, a description, and up to three list names with subscriber counts. A “+N more” indicator appears when there are more than three lists in the category. This helps you quickly identify which specific lists need attention.
All Subscriber Lists Table
The main table lists every subscriber list with sortable columns. Each row is a clickable link to the list edit page. The Active column links to the list numbers page for drill-down.
Table Columns Explained
- List Name: The list title. Click to edit the list.
- Type: List type (Custom, System, Text Givers, etc.).
- Active: Count of active subscribers. Click to view the list numbers page.
- New: New subscribers added during the selected period.
- Opt-Out: Opt-outs during the selected period. Shown in red when greater than zero.
- Invalid: Count of invalid phone numbers. Shown in amber when greater than zero. Invalid numbers can hurt delivery rates.
- Growth: Growth percentage for the period with a progress bar. Green for positive, red for negative.
- Health: Health badge (Healthy, Needs Attn, At Risk).
A legend row above the table explains the three health levels. Pagination controls appear at the bottom when there are more than 25 lists.
Top Lists and Growth Trends
The Top 5 Lists section ranks lists by active subscriber count. Each row shows rank badge, list name (clickable), type, subscribers, share bar (proportional to total), growth percentage, and health badge. The table footer shows total subscribers and net growth.
Subscriber Growth Trend Chart
A Chart.js line chart shows monthly subscriber growth over the last 6 months. Two datasets: New Subscribers (solid green line with filled area) and Opt-Outs (dashed red line with light filled area). Hover over the chart for exact values. Use this to see whether your text ministry is gaining momentum or losing steam over time.
Multi-Period Growth Comparison
Four period comparison cards show net growth (new minus opt-outs) for: Last 30 Days, Last 90 Days, Year to Date, and Last 12 Months. Each card compares the current period to the prior period with progress bars, percentage change indicator, and date ranges. A “Best” badge appears on the period with the highest net growth.
Day of Week Analysis
A horizontal bar chart shows when people subscribe by day of week. Each day displays a proportional bar with percentage. The peak day (most new subscribers) is highlighted in green; other active days appear in blue. A summary footer shows total subscribers and the peak day. Use this to understand when your congregation is most likely to opt in and plan sign-up campaigns accordingly.
Recent Subscribers Feed
A timeline-style activity feed shows the 8 most recent subscribers. Each row displays the phone number (formatted), list name as a chip badge, and relative time (“2 hours ago,” “3 days ago”). This gives you a quick view of recent list activity.
Area Code Breakdown
The geographic analysis section shows how your subscribers are distributed by phone area code. A stats row displays: Geographic Reach (count of unique area codes), Top Area Code (most common with percentage), and Top 3 Concentration (combined percentage of top 3 area codes). The concentration is labeled as “highly concentrated” (>70%), “moderately spread” (40–70%), or “well distributed” (<40%). A ranked table lists the top area codes with subscriber count, share bar, and percentage. Use this to understand your congregation’s geographic reach and whether you’re serving a local or widely dispersed audience.
Carrier Breakdown
The carrier analysis section shows phone network distribution. A horizontal stacked bar displays carrier distribution by color, with unknown carriers in gray. A carrier table lists each carrier (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) with subscriber count, share percentage, and distribution bar. Carrier type labels (Mobile, VoIP, etc.) help you understand the mix. When more than 10 carriers exist, an “N other carriers” row appears. The header shows identified vs. pending lookup counts. Use this to understand delivery patterns and any carrier-specific considerations.
Stale Lists Warning
When lists have not sent any messages in 90+ days, a warning panel appears with an amber background and clock icon. It shows the count of stale lists and guidance: “Consider re-engaging or archiving these lists to keep your audience healthy.” Individual list names display a “90+ days idle” badge. Stale lists may have lower engagement and can affect overall list health metrics.
AI Health Assessment
A collapsible AI panel titled “List Health Assessment” provides a GPT-powered narrative analysis of your subscriber list health. The AI uses list counts, health distribution, top lists, multi-period growth, day-of-week patterns, area codes, and carrier data to produce actionable insights. It highlights lists that need attention, explains trends, and suggests next steps. Use “View Full Analysis” to expand or collapse the full text. A “Save Briefing PDF” button exports the AI analysis as an executive-focused PDF. The panel includes a disclaimer: “AI can make mistakes, so double-check important findings.”
CSV Export, PDF, and Email Scheduling
Click “Export CSV” to download the list data as a CSV file. The export includes: List Name, Type, Active, New, Opt-Outs, Invalid, Growth %, and Health. It respects the current date range, list type, and health filters.
Use “Print” to print the report from your browser. Use “Save as PDF” to download the full report. Use “Briefing PDF” to download only the AI analysis panel (executive-focused, portrait orientation). The Briefing PDF is available after the AI analysis has completed.
Click the “Email” (envelope) icon to open the Email Notification Settings modal. Configure automated delivery of the report on a recurring schedule (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly). Select recipients from your admin email list. Reports are sent automatically at the configured frequency with the selected period. This keeps key staff informed without requiring them to log in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “At Risk” mean?
A list is marked At Risk when it has no new subscribers this period AND fewer than 10 active subscribers. These lists are dormant or nearly empty. Consider re-engaging subscribers with a targeted message, or archiving the list if it’s no longer relevant. At Risk lists can still receive messages, but they may benefit from cleanup to improve overall deliverability.
How is growth % calculated?
Growth percentage is calculated as (new subscribers minus opt-outs) divided by active subscribers at the start of the period, multiplied by 100. For example, if you had 100 active subscribers, gained 10 new, and had 2 opt-outs, your net growth is 8 and your growth % is 8%. Negative growth means you lost more subscribers than you gained.
What are area codes used for?
Area codes help you understand the geographic distribution of your subscribers. They indicate where people’s phone numbers are registered (typically their home region). Use this to see whether your text ministry is concentrated locally or spread across multiple regions. The Top 3 Concentration metric tells you if subscribers are “highly concentrated” in a few area codes or “well distributed” across many.
Why is my list marked “Needs Attention”?
A list is marked Needs Attention when growth percentage is less than −5% (shrinking by more than 5%) OR when opt-outs this period outpace new subscribers. This indicates the list is losing people. Review your messaging frequency, content relevance, and sign-up flow. Clean up invalid numbers and consider reducing message frequency if people are opting out. The AI Health Assessment provides specific recommendations.
Can I schedule the Subscriber Lists Report to be emailed automatically?
Yes. Click the “Email” (envelope) icon on the report to open the Email Notification Settings modal. Configure the frequency (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly), select recipients, and save. Reports will be sent automatically at the configured schedule with the selected date range.
What list types are available?
List types include Custom (manually created lists), System (platform-managed lists), and Text Givers (people who have given via text). Use the List Type filter to focus on a specific category. Custom lists are the most common for general text marketing; Text Givers lists are automatically populated when someone donates via text.
Need help setting up the Subscriber Lists Report or interpreting your list health? Contact us at support@onlinegiving.org or (615) 206-4000. OnlineGiving.org provides courtesy setup assistance for our customers.