Common errors when importing a contact list into Platformly
With Platformly it is very quick and easy to import a contact list into your CRM with a valid CSV file. You can find out how to do this here.
If you experience any problems while importing a file please check the following steps:
Is the file a valid CSV file? You can read more about creating a valid CSV file here.
Are you using Excel to create your contact list? If so, be sure to save the file as a UTF-8 CSV file.
Is the email address in the correct email format? For example, does it have an "@" symbol?
Is there a created date for the contact? If there is no created date on your contact list, simply use the date of importing the file as the created date.
If you have multiple email addresses for a contact, for example a work and a personal email address, please create a second contact for the receiver as per the example below:
If your contact list is large it may take a while for the file to be uploaded to our system. You may get a message that says "Your list is being imported, we will notify you via email once the import is completed." Note that this email will be sent to the email address of the main account holder, so if you are using a "sub-account", you will not get this email and you will need to check with the main account holder for the notification email.
After you have successfully imported a contact list, you will be reminded to import any unsubscribe contacts on the imported list. Make sure to do this step to avoid emails being sent out to those who have unsubscribed.
You can import an unsubscribe list at any time by clicking on you profile picture at the top right of the page and then select "Import". A pop-up will occur where you can select to "Import Unsubscribe List".
Imported contacts will not trigger off automations.
This means that if you have an automation that is set up to be triggered by the adding of the contact to your contact list or if a specific tag is added to the contact, the automation will not be triggered if the contact or segment or tag has been added by importing that contact.
For example, if you have an automation that will send out a welcome email to contacts that have been added with the tag "new customers", and you import a contact list with tag "new customers", the automation to send out a welcome email will not be triggered even though the imported contacts have the tag "new customers". This is to prevent unintentional send out of emails.
If you would like to apply automations to the imported contact list, you need to first import the contact with a specific tag just for the contact list e.g. "customers 2021". Then once the contacts have been added to your CRM, use the filter to show contacts with tag "customers 2021" and select the contacts with this tag and add the "new customers" tag to them. They will then be added to the automation and the welcome email will be sent out to them. You can learn more about how to use CRM filters here.
Note that unlike contacts that are added manually or via optin forms and API / webhooks, which are validated to ensure the email addresses are valid and real, imported contacts are not checked to see if the email addresses are verified email addresses or not. The system only checks that the email addresses are in the correct format. To avoid spam traps, duplicate email addresses, outdated contacts and email addresses with spelling mistakes, Platformly offers integrations with email validation and verification services like EmailListVerify and Clearout. They can help you clean your mailing list. You can watch our video here on how the Clearout.io integration works.
If you experience any problems while importing a file please check the following steps:
Is the file a valid CSV file? You can read more about creating a valid CSV file here.
Are you using Excel to create your contact list? If so, be sure to save the file as a UTF-8 CSV file.
Is the email address in the correct email format? For example, does it have an "@" symbol?
Is there a created date for the contact? If there is no created date on your contact list, simply use the date of importing the file as the created date.
If you have multiple email addresses for a contact, for example a work and a personal email address, please create a second contact for the receiver as per the example below:
If your contact list is large it may take a while for the file to be uploaded to our system. You may get a message that says "Your list is being imported, we will notify you via email once the import is completed." Note that this email will be sent to the email address of the main account holder, so if you are using a "sub-account", you will not get this email and you will need to check with the main account holder for the notification email.
After you have successfully imported a contact list, you will be reminded to import any unsubscribe contacts on the imported list. Make sure to do this step to avoid emails being sent out to those who have unsubscribed.
You can import an unsubscribe list at any time by clicking on you profile picture at the top right of the page and then select "Import". A pop-up will occur where you can select to "Import Unsubscribe List".
Imported contacts will not trigger off automations.
This means that if you have an automation that is set up to be triggered by the adding of the contact to your contact list or if a specific tag is added to the contact, the automation will not be triggered if the contact or segment or tag has been added by importing that contact.
For example, if you have an automation that will send out a welcome email to contacts that have been added with the tag "new customers", and you import a contact list with tag "new customers", the automation to send out a welcome email will not be triggered even though the imported contacts have the tag "new customers". This is to prevent unintentional send out of emails.
If you would like to apply automations to the imported contact list, you need to first import the contact with a specific tag just for the contact list e.g. "customers 2021". Then once the contacts have been added to your CRM, use the filter to show contacts with tag "customers 2021" and select the contacts with this tag and add the "new customers" tag to them. They will then be added to the automation and the welcome email will be sent out to them. You can learn more about how to use CRM filters here.
Note that unlike contacts that are added manually or via optin forms and API / webhooks, which are validated to ensure the email addresses are valid and real, imported contacts are not checked to see if the email addresses are verified email addresses or not. The system only checks that the email addresses are in the correct format. To avoid spam traps, duplicate email addresses, outdated contacts and email addresses with spelling mistakes, Platformly offers integrations with email validation and verification services like EmailListVerify and Clearout. They can help you clean your mailing list. You can watch our video here on how the Clearout.io integration works.
Updated on: 08/09/2022
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