Learning Objective

By the end of this guide, you'll know how to customize your lead list layout by showing/hiding variables, creating new custom columns, deleting unnecessary variables, and organizing your view to focus on the data that matters most for your campaigns.

Why This Matters

Default lead list views show every column, which can be overwhelming when managing campaigns with multiple custom variables. Customizing your layout helps you:

Focus on relevant data – Hide variables you're not actively using to reduce clutter
Work faster – See only the columns you need for quick decision-making
Organize by workflow – Different team members can customize views based on their role (e.g., sales reps see reply status, ops see enrichment status)
Create custom variables on the fly – Add new personalization fields without leaving the lead list

A clean, customized lead list improves efficiency and reduces cognitive load when managing hundreds or thousands of leads.

Prerequisites

Before customizing your lead list:

You have a campaign with leads imported
You understand which variables you need – Know which columns are essential for your workflow
You have permission to manage campaigns – Some team roles may have restricted access

What You Can Customize

Show/Hide variables:

Toggle visibility of any custom variable column
Hidden variables still exist, they're just not displayed in the table

Delete variables:

Permanently remove custom variables you no longer need
Note: Default columns (Email, Status, etc.) cannot be deleted

💡 Important: Hiding a variable doesn't delete it. The data is still there. Deleting a variable permanently removes the data for all leads, and this action is irreversible.

Core Lesson: Step-by-Step Workflow

Phase 1: Show or Hide Variables

Step 1: Open your campaign

Go to Campaigns and select the campaign you want to edit.

Step 2: Open the lead list and access visibility controls

In your campaign, open the Lead list tab, then click the crossed eye icon (👁️‍🗨️) in the toolbar to manage which columns are visible.

Step 3: Show or hide variables from Table settings

In Table settings, click the eye icon (👁️) to show a hidden column or hide a visible column, then click Save to apply your changes.

Alternative Method: Hide Variables via Column Header

Step 4: Hide a column from the header

To quickly hide a specific column, click the column header (e.g., Email), then select Hide from the dropdown menu.

💡 Tip: This method is faster when you want to quickly hide one or two specific columns without opening the full visibility menu.

Phase 2: Create a New Variable

Step 5: Open the add-column menu

In the lead list, click the + button on the right side of the table header to add a new column.

Step 6: Create the column and name your new variable

Select Create column, then enter a name for your new variable in the Variable name field.

Naming best practices:

Use camelCase (e.g., painPoint, referralSource) or underscores (e.g., pain_point)
Be descriptive but concise (e.g., productInterest not whatProductAreTheyInterestedIn)
Avoid spaces (use companySize not Company Size)

Example variable names:

painPoint – Lead's main challenge or pain point
referralSource – Where did you find this lead
meetingDate – Date of scheduled meeting
industry – Leads industry category

Step 7: Save the new variable

Click Save.

The new column appears in your lead list table, ready to be filled with data.

Step 8: Add data to the new variable

Click on any cell in the new column to add data for individual leads.

Or, if importing new leads via CSV, include this variable as a column in your spreadsheet.

Phase 3: Delete a Variable

Step 9: Open the column visibility menu

Click the crossed eye icon (👁️‍🗨️) to open the list of variables.

Step 10: Delete the variable

In Table settings, locate the custom variable you want to remove, click the X icon next to it, then click Save.

⚠️ Warning: This permanently deletes the variable and all its data for all leads in the campaign. Make sure you don't need this data before deleting, since this action is irreversible.

Step 11: Verify deletion

The variable column disappears from your lead list, and the data is permanently deleted.

💡 Cannot delete default columns: Columns like Email Address, Status, Deliverability, Enrichment, Phone Number, LinkedIn, and Company Name are protected and cannot be deleted.

Understanding Protected (Default) Columns

lemlist protects essential columns that are core to campaign functionality:

Protected columns (cannot be deleted):

✅ Email Address
✅ Status (Active, Replied, Bounced, etc.)
✅ Deliverability (email verification status)
✅ Enrichment (data enrichment status)
✅ Phone Number
✅ LinkedIn (LinkedIn URL)
✅ Company Name

Custom variables (can be deleted):

❌ Any variable you created (e.g., painPoint, industry, referralSource)

This protection prevents accidental deletion of critical campaign data.

