Import a list of contacts
Bring people in from a CSV, match the columns, say how they agreed, and undo the import if you need to.
Updated 2 min read
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You can import people from a spreadsheet, your shop, your CRM or your old email tool. You choose what each column holds and say how the people agreed to hear from you. Nothing changes until you confirm.
1. Choose a file
- Step 1: Go to Audience and choose Import a list.
- Step 2: Drop a CSV onto the box, or choose one. It needs a header row and can be up to 5 MB and 50,000 rows. Commas, semicolons or tabs all work, as exported from most tools.
2. Say what each column holds
We guess from the headings. Change any that are wrong: Email address, Full name, First name, Last name, Tags, Do not import, or a Contact field named after the heading, for details like a city or a plan. Exactly one column must be the email address.
The check underneath updates as you go:
| Line | What happens |
|---|---|
| New people | Added. |
| Already here: keep their status | Their status never changes. Only tags and empty fields are added. |
| May not be emailed: skipped | Addresses that unsubscribed, bounced or reported spam. They are never added back. |
| Not an address: skipped | Listed below the check, line by line, so you can fix them. |
| Repeated in the file: skipped | Only the first appearance is used. |
3. Say where these people came from
Required by law in most places, and kept with every person the import creates. A file is never consent on its own.
- They agreed to hear from us: they ticked a newsletter box or signed up on your site. They can be sent campaigns straight away.
- Not confirmed yet: kept on your list but never sent marketing. Choose this when you are unsure.
- Step 1: Choose one of the two.
- Step 2: Under How they agreed, in a sentence, write at least 20 characters, for example "Customers who ticked the newsletter box at checkout on our shop in 2026." It is kept as the record of their consent.
- Step 3: Optionally tag everyone in this import, for example
shop-customers. - Step 4: Tick the declaration that these people agreed as described and that you may lawfully import them.
- Step 5: Choose Import. The button names how many people it will touch.
Undo an import
Every import is listed under Past imports with the file name, who ran it, the counts and the consent basis. Undo removes the people that import created who have not been sent anything since, and the tags it added to everyone else. People who have been sent something are kept, and the row says how many.