Import contacts from a file - Online Help | Zoho Campaigns

Import Contacts from a file - New Version

Importing contacts in the process of bringing in your contacts inside Zoho Campaigns by uploading a spreadsheet file containing the details of the contacts. You can access the option to import contacts under the All Contacts section.

Why do you need to import contacts? 

Imagine you've been handling the data of 10,000 contacts in a spreadsheet database, and you want to create those contacts in Zoho Campaigns. This would be a cumbersome and pain-staking process to create each contact. Instead, if there's a functionality where the spreadsheet file can be directly uploaded into Zoho Campaigns, and the system will create the contacts for you, it would save a great deal of your time. That is where the import process is useful.

Another instance where importing contacts is essential is if you're moving from a different email marketing software to Zoho Campaigns, and would like to bring in the contacts from there, you can export the contacts from there and upload the spreadsheet file into Zoho Campaigns.

Before you begin importing contacts, make sure that you've created a mailing list to save the data. In this guide, you’ll learn the different ways to import contacts from various sources, which file formats are compatible, possible error scenarios and finally understanding the import history.

Which file formats can be used to import contacts?

You can,
  1. Import contacts from Excel file (.xls, .xlsx)
  2. Import contacts from CSV (Comma separated value files) files (.csv)
Notes
Note:
  1. Text files are not supported for contact imports.
  2. Email address is a mandatory field.

How do I import contacts from a file?

Before you import contacts, make sure to create a mailing list so that you can save the imported contacts to a recognizable file

Importing contacts from file

  1. From the Navigation toolbar, choose Contacts and then All Contacts.
  2. Click Add New and click Import.



  3. Click Select File.
  4. Choose a .csv or an excel file by clicking the specified space.
  5. Add Subscription Type.
  6. Associate your contacts with necessary topics. This step is applicable only if you have configured other topics in addition to the default topic (Marketing). 
  7. Select which mailing list you’d like to import contacts to.
  8. Once you upload your file, you need to map the fields in the file with the corresponding fields in Zoho Campaigns.
  9. You can map unmapped fields by clicking the corresponding Campaign Fields drop down.
  10. Click Save.
  11. Click Show advanced options to assign tags to the contacts that are to be imported.
    assign tag
  12. Click Import. After clicking the button, you can see the progress of the import.
Header
The first line is the header, which defines the field names. In this case, the headers are Contact Email, First Name, etc. Each line is a single person in your contacts list with a corresponding name and email address.

Line breaks
It is important that a CSV file must have one record per line, otherwise the system will not accept your file.

Commas
Make sure the fields are separated by commas. When 2 fields are not separated by a comma, the file will not be imported.

What problems can arise while importing Contacts?

If you see an error message when importing files to your Zoho Campaigns account, it means there is an issue with your file, preventing its import. In this case, you should review your files and fix any errors.
Below are some different scenarios that can cause errors which prevent import:
  1. Missing “@” symbol – For example, "jane.doegmail.com" is missing the “@” symbol.
  2. Missing "." – For example, "Patrick@yahoocom" is missing the period.
  3. Spacing in File – This could be due to the extra space present at the beginning of your contact list. The best way to prevent this error is to make use of the TRIM function to remove all spaces from the text.
  4. Email address with more than 6 characters after the last dot — For example, jane.doe@zylker.incostica
  5. Non-English characters

Tips to remember when importing contacts (Excel)

  1. First row in a given file will be treated as field names.
  2. Column headers should not exceed 255 characters.
  3. File size should not exceed 25 MB.
  4. Avoid using hyperlinks in email addresses.
  5. Add email addresses under the appropriate column headers only.
  6. When saving an Excel file, the format should be saved as MS Excel 95 or later.
  7. When importing an Excel file, make sure to keep contacts on one sheet.
  8. Unexpected errors may occur if an XLS file contains any special controls, combo filters, or images embedded within it.
  9. Checkbox field value should be true or false.
  10. Date values must be in mm/dd/yyyy format. Dates in any other format will be ignored.
  11. DateTime values must be in mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss format. Date Time values in any other format will be ignored.
  12. By default, character encoding is UTF-8 (Unicode). Make sure you provide the correct character encoding if your import file requires a different character code.
  13. We recommend that you test your import with a sample file before you import the actual data.
  14. Though we support Excel files, there is a possibility that it may not work due to other unknown errors. If this happens, we suggest converting your Excel file to a .CSV file and trying the import again.
  15. Mobile numbers need to have the country code and should be imported as plain values, not formulas. If you’re using an Excel formula to add the country code (like +91), make sure to copy the column and paste it into a new sheet by pasting Values only before importing. This way, the numbers are stored correctly and ready to use for SMS or WhatsApp campaigns without any issues.

Import Overview

The Import Overview page contains all of your imported contacts' details. You can view a generated report on your contacts after the import is complete. Zoho Campaigns makes it easy to view the entire history of imported contacts in a single step.
From the  Import Overview page, you can view the number of newly added contacts, duplicate contacts, and ignored contacts. Just click one of the numbers to view the related contact details.
import progress

Why are some of my contacts ignored?

There are a few reasons why you may see some contacts excluded from your list:
  1. Bounced - Mail was undeliverable to the contact or the email address doesn't exist.
  2. Blocked - Contacts blocked by Zoho Campaigns.
  3. Do-Not-Mail - Contacts who have unsubscribed themselves from receiving your newsletters or the ones who have been manually added to the do-not-mail list.
  4. Role-based email addresses - Email address is for a specific role, such as info@, administrator@, careers@, service@, support@, etc.
  5. File Duplicate(s) - Contact is present more than once in the imported file.
  6. Invalid Pattern - Contact has an invalid email address. E.g., "johngmail.com", "jane@aol", "ted@zylkercom"
  7. Empty Email- Contact's email address field is empty.
  8. Other Errors - Email addresses that may have any invalid/unprocessed fields in the file that is imported.

Why aren't role-based email addresses accepted while importing?

Initially, Zoho Campaigns restricts the import of role-based email addresses such as  info@zylker.com,  support@zylker.com,  admin@zylker.com, and  help@zylker.com. These email addresses have a high probability of email getting landed in the spam folder. If you wish to import such email addresses into your mailing lists, contact us at  support@zohocampaigns.com

Info
Related Articles