# Strategy #1 - Exclusion Lists

### The problem this solves

You’re paying to reach people who:

* Are already customers or patients
* Already converted
* Aren’t eligible
* Should not be calling / clicking / re-engaging

This inflates costs, depresses conversion rates, and creates operational load.

***

#### What you need in Freshpaint to power exclusion lists

Exclusion lists in Freshpaint are built in **two ways**:

**Option 1 — Use behavioral signals already tracked by Freshpaint**

If Freshpaint is tracking key conversion events on your site (like form submissions, appointment bookings, or calls), you can build a **segment of people who have already converted** and exclude them from campaigns.

Examples of usable events:

| **Event tracked by Freshpaint** | **How it’s used for exclusion**                     |
| ------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| Form submitted                  | Exclude recent form submitters from acquisition ads |
| Appointment booked              | Stop ads immediately after booking                  |
| Call completed                  | Prevent repeat callers from being retargeted        |

This requires **no CRM upload** – only that Freshpaint is already tracking the right events.

You build this as a **segment** inside Freshpaint Audiences.

***

**Option 2 — Upload first-party customer lists (CSV) into Freshpaint**

For exclusions based on data Freshpaint cannot see on the website (like current patients, members, or offline conversions), you upload a list into Freshpaint.

This list usually comes from:

* CRM export (Salesforce, HubSpot)
* EHR / PM system export
* Call center or scheduling system export
* Data warehouse export

Freshpaint allows you to upload these lists via CSV and use them to create an audience of people who should not be targeted.

***

#### Important: identifiers are required

For either option to work when syncing to ad platforms, the audience must include allowlisted identifiers such as:

* Email
* Phone number
* IP address

These identifiers are used by destinations like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and DSPs to match users for exclusion.

***

#### How exclusions actually happen in practice

Freshpaint does not have a single “Exclude Audience” toggle.

Instead, you:

1. Build an audience of people who **should be excluded**
2. Sync that audience to your Audiences destination(s)
3. Select that audience as an **exclusion** inside the ad platform

or

Build your acquisition audience in Freshpaint using conditions like:

*“Has NOT completed appointment in the last 30 days”*

***

#### Why this works

You are using first-party data to tell ad platforms:

*“Do not spend money on these people.”*

***

#### When this should be a part of your strategy

Choose exclusions if:

* You have high branded traffic
* You serve existing members / patients
* You see “why are they calling us again?” behavior

***

#### Strategic outcomes to expect

* Higher conversion rates on paid traffic
* Lower CPA / CPL
* Reduced call center noise
* Cleaner campaign performance data

***

#### Typical healthcare examples

* Payers excluding current members during enrollment campaigns
* Providers excluding recent appointment completers
* DSOs excluding active patients from acquisition ads

Ready for the next strategy?[ Click here to learn when to use Lookalike Audiences.](https://documentation.freshpaint.io/~/revisions/n78hLTZVTzvsB5jQ58ss/audiences/audiences-strategy-guides/strategy-2-lookalikes)


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