How do I import contacts using the copy and paste option?

The copy and paste import option allows you to import your contacts quickly. You may want to use this option for shorter lists, or if you do not have a lot of custom fields.

To get started:

1. From the Contacts Overview page, click "Import."

 

2. Click the "Copy & paste your contacts" link.

 

3. A copy and paste import modal will appear:

 

If you are only importing email addresses, you will want to list each email address on its own line like this:

[e-mail]
[e-mail]

If you are pasting from a word processing program or are directly typing the contact's name, email address, and one or two other custom fields or tags directly into the import modal, you will want to list each item separated by a comma with no spaces like this:

Sarah,Connor,[e-mail],October Import
Ellen,Ripley,[e-mail],October Import

If you are pasting from a spreadsheet, you do not need to insert a comma.

4. Once you have pasted or typed your contacts in the import modal, click “Next.”

 

5.  Your file will process, and you will be redirected to the import screen. To map the columns in your file to fields in your account, click the dropdown for each field.

• • If you don't wish to import data from a column, select "Do Not Import this Field."
  • To create a new field directly from the import page, click "[Add New Field]" and follow the prompts
  • The "Field Values" column will show the first row of data from your CSV, allowing you to confirm your mapping.
  • If the same field is mapped twice, the "This is a duplicate field" error will appear. You can fix this by selecting different destinations for every mapped field.

6. Select Lists: Click each list to which you want to add contacts. You can add contacts to multiple lists.

7. Add Tags (Optional): Type the tags you wish to apply to all contacts once they're imported.

• • As a best practice, apply a tag that indicates the source of these contacts. That way, you can easily find this group if you need to make any bulk edits to them later.\

8. Import Options: Click the "Import Options" dropdown and choose either:

• • • Import as Contact
    • This option will add the contact to your ActiveCampaign account. 
    • Import as Excluded
    • This option will add your contact to your Exclusion Listupon import.
    • If you have chosen a list in the "Select Lists" section, the following options will appear:
    • Import as Active Contact
    • This option will add the contact as subscribed to any list you have chosen in the 'Select Lists' section.
    • Import as Unsubscribed Contact
    • This option will add the contact as unsubscribed to any list you have chosen in the 'Select Lists' section.
    • Import as Excluded Email Address
    • This option will add your contact to your Exclusion List upon import.

9. Optional: Click the "Update Existing Contacts" box. This will look for a matching email address in your account and add any additional contact data from your file into the contact record.

10. Advanced Options (Optional): You can choose to leave these on their default settings or click the arrow next to Advanced Options to reveal additional settings:

1. • Trigger Webhooks
     Turn off completely, no webhooks will trigger, or choose one of the following:
     • Trigger Contact added and Contact updated webhooks only - this will trigger only Contact added and Contact updated Webhooks under Settings > Developer > Manage Webhooks only
     • Trigger all relevant webhooks upon contact import - will trigger all relevant Webhooks created under Settings > Developer > Manage Webhooks 
   • Trigger Automations
     Turn this completely on or off:
     
     • On - imported contacts will enter automations they can trigger, including but not limited to, Tag Added, Create/Update contact, and so on.
     • Off - the import will disregard any automations that could possibly trigger from this import and contacts will not be added to any automations.
   • Create field options when importing new custom field values
     Turn this completely on or off:
     
     • On - If a value is imported within a dropdown, list box, radio button, or checkbox custom field that does not match an existing field option, the import will create the option in that field. For example, you may have ‘Cat’ as a field option but it is spelled ‘Catt’ in the CSV. ‘Catt’ will be created as a new option.
       Off - If the value imported does not match an existing field option exactly, the value will not be imported.
2. Click the "Import Now" button once you're done configuring settings.

The length of time it takes to import contacts will depend on how many contacts are copy and pasted in.

When finished, you can view your import results.