Import your contact lists

Import your contact lists

Preparing your file

Before we cover the process, let's talk about file preparation. The following are a few tips for a smooth import experience.
  1. Utilize a spreadsheet application to easily view and edit your data file. Organize each point of data into its own column.
  2. Only email address data is required. But, we encourage you to store additional data that you can use to personalize your emails.
  3. A header row with column names is not required. If you choose to include a header row, the columns do not need to be in any particular order and the columns names do not need to be standardized. You have the opportunity to match your rows to Delivra field names during the import process.
  4. Export or save your spreadsheet in the CSV (comma delimited) format. If you began with an Excel spreadsheet, use Save As to change the file format to CSV. If your contact management system will export to the CSV format, and you don't need to view or edit the data, there is nothing more to do to prepare the file.

Now that you know how to prepare your file we’re ready to walk through the import process. If you are not there already, navigate to your Contacts dashboard.


Prefer to watch a quick video?


How-To

Locate and click the “Import” button from the “All Contacts” tile in your Contacts dashboard.

Click the "Browse Files" button to open the file directory on your computer. Find and double-click your CSV file to select it. Then click the "Next" button on the Delivra screen.

Note: When a file is selected, the system will run a few checks on the file selected to ensure it's in the CSV format and that the file is not corrupted. When the process is complete, the box will turn green. This will take only a second or two.

Map Data. Each column from your CSV file will be listed on-screen as a row. If needed, use the drop-down menu to match the Delivra field, identifying where the data should be stored.

    • The importer may attempt to match Delivra fields based on the column name from the CSV uploaded. Please note that this may not always be accurate; double check each row before proceeding.
    • When a row was not matched automatically simply click open the drop down and scroll to find the field.


Define Import Rules. Configure settings for how your account should process the CSV file. Options include:

    • Import action - choose to send or not send an automated message to imported contacts, like a welcome.
    • Ignore blank fields - choose to ignore blank cells in the uploaded CSV file. This eliminates the possibility of existing data being overwritten with a blank if a contact already exists in your account.
    • Report Held and Unsubscribed addresses - collects contacts that already exist in your account in the Held or Unsubscribed status. This information will be sent to you in a report and those contacts will be skipped.
    • Create new tag - check the box to label the contacts being imported now with a name. This creates a group in the system that can be used to target a specific audience for an email later.


Assign Tags. If you need to also add the contacts being imported now to an existing Tag, you can select one or more by moving them to the right column.


Click “Import” at the bottom of the page to start the import process. You will be redirected to a landing page that outlines next steps.

Click the "Done" button. You will receive an email from the system when the import is complete.

Import Notes & FAQ

What does Tag Expires setting mean when importing a CSV?
If set to "No" the tag (group) will be kept permanently. When you import CSV files going forward, you can add contacts to the tag.
If set to "Yes" the tag (group) will be deleted after 30 days. You cannot add contacts to the group going forward. 

When will a tag be deleted if it is set to expire?
30 days after it is created. However, if a campaign is sent to a tag that is set to expire, the 30 days is reset.

What gets deleted when a tag is deleted?
When a tag is deleted, only the name and the grouping of contacts is deleted at 30 days, not the email addresses that were associated with it. The visual name of the group will also be deleted from sent campaign reporting.

Other Notes
  1. The only time we recommend using the "expires = yes" option is if you're using an outside system to pull your contact lists and you import them ahead of each campaign in Delivra, essentially, never using the same list twice.
  2. Our system supports the CSV format only for contact import files.
  3. An Import Report will be emailed to you when the import process has completed that explains how many contacts were imported, how many contacts failed and other import details.

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