Overview

Our import tool helps you add or update email contacts in Spreeflo. Import from a comma-separated value file (CSV) or enter info directly into the contact table. You can also auto-update multiple existing email contacts at once.

In this guide, you'll learn how to use our import tool to add and update email contacts in Spreeflo.

The file import process has 2 parts. First, prepare your spreadsheet of email contacts outside Spreeflo, then save it as a CSV. Next, use the + Upload CSV button in Audience > Contacts to upload your file and add your email contacts to your Spreeflo audience. If you import your email contacts with subscribed email subscription status, be sure that you have permission to send them email marketing content.

Bring an existing list in and map its columns to contact fields.

Step 1: Before You Start

Spreeflo integrates with the most popular email providers:

  • Some European spreadsheet programs use semicolons to separate data fields in CSV or TXT files. If your import file uses semicolons, replace them with commas and try your import again. To learn more, check out our Troubleshooting Contact Imports guide.

  • In Spreeflo, you can import your email contacts with their email marketing status as subscribed or unsubscribed. You can only import 1 status at a time.

  • You can also import your email contacts as marketing contacts or non-marketing contacts. You can only import 1 type at a time. Note that your plan's contact count is measured by peak marketing contacts. If your import brings your total marketing contacts above the limit of your subscription plan's contact tier, you'll be subject to additional overage charges.

    • Step 2: Prepare Your CSV File

    To prepare your file for import, follow these steps.

  • In a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, open your blank worksheet.
  • Create and label a column for Email. This field is required to import email contacts.
  • Create and label additional columns for First Name, Last Name, and any other information you want to import to Spreeflo.
  • Optional: to tag contacts differently from one another, add a Tags column. See Tag contacts with a CSV import below.
  • Save the file in a CSV or TXT format. These options can usually be accessed from the File menu in your spreadsheet program, labeled as "Export as .CSV,” “Export as .TXT,” “Download as .CSV,” or “Download as .TXT.”

    • Nice job! Now that you've prepared your import file, you're ready to import.

    Step 3: Upload Your CSV to Spreeflo

    To import your file to Spreeflo, follow these steps.

    Upload CSV Screen
  • Click Audience, then click Contacts.
  • If you have more than 1 audience, click the Audience drop-down next to the Contacts label and choose the one you want to work with.
  • Click the + Upload CSV button.
  • Drag and drop the CSV file you prepared in the previous step or click the Upload CSV File card to select the file from your computer.
  • Use the Select Attribute dropdowns to map an existing attribute or create a new attribute to map to your columns.
  • If your contacts have consented to email marketing, then keep Subscribed selected. Otherwise, select Non-subscribed.
  • If your contacts are marketing contacts, then keep Yes selected. Otherwise, select No.
  • Optional: under Tags, choose tags to add to every contact in the file. See Tag contacts with a CSV import.
  • Click the IMPORT ALL button to begin importing your contacts.
    • Assign Contact Attributes

    That's it! After the import is finished.

    Tip: When you import email contacts to an existing audience, we won’t include any duplicate, bounced, or unsubscribed addresses that are already stored in the audience.
    Tip: Because all audiences in Spreeflo are independent of each other, we can't detect duplicates, bounces, or unsubscribes across multiple audiences. If you have duplicate email contacts in different audiences, you may find it helpful to combine your audiences into a primary audience that uses segments or tags.

    Tag contacts with a CSV import

    You can tag contacts as you import them, and take tags off them too. Tag changes apply to every contact in the file, both the new ones and the ones already in your audience. Tags a contact already has are kept unless you choose to remove them. There are 2 ways to do it, and you can use both in the same import.

    Tag every contact in the file

    Use this when the whole file should get the same tags, like everyone who signed up at an event.

  • After you upload your file, scroll to the Tags section.
  • In Add tags to every contact, search for an existing tag and select it, or type a new tag name and press Enter. New tags are created when the import runs.
  • To take tags off these contacts, click Also remove tags from these contacts and choose the tags to remove. Contacts that don't have those tags are left as they are.

    • Tag contacts from a column in your file

    Use this when different contacts need different tags. Add a column to your spreadsheet and list each contact's tags in it, separated by commas or semicolons. 

    Email,First Name,Tags,Remove Tags
jane@example.com,Jane,"VIP, Webinar 2026",Trial
sam@example.com,Sam,Webinar 2026,
lee@example.com,Lee,,Newsletter
  • Name the column Tags and Spreeflo maps it to Add tags for you. A column named Remove Tags is mapped to Remove tags. For any other column name, choose Add tags or Remove tags from the column's Import as dropdown.
  • Each contact gets only the tags in their own row. An empty cell leaves that contact's tags as they are.
  • Tag names aren't case-sensitive, so VIP, vip and Vip are all the same tag. A tag in an add column that doesn't exist yet is created. A tag in a remove column that doesn't exist is ignored.
  • Before you import, a summary shows the tags found in your tag columns and which of them are new. Check it, especially if the file would create a lot of new tags.
    • Tip: If the same tag is set to be both added and removed for a contact, it's added. Removals happen first, then additions.

    Tags and automations

    Adding or removing a tag can start campaigns and journeys that trigger on that tag, and new contacts can start ones that trigger when someone joins the audience. Journeys that trigger when contacts join or leave a segment, or match criteria, can start too if that segment or criteria uses one of the tags. Under Import settings, the Automations box lists the active campaigns and journeys this import would start. The segment-based ones are marked may start, because whether a contact joins the segment also depends on its other rules. If you don't want any of them to start, for example because you're moving an existing list into Spreeflo, check Don't start campaigns or journeys for this import. Your contacts are still added, updated and tagged, and they still join matching segments. Journeys they're already in carry on as normal, including any step that waits for them to join a segment.

  • Each row can have up to 50 tags, and each tag name can be up to 100 characters. Longer names are skipped.
  • One import creates at most 200 new tags. If your file has more, check that you mapped the right column.

    • Import your contacts manually

    To directly create new contacts, follow these steps:

  • Click Audience, then click Contacts.
  • If you have more than 1 audience, click the Audience drop-down next to the Contacts label and choose the one you want to work with.
  • Click the + Add Single Contact button.
  • Paste your contact information into each attribute input field.
  • Click + Map Attribute to add existing attributes or create new attributes.
  • If your contacts have consented to email marketing, then keep Subscribed selected. Otherwise, select Non-subscribed.
  • If your contacts are marketing contacts, then keep Yes selected. Otherwise, select No.
  • Click the Create button to create your contact.
    • Add Contact Manually

    Update existing email contacts

    You may need to update your email contacts' data if they've been in your audience for a while. Use our upload CSV tool to quickly update multiple contacts at once.

    This option replaces existing audience field information with new information from your import file. You'll follow the same process to import new email contacts, but there are a few extra things to consider.

  • When you prepare your spreadsheet, verify that the column names in your import file match the fields in your Spreeflo audience, and that no columns are left blank. Blank fields overwrite and erase existing email contact data.
  • You can update subscribed or non-subscribed email contacts with this method.
  • You can update marketing or non-marketing email contacts with this method.
  • The email subscription status and marketing contact settings apply only to new contacts. Contacts already in your audience keep theirs.
  • Emails are matched without regard to case, so Jane@Example.com in your file updates the existing contact jane@example.com.
  • To update contacts' tags, use the tag options in the same import.

    • That's it! When you import, we'll handle the rest by scanning your email contacts and updating their information.

    Troubleshooting Contact Imports

    If you're having trouble importing your contacts, check out our Troubleshooting Contact Imports guide for help.

    Need Immediate Help? Contact our support team at support@spreeflo.com or check our other guides for more information.