Practical Application / Real-Life Examples

Example 1: Sales Rep Focuses on Reply Status

A sales rep manages a cold outreach campaign with 15 custom variables (industry, company size, pain point, etc.). They only need to see the reply status and contact info for daily follow-up.

Their customization:

Opens column visibility menu
Hides all custom variables except painPoint (useful for context)
Shows only: Email, First Name, Last Name, Company Name, Status, painPoint
Result: Clean, focused view with 6 columns instead of 20

Impact: They can quickly scan for "Replied" status and see context without scrolling horizontally through irrelevant data.

Example 2: Operations Manager Tracks Enrichment

An operations manager is responsible for data quality. They needs to monitor which leads have been enriched with additional data.

Their customization:

Shows: Email, Enrichment Status, Deliverability, LinkedIn, Phone Number
Hides all custom variables related to personalization (not relevant to her role)
Creates a new variable: dataQualityScore to manually rate lead data completeness

Impact: They can quickly identify leads missing enrichment and take action to improve data quality.

Example 3: Team Creates Real-Time Tracking Variable

A team running an event invitation campaign wants to track who confirmed attendance in real-time during calls.

Their workflow:

Create new variable: eventConfirmed
Add column to lead list
During calls, reps mark leads as "Yes", "No", or "Maybe" directly in the lead list
Filter by eventConfirmed = "Yes" to export confirmed attendees

Impact: Real-time tracking within lemlist eliminates the need for separate spreadsheets and keeps data synchronized.

Troubleshooting

Issue: I hid a variable but can't find it to show it again

Root cause: Forgot which variable was hidden, or couldn't find the visibility menu

Fix:

Click the crossed eye icon to open the full column visibility menu
Scroll through the list to find unchecked variables
Click the eye icon next to the variable you want to show, then Save
The column reappears in your table

Issue: I deleted a variable by mistake

Root cause: Clicked the X icon and confirmed deletion without realizing it was permanent

Fix:

Unfortunately, deleted variables cannot be restored
If you have a backup CSV export from before deletion, you can re-import leads with that variable
Otherwise, you'll need to manually recreate the variable and re-enter data
Prevention: Always double-check before confirming variable deletion

Issue: I can't delete the "Email" or "Company Name" column

Root cause: These are protected default columns essential for campaign functionality

Fix:

Default columns cannot be deleted by design
If you don't want to see them, use the hide function instead of delete
This protects critical data from accidental removal

Issue: My new variable isn't showing up after creation

Root cause: The column may have been created but is hidden, or there's a display lag

Fix:

Refresh the page to reload the lead list
Check the column visibility menu to ensure the new variable is visible
Scroll horizontally in the table, new columns sometimes appear at the far right

Optimization Tips

Create role-based views: Different team roles need different data. Sales reps can hide enrichment columns, while ops hides personalization columns. Each person customizes their view for their workflow.

Use descriptive variable names: When creating new variables, use clear, consistent names. painPoint is better than pp or pain. Future you (and your team) will thank you.

Hide, don't delete (when unsure): If you're not sure whether you'll need a variable again, hide it instead of deleting. You can always show it later, but deleted data is gone forever.

Export before deleting variables: If deleting a custom variable with data, export the lead list first as a backup. This preserves the data in case you need it later.

Create variables for tracking: Use custom variables to track campaign-specific data like calledDate, demoBooked, or nextFollowUpDate. Update these directly in the lead list for real-time visibility.

Clean up unused variables regularly: Monthly or quarterly, review your custom variables and delete any that are no longer used. This keeps your lead list clean and performant.

Document custom variables: Keep a team doc listing all custom variables, what they mean, and when to use them. This ensures consistency when multiple people manage campaigns.

Use visibility for focus sessions: When doing specific tasks (e.g., calling leads, enriching data, analyzing replies), customize your view to show only relevant columns. This reduces distraction and improves speed.

Test new variables with small batches: Before creating a new variable for all leads, test with 10-20 leads to ensure it works as expected and adds value.