How do I import a list of subscribers?

Do you have an email list with another provider? Moving them to AWeber is simple. You can import a list of subscribers via the "Add Subscribers" page of your AWeber account.

When importing your list from another provider, please be mindful that not every provider organizes list data in the same manner. It is crucial to make sure that:

• Only current, active subscribers are being moved over. Double check what data you are exporting to make sure you are omitting any addresses that unsubscribed.
• Subscribers with a history of bounces and delivery failures should not be imported.
• Subscribers that you have not emailed within the last 6 months should not be imported. Those subscribers will be more likely to bounce your messages or mark them as spam the next time you email them.

Similarly, if you are merging lists within your AWeber account via imports, please make sure you omit unsubscribes by selecting the "Currently Subscribed" filter prior to exporting the CSV file of your subscribers.

Preparing your list for the import process, you will need to know What Should I Consider When I Import Subscribers?

Not sure if you can use your list? Looking at Can I Use This List will provide you with the insight you're looking for.

Step by Step Instructions

1. First, access the Add Subscribers section of your list. On the Add Subscribers page you will want to click the "Import multiple" button.
   
   
   
   
2. The first step of the import process, the "Import Subscribers" step, will show you the specific list that you're importing to. If you're not working in the correct list, make sure to exit the import tool and navigate to the correct list from the "Active List" drop-down menu.
   
   
   
   
3. You will be given two different options to import your subscribers. The way that you choose will depend on if you have the subscribers saved in a valid file format or not. If your subscribers are saved in any of these file formats, you will be able to upload that file directly:
   
   
   • XLS
   • XLSX
   • TSV
   • CSV
   • TXT
   
   If your subscribers are stored in any of the above file types, you can upload the file by either dragging the file into the "Drop or browse to upload your file" area or by clicking the "Click to Browse" button. If your subscribers are not stored in any of those file types, please proceed to step 5.
   
   
   
   Once you have uploaded your file, skip step 5 below and proceed to step 6 for further instruction.
   
   
4. If your subscribers are not stored in any of the above file types you will want to select "Type or paste subscribers".
   
   
   
   Here you can either copy and paste your subscriber information into the input area or you can type it in manually. Our system will recognize your subscribers being entered as long as their information is separated by a TAB, semicolon, or comma. In this example I have typed the subscribers in manually and separated their names, email addresses, and custom color fields with commas:
   
   
   
   After you are done inputting all of your subscribers and their information click the "Next: Map Fields" button.
   
   
   
   
5. On the next step, you can specify if you'd only like to have new subscribers added into your list from the file that you are importing, or if you'd like to update existing subscribers with the information contained within your file.
   
   
   
   You will also see the information for the first subscriber that was entered. Next to their information, you will see several drop-down menus. From these drop-down menus, select the field that their information should be matched with.
   
   
   
   Note: If you are including an Ad Tracking value in your import, it must not exceed 20 characters in length.
   
   If you do not see a field to match the subscribers information to, then select "Add New Field" from that drop-down menu.
   
   
   
   You will then see a prompt to name the new custom field. In our example, we are naming the field "Favorite Color" because it will be used to keep a subscriber's favorite color:
   
   
   
   Note: Due to how information is stored in our database, you can only add one field with the word "Name" in it.
   
   If you would like the subscribers to have the ability to update that information on their end then you will want to check off the "Allow subscribers to edit this field in their Subscriber Options" checkbox underneath where you typed in the name for the field.
   
   After you are finished entering the name for the custom field click the "Add" button. Once you are done matching up all of your subscribers information click the "Next: Confirm Opt-in" button.
   
   
6. On the "Confirm Opt-in" step, you can choose whether or not you would like to send a confirmation message to the import. If you would like to send a confirmation again, select 'Yes.' If you do not wish to send a confirmation message again, click 'No.' The 'Yes' option will be selected by default if you have confirmation enabled in your list settings. You will see a preview of the confirmation message. If you would like to make any changes to this message, you will have to do so through your list settings. Once complete, click "Next: More Options."
   
   
   
   
7. On the "More Options" step, you can apply tags to all of the subscribers in your import. If you would like to apply a tag, enable the "Add tags" toggle. You're also able to specify if you'd like your list's Automation Rules to be applied to your import.
   
   
   
   Then, add any tags that you would like to apply in the textbox. Once complete, click the "Next: Background Info" button.
   
   
   
   
8. Next, you will have to specify how the subscribers signed up to your list. Select one of the available options and provide more details as required. In this example, we selected that the subscribers signed up on our website and include the URL for our site.
   
   
   
   Note: the more detail you can provide in your explanation, the better. If you are moving an established list from another service and you used multiple methods to build your list, please use the "Other" option and provide as much information as possible in the textbox that we provide. It is worthwhile to include information about how long you have collected these subscribers, how often you have sent to them, any events where these subscribers joined your list, any advertisements used to drive your subscriber acquisition, and details about verbal agreements to subscribe to your list.
   
   
9. Once complete, click the "Submit your import" button towards the bottom-right corner of the page.

And that's it! Your import has been submitted. You can check the status of your import from the "Import History" page. 

Import Review

Once you complete these steps, your subscriber info will begin to be processed by our system.

All imports are subject to a combination of automatic review by our system and manual review by our Import Team for quality assurance. If an import is sent to manual review, this review should take no longer than one business day to complete. You can check the status of this review and past imports by visiting the Import History page for your list. We will also email you once this review has been completed.

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