If you’re ready to move your subscriber list from your old provider to Flodesk: Congratulations and welcome to the Flodesk fam! We know you’re going to love it and can’t wait to see what you create.
You’ll need to export your subscriber list from your current email marketing service (e.g. Mailchimp or an alternative) and upload that into Flodesk to get started. Just follow these guidelines to ensure you’ll be up and running in no time.
How do I export my subscriber list into a CSV file from my current email marketing service?
Subscribers are stored in a file type called CSV (comma separated values).
It’s basically a spreadsheet that contains your subscribers’ email addresses, their names and possibly other data that you and your marketing service provider have collected from them.
All you need to know about your CSV file is that your subscribers’ data is beautifully organized in columns and rows. And it allows you to move that data seamlessly from one platform to another.
If you haven’t already exported your subscriber data, here’s how to do that on the most common platforms:
How do I export subscriber data from eCommerce platforms?
Each eCommerce platform, like WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Shopify typically includes a separate data field, usually a tick box that is not pre-checked, where customers can request to be added to your email list when they make a purchase.
This data should be available for export, so make sure to include it into your CSV export and only upload customers who consented to get marketing emails from you. (Just because someone purchased from you or is a past customer does not mean they should automatically be added to your marketing email list.)
If you weren’t explicitly asking customers to opt into your email list or receive marketing updates from you, you will not be able to upload these customers’ emails into Flodesk for sending, but we can help you obtain permission. Just contact us at support@flodesk.com for assistance.
Learn more about how to connect your Shopify store to Flodesk here.
Now that you have successfully exported your list from your previous provider let’s look at how to get them into Flodesk.
What data should my email list include when I upload it to Flodesk?
First of all, only move over the active subscribers/contacts from your old platform who are eligible to get marketing emails from you.
Do not upload subscribers to Flodesk who have unsubscribed, hard bounced or marked your email as spam on the current email marketing service provider.
Second, email marketing platforms store various information beyond subscribers’ contact details. When you export the CSV file from your old platform, include all data fields that are collected and if available, the following data in the file export:
Subscriber email address
Subscriber name
Opt-in Time / Signup Timestamp
Opt-in IP / Signup IP
Confirm Time (if you used double opt-in)
Confirm IP (if you used double opt-in)
Marketing permissions
Tip: Most platforms either include all fields as default or you can select them via a tick box.
How do I upload my CSV file to Flodesk?
Step 1. Create a segment in Flodesk for your list.
Log in to your Flodesk account and go to Audience > Segments.
Here, create a new segment, give it a meaningful name that helps you remember what this segment is for, and choose a colour for the segment’s card.
For example, you can name it ‘Convertkit Imports’ or ‘Infusionsoft Imports’ to denote where the subscribers came from.
Step 2. Upload your CSV file to the segment in Flodesk.
Now that you have created the segment let’s upload the CSV. First, click on the segment’s card to open it, then click the black Add subscriber button and select Upload CSV.
It will open a popup window prompting you to select the CSV file from your computer.
Step 3. Map the subscriber email, name, and other fields to Flodesk data fields.
When the file is successfully loaded, you need to map your CSV fields to the Flodesk Data fields on the next screen. You will see a sample data from your CSV file on the left side to help with that.
If your CSV data field contains a name on the left, select the First Name or the Last Name field on the right to map it to the correct Flodesk data field.
If it contains data that doesn’t have a corresponding field on the right side yet, you can create the data field by starting to type the field name you want to use, in our case, it's Address and hitting the +Create option.
Once you’re done mapping all the CSV file fields, double-check that your CSV sample data on the left corresponds to the correct Flodesk data field on the right.
To complete the CSV upload process, click on Continue and then Finish. We will automatically analyze and remove any duplicates and undeliverable emails as part of our Automatic Email List Cleaning service.
Then refresh your page and watch as all the subscribers magically populate into your account.
Also, once your CSV is processed after the upload, you'll get a notification email from us.
And seriously, that’s it!
You’ve successfully imported your external subscribers into your new Flodesk segment.
What to do after you have uploaded your CSV file?
We encourage you to follow these steps early on to make sure you’re set up for success.
Authenticate your domain
Authenticating your domain takes a few minutes, and it’s one of the easiest ways to increase email security, deliverability, and sender reputation.
It helps email services and spam blockers know that your content is legitimate. Here’s a step by step guide on how to authenticate your domain.
Warm-up your sender reputation
When using a new email marketing service, you’ll want to warm up your sender reputation so you can maintain a healthy deliverability and avoid the spam folder. Start by sending smaller volumes and gradually increase the number of recipients, especially if you have uploaded a large list via your CSV file:
Start with a volume of 2,500 subscribers for your first week
Double your sending volume every 5-7 days
Email your most engaged subscribers first
Don’t forget to remove bounces and unsubscribes before uploading a new CSV file to Flodesk
As always, we’re here to help.
You can reach us directly at support@flodesk.com if you have any questions about authenticating your domain, verifying list permissions, or warming up your sender reputation.
Summary
You can export/download your subscriber list from your current email marketing provider into a CSV file and transfer it to Flodesk by creating a segment and then uploading the CSV file directly to the segment.
You can map and create all data fields in Flodesk based on your CSV file during the upload.