Importing contacts, subscriber list

In this article we explain, step by step, how to import your subscriber list into Mailrelay from a CSV or TXT file, including name, email and any other field you want to use later to personalize your campaigns.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Importing contacts, subscriber list
  • Step 1: Create a group
  • Step 2: Subscribers > Imports
  • Step 3: File format
  • Step 4: Map the columns and set the import options
  • Step 5: Review the import results
  • Step 6: How can we see the imported contacts?

Step 1: Create a group

The first thing we need to do is create the “folder”, the virtual place where we will store our contacts. In Mailrelay this folder is called a group.

Every subscriber you import must belong to at least one group. Since the goal of this tutorial is to cover the basics so you can start sending emails, we are going to create one.

1. In the side menu, click Subscribers > Groups. You will see the list of groups in your account (the “Default” group exists by default).

2. Click the + Add button to create a new group.

3. Creating a group is very easy, you only need to fill in two fields:

• Name: the name you will use to identify the group (for example, “Customers 2026”).
• Description: an optional internal text to help you organize your lists.

4. Click Create Group.

IMPORTANT

Do not paste the emails into the description box. Use this field only to identify the group if you have several databases and want to create more than one group.

After clicking Create Group you will see the message “Group was successfully created.” and a summary of the group details (ID, name, description, number of subscribers and dates).

At the top of the group page you will find several tabs. The Import tab is a shortcut to quickly add contacts to this group by pasting only their email addresses, one per line, and clicking Import from text.

It is a quick option if you only want to add your contacts’ email addresses, without names or other fields. We won’t use it in this tutorial, since we want to import a list with several fields.

Step 2: Subscribers > Imports

1. In the side menu, click Subscribers > Imports. Here you will see the history of your imports, with their status and date.

2. Click the + New import button.

The import wizard has three stages, shown at the top: 1. Choose source, 2. Map columns and 3. Review and confirm.

Let’s look at the available options:

• Copy & Paste: lets you paste the contacts directly. It is useful when you only need to add a few emails; if you need other fields, you have to import a CSV file.
• Upload Files (.csv, .txt): imports from a CSV or TXT file. This is the most common option, and it lets you import additional fields and send personalized campaigns. It is the one we will use in this tutorial.
• Mailchimp Import: brings your lists directly from your Mailchimp account.
• Hubspot Import: brings your contacts directly from your HubSpot account.

3. Select the Upload Files (.csv, .txt) option. A box will appear where you can drag the file or click to select it from your computer.

Step 3: File format

You can import a CSV or TXT file with the values separated by commas. For example, this file contains a header and three contacts:

As you can see, the file has:

• A first header line with the name of each column (optional, just to guide you).
• One row per contact.
• The fields (name, email, city) separated by commas.

You can include as many fields as you need (for example: name,email,city,address), as long as they are separated by commas and there is only one contact per line. If your file contains special characters (accents, ñ), save it with UTF-8 encoding so they are imported correctly. If you want to use fields that are not included by default when creating a contact, you must add them as custom fields beforehand.

Once your file is ready, drag it into the “Drop file here or click to select one” box, or click it to browse for the file on your computer. The file will be uploaded automatically and you will move on to the next stage.

Step 4: Map the columns and set the import options

Once the file is uploaded, you will see stage 2. Map columns:

Don’t worry about seeing so many options, setting up this screen is very easy.

1. File label and Field: on the left you will see the columns of your file and, in the middle, a drop-down menu to choose which Mailrelay field each one will be saved to. If your file has a header, Mailrelay will try to match them automatically. Check that the match is correct using the Preview data column, which shows the first values of each column. In our example: name → Name, email → Email and city → City.

IMPORTANT

In the drop-down menu you will see “built-in” fields. These fields already exist in the system by default and you don’t need to create them: name, address, city, etc. If you need other data, create it first in Subscribers > Custom fields.

Scroll down to complete the rest of the options:

2. Import to groups: click the Groups field, type the name of the group and select it (you can choose several). If you haven’t created it yet, tick the New group checkbox to create it right now.

3. Additional options: decide what to do with the subscribers that already exist in your account:

• If you don’t tick Update data of existing subscribers, existing subscribers will be ignored and only new ones will be imported.
• If you tick it, the data of existing subscribers will be updated with the values in the file.

4. Compliance declaration: tick the checkbox confirming that the data complies with the GDPR (if applicable to your account) and with international anti-spam regulations, and that it has been verified with double opt-in. It is mandatory in order to import.

5. Click Import. The system will start saving your subscribers to your account.

Step 5: Review the import results

When the process is finished, you will see the import details: the destination group, the date, a progress bar and the result of each line of the file.

• Success: the contact has been imported correctly.
• Failure: the line has not been imported. You will see the reason in the Failure reason column. It is normal for the first line to appear as failed with the message “Line is the header of the file”: it is simply the header, not a contact.

You can filter by line, email or result, and download the report with the Export to CSV button. You can also check it again later from Subscribers > Imports.

You have now imported your contacts!

Step 6: How can we see the imported contacts?

It’s very easy:

1. Go to the Subscribers > Subscribers menu.

2. In the Basic search tab, click the Groups field and select the group you want to see.

3. Click Search.

The list will only show the subscribers that belong to that group, with their name, email, status and creation date. From here you can also view, edit or export them with Export to CSV.

Tip: if a subscriber appears with the Disabled status, click the ? icon next to it to see the reason. For example, it may be because the email is on the global blacklist due to advertising opt-out or other reasons. Disabled subscribers will not receive your campaigns; only Active subscribers receive newsletters.

The import process is very easy. If you follow these steps, your list will be imported into your account and ready to send your first campaign.