How does list monitoring work?
Last updated: September 8, 2026
Context
You want a list that keeps filling itself with new leads over time, rather than importing everyone in one go. This article explains where that happens.
Answer
A list built from a lead search is static. You run the search, you import the results, and that is what the list holds. Nothing is added to it afterwards.
If you want a list that grows on its own, feeding itself with people who match a real-time event, create a Signal instead.
A signal watches the market continuously — a company hiring for a role, someone changing job, a competitor's post being engaged with, a technology being adopted — and tops up a live list with the people who match, for as long as the signal is running.
When you create a signal you set a maximum number of leads per day. That cap is mandatory, so you always stay in control of volume and credit usage. If more people qualify on a given day than your cap allows, you get up to your cap. If fewer qualify, you get fewer.
Why you may receive fewer leads than your daily cap
When an import is triggered, Topo attempts to enrich each lead with data points such as their email address. Leads are excluded if:
Their company is on your exclusion list
They are personally on your exclusion list
They cannot be enriched (e.g. no email address found)
Only successfully enriched leads that pass these checks are added to your list. The gap between your daily cap and the number imported is a normal result of this process.
📄 How do I target different audiences for specific lists?