This article covers how to import contacts, format files, manage bulk imports, and handle re-imports for compliance. The import functionality allows you to easily and efficiently upload multiple contacts from an external source such as a customer database. Another popular method for building a robust list of clients, leads, and customers, is by setting up keyword-based opt-in automations to add individual contacts to pre-created contact lists.
Important - Compliance and consent are extremely important when adding contacts. The web platform retains the last subscription preference for all contacts, including deleted contacts. This policy is in place to respect the preferences of the contact and to ensure compliance with communication regulations. Should you need to re-subscribe a contact, it must be done manually. Re-importing contacts does not qualify as a 'Resubscribe' action - any contacts in your Unsubscribed list will remain there regardless of if they are included in a new contact list.
Preparing Contact Data
Before you import any contacts into the web platform, you'll need to prepare your contact data first:
- Ensure your contact list is a .csv, .xls or .xlsx file - the optimal file format is CSV UTF-8, Comma delimited.
- If you don't add the international prefix to your contact numbers, the platform will assume you're importing numbers local to your pre-set location in your account settings, and will validate accordingly.
- If you want to import phone numbers from a country different from that of your account, please include the corresponding international prefix.
- With local numbers, you don't need to add the leading zero to the number to successfully import - for example, if your spreadsheet cells are formatted as "numbers" then a phone number may appear as "412345678" as opposed to "0412345678", both formats will be accepted for import.
- You can include additional data to your contact list which can then be mapped to the custom fields of each contact profile.
Importing Contact Data
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In the menu, click on
Contacts, then select either All Contacts or Lists as the import contacts option appears in both.
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Click on the Import button at the top left of the page:
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You'll then be presented with an upload screen, To upload your data file to the web platform, either click the Choose file button or Drag & Drop your file straight into the upload window:
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Match the columns from your file to the appropriate contact fields. You can expand each row to preview sample data and ensure accurate mapping:
- If your contact database includes additional information (e.g. in the example we have fields such as Appt_Time, Clinic, Country), then these can be mapped to the Custom Fields in the contact profile.
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If the field you need isn’t available, click + Add custom field to create a new one before proceeding with the import:
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A sidebar will open - from here enter the field name, type, and character limit, then click Add to save. Your new field will now be available in the dropdown list.
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Finalize your import preparations:
a. You can select pre-existing lists to which you would like all contacts imported in the bottom field under Add to lists.
b. Choose whether to add/update contacts or unsubscribe them entirely — useful if you're importing a suppression list from another system.
c. If you want to assign each contact to a specific list based on your import file, select the column that contains your list names. If a list does not exist in your account, it will be created.d. Tick the checkbox to confirm you have obtained proper consent and that your imported contacts comply with the Terms and Conditions, then click Import to start the upload.
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Once the import is complete, the web platform will display a summary of the results, including downloadable files to review which contacts were successfully imported and which failed. You can also review past imports from the History page.