Do you already have a CSV file full of contacts that you've acquired through your hard work? No need to add these to Tailwind individually -- we can import these in bulk into your dashboard. You can also manually import contacts.
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Import a CSV file
1. Before you can import an Excel contact list, you first have to convert the file to CSV:
Open the contact list file using Excel
Click File, then Save As
Choose a name for your contact list. In the Save as type field, choose CSV (comma delineated).
Click Save
2. In your Tailwind dashboard, go to the Contacts tab under email:
3. If you have multiple lists, select the list you'd like to update or create a new list:
4. Select + Add Contacts, then click Import Contacts:
5. Under Import CSV file, select Browse for a file to upload to find the correct file on your computer:
6. Once you've selected the right CSV file, you can select which fields you'd like to be included in your list import. If some of these custom fields aren't already in your list, you can also create new fields here and copy their names from the header columns of your CSV.
7. When you're finished, click Continue:
8. Confirm that you have consent from the email address holders to add their information to this list by clicking Continue:
You should see a prompt that the process is complete, and you'll be able to see your new contacts under the active subscribers list! 🎉 You can opt to Create an Email from here or select I'm done adding contacts.
Important Note: Fields that include dates or times have to be added in a yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss format, otherwise the field will be replaced with N/A when you import your contacts.
Manually import a contact
1. In your Tailwind dashboard, go to the Contacts tab under email and click + Add contacts:
2. Click Add a contact:
3. Fill in the contact information manually and make sure to click Save when you're done:
4. Want to add more than one contact this way? Click Save and add another to manually add another new contact.
With everything in order, It's now time to start sending emails to your contacts!
Helpful Tips
Some programs might combine fields like first and last name in the same column. If this happens to you, select space and comma separators in the options provided when opening a CSV from an outside source. This will keep your data from bunching up in a single field.
Sometimes imports can get stuck if your files are full of unwanted punctuation. You can use Replace (Ctrl + h for Windows Users, CMD+SHIFT+H for Mac users). Think of Replace as seek and destroy for errant characters. After using those Replace hotkeys, you can type whatever it is you'd like to replace in the Find What field type, leave Replace With blank, and click Replace All.
Save your CSV file in Unicode UTF-8 format as that is the default for most online databases.