After clicking the yellow button New import the step-by-step plan for importing a contact list will initiate.
Getting started
Once you have clicked on New import, you will see the following step-by-step plan:
The step-by-step plan consists of the following 6 steps:
- Step 1 - Properties
- Step 2 - File
- Step 3 - Format
- Step 4 - External id (optional)
- Step 5 - Link
- Step 6 - Processing
Step 1 - Properties
Once you are in the submenu New import, you can enter the imports name.
- First specify your import destination. Are you using active contacts to setup dynamic lists? Or is it a static list? Which you are using for one time only for a mailing to a fixed number of contacts. Suppression list: Choose this option if you would like the contacts to be excluded from all mailing activities. When a contact already exists in Spotler, they will be made inactive by performing this action.
- Name your static list when you import them. Think of a clever name. For example: Non-openers mailing June 2019 or Subscribers client event. This way you can easily locate your list again.
- The Author field will be prefilled with your account name and the Creation date will be filled automatically with the date when you have created the list.
Step 2 - File
As soon as you have completed step 1, you will enter the screen at step 2. This looks like this:
- Use the Select file button to locate the contact list on your computer that you would like to import. Your file can be up to 20MB.
- Email address for the report will be prefilled with the current user’s email address.
- Choose the permission type of your file at Permission. Are they clients or have you specifically asked them for an opt-in?
Step 3 - Format
Once you have completed step 2, you will go on to the following screen:
You will see your file details and preview. Is everything looking good? Then click on Next.
Step 4 - External ID (optional)
This option will only be shown if your account has an active externalClientid. This means Spotler will remove duplicates based on, for example, client ID and not on email address.
Choose which unique key you would like to link to your externalClientid and should be used for removing duplicates.
Step 5 - Linking
In this step you will link your files column names (left) to the database fields (right).
Only import fields that you will actually be using for your email marketing. After linking the database fields click on Next.
Step 6 - Processing
In the last step there are 2 options available for processing your file.
- Allow empty values
When linking the columns, you will also see the option Allow empty values. This adds the option to empty fields in Spotler
Why is this useful? Let’s say you have a contact named Wendy van Dijck in your Spotler database. Later you import the same contact as Wendy Jansen, where the prefix field in your contact lists has an empty value and the option Allow empty values is checked. The prefix field in Spotler will now be overwritten by the empty value. If you have not checked the Allow empty value option in the above situation, only the last name would be overwritten. This means the contact’s name would now be “Wendy van Jansen” instead of “Wendy Jansen”. - Additional value
This option is useful when you would like all the contacts in your file to receive the same value, but this value is not included in your file. For example, a language or a newsletter permission.
Click on Save and finish. Your file will be imported and you will see a copy of the import.
| Create a dynamic list when importing into the Active file When you have imported a Static list, you are finished in the module Lists. But if you have chosen All contacts as your location for imported contacts, they will be added to all the contacts that are already in your Spotler database. |