How to Import Contacts
Bring your existing contacts into Sendifai quickly and cleanly.
Before You Import
Important: Only Import Opted-In Contacts
Only import contacts who have given consent to receive emails from you. Importing purchased lists or contacts who haven't opted in violates our terms and email regulations.
Prepare Your Data
- Remove duplicate entries before importing
- Ensure email addresses are valid (no typos, proper format)
- Use consistent date formats (DD/MM/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD)
- Add column headers to your first row
CSV File Format
Example CSV Structure
| first_name | last_name | phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| john@example.com | John | Smith | 07700900123 |
| sarah@example.com | Sarah | Jones | 07700900456 |
Supported Fields
Standard Fields
- • email (required)
- • first_name
- • last_name
- • phone
- • address, city, postcode
- • birthday (YYYY-MM-DD)
Custom Fields
Any additional columns in your CSV can be mapped to custom fields during import. Create custom fields in Settings → Contact Fields first, or create them during import.
Step-by-Step Import Process
Navigate to Contacts
Go to Contacts in the main navigation, then click the Import button.
Upload Your File
Drag and drop your CSV file or click to browse. Files up to 10MB are supported. For larger imports, contact support.
Map Your Fields
Match columns in your file to Sendifai fields. We'll auto-detect common field names, but review the mapping to ensure accuracy.
Choose Duplicate Handling
Select what happens if an email already exists:
- • Skip: Keep existing data, ignore the import row
- • Update: Overwrite existing data with import data
- • Merge: Fill in blank fields only
Add to List (Optional)
Optionally assign imported contacts to a specific list. You can select an existing list or create a new one.
Review and Import
Preview a sample of your import, then click Start Import. You'll receive a notification when complete.
Pro Tips
- • Test first: Import a small batch (10-20 contacts) to verify your mapping before importing thousands.
- • Clean your data: The cleaner your CSV, the smoother your import. Remove blank rows and fix obvious errors.
- • Export from Excel as CSV UTF-8: This preserves special characters correctly.
Troubleshooting
Some contacts weren't imported
Check the import summary for skipped rows. Common reasons: invalid email format, duplicate email (if set to skip), or missing required fields.
Special characters look wrong
Save your CSV with UTF-8 encoding. In Excel: File → Save As → CSV UTF-8.