Support Center›Setup Checklist›Step 6
Contacts Setup
Import and organize the people you already know
Before you begin
- Estimated time
- 30–60 minutes, mostly cleaning the file
- Have ready
- Your contact list exported as a CSV, and the custom fields from Step 7 already created.
If your file contains data that does not fit standard fields — service type, referral source, renewal date — that data has nowhere to land. You will end up importing twice and deduplicating afterwards. Do Step 7 first.
Why this matters
Done properly
- Clean records you can segment and automate against
- Personalisation that uses first names correctly
- You know where every contact came from
- Opt-out status preserved and respected
Skipped or rushed
- Duplicates you will be untangling for months
- Emails that greet people by their full name
- No way to tell a cold lead from a past client
- Messaging people who already asked you to stop
How to set it up
Export your list to CSV
Get everything into one spreadsheet before you touch the platform. Pull from wherever your contacts currently live — your old CRM, your email tool, your phone, your inbox.
Split names into separate columns
You need First Name and Last Name as separate columns. A single full-name column means every personalised email opens with "Hi Sarah Mitchell," which immediately reads as automated.
In most spreadsheet tools: select the column, then Data → Split text to columns, using a space as the separator. Check the results — compound surnames need manual fixing.
Standardise phone numbers
Use one consistent format with the country code —
+15551234567. Mixed formats cause failed sends and duplicate records.Remove duplicates
Sort by email address and scan for repeats. Merge them now, in the spreadsheet, where it is easy. Merging inside the platform afterwards is far more tedious.
Watch for the same person under two different email addresses — a work and a personal one.
Delete dead rows
Remove any contact with no email and no phone. They cannot be contacted and they count against your plan allowance.
Remove anyone who has opted out
Anyone who previously unsubscribed or asked you to stop contacting them must not be re-imported as an active contact. Re-importing does not restore permission — it just removes your record of them withdrawing it.
Add a source column
Add a column recording where each contact came from —
past client,website form,referral,networking event. You will want this for segmentation, and you cannot reconstruct it later.Import a test batch of ten
Go to Contacts → Import and upload a file containing just ten rows.
Map each spreadsheet column to the matching field, including your custom fields from Step 7. Import, then open those ten records and check every field landed where it should.
Fixing a mapping mistake across ten records takes a minute. Across three thousand, it takes an afternoon.
Import the rest
Once the test batch is correct, import the full file using the same mapping. Choose how to handle duplicates — updating existing records is normally safer than creating new ones.
Tag the import
Apply a tag to the whole import identifying the source and the date, such as
import-2026-07-past-clients. This lets you find, segment, or undo the entire batch later.Spot-check twenty records
Open twenty records at random across the list. Check names, phone formatting, custom fields, and tags. Catch problems now.
A large send to a list that has never received mail from your new sending domain is the fastest way to destroy your deliverability. Warm up gradually — see Email Sending Limits.
Day/month and month/day look identical for the first twelve days of any month. Find a record with a day above twelve and confirm which way your file was read.
Save an untouched copy of your export before you start cleaning. If an import goes wrong, you want the original to go back to.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| Everything landed in one field | A mapping error. This is exactly what the ten-row test batch is for. |
| Duplicate contacts everywhere | The same file was imported twice, or duplicate handling was set to create rather than update. Merge in bulk if the platform supports it, otherwise export, clean, and reimport. |
| Phone numbers rejected | Inconsistent formatting or missing country codes. Standardise in the spreadsheet and reimport just those records. |
| Names have odd capitalisation | Common with data from multiple sources. Fix in the spreadsheet with a proper-case formula before importing. |
FAQ
How many contacts can I import at once?
Large files are usually best split into batches of a few thousand. It also makes problems easier to isolate.
What happens if I import someone who already exists?
It depends on your duplicate setting. Updating the existing record is normally what you want; creating a new one gives you two records for one person.
Can I undo an import?
This is exactly why you tag every import with its own tag and date. That tag lets you find and remove the whole batch.
Do I need to import everyone?
No, and you probably should not. Contacts you have not spoken to in three years will not engage, will hurt your sending reputation, and count against your plan allowance.
✅Done when
- Contacts imported, deduplicated, and tagged by source
- Names split correctly into first and last
- Twenty spot-checked records are accurate
- Custom fields populated where you had the data
- Opt-out status preserved