One of the powerful and very useful features of arpReach is that it allows you to import your existing contacts.
You can import your existing contacts from either a CSV file or a tab delimited text file.
The Import Process
To access the import facility, choose Contacts / Import Contacts from the menu bar:
Upload the file
Choose the correct file type (Comma or Tab) from the Field delimiter dropdown menu.
Click the Choose file button to open a file dialog on your device.
Navigate to the file you want to import, select it, and click Open. The name of your file will now appear beside the Choose File button as seen below.
Click on the Upload Import File button.
Map the file data
A new screen will appear once the file has uploaded. This will allow you to “map” the columns in your file into arpReach and indicate which autoresponder subscriptions and contact tags/categories to assign to your contacts.
Fields Section
The field information on the left of the screen will show the data gathered from the first row of your file (Important Note: Always remove the header row). This will allow you to easily map each field accordingly.
Use the dropdown menu for each field to select the correct and corresponding field within arpReach (e.g., Subscriber = First name field).
If you do not want to import a column from your file into arpReach, choose the [Do not import] option.
Tip! The email address column will automatically be recognized and mapped as the Email address field. If the system is unable to do so, then there is a problem with the format of your file (e.g., has extra/unnecessary spaces before and/or after each field) that will cause issues with the import process and you need to re-do your CSV/TSV file.
Once you have mapped the contact information you wish to import, you can move on to the other options you have available.
- Format Preference – choose what format your contacts should receive their emails in. In virtually all cases, No Preference will be suitable as you can choose the format each email you send is sent in.
- File entry for confirmed – enter the value from your file that indicates confirmed status. Importing the confirmation status is not mandatory and you can just opt to use the built-in Confirmation setting field under the Autoresponder subscription section below.
Segmentation Section
Providing that you have created Contact Tags and Contact Categories prior to attempting to import your contacts, you will be able to choose which tags and/or categories are assigned to every batch of contacts you import.
To do this, simply click on the appropriate check boxes.
Autoresponder Subscription Section
When importing contacts into arpReach, you should always choose an autoresponder to add those contacts to.
While it is possible to import contacts into arpReach without associating them to an autoresponder, it is not recommended as your contacts cannot remove themselves from your list and this may be considered a breach of anti-spam legislation.
From the dropdown, select the primary autoresponder you will be adding your contacts to.
This will expand your screen to give you additional options.
- Starting message – choose the message number of the autoresponder sequence that they will be starting their subscription from.
- Status – choose the status of the autoresponder subscription.
— Active
— Paused
— Cancelled
— Dropped
— Finished
— Failed - Tracking tag – choose the tracking tag to assign to the autoresponder subscription, providing you have previously set up tracking tags.
- Confirmation – choose the confirmation status of the autoresponder subscription. This is only applicable to autoresponders that require subscriptions to be confirmed.
Additional Autoresponder Subscriptions Section
The settings when assigning additional autoresponder subscriptions to the contacts you will be importing are the same as the settings when assigning the primary autoresponder subscription.
If you do not wish to assign them to additional autoresponders, you may just disregard this section.
Start the import process
After mapping your file data and assigning the autoresponder subscriptions and contact tags/categories accordingly, click the Continue button at the top left of the page.
On the next screen, click the Start Import button and wait for the system to complete your import. This acts as a final stop-check for you to make sure you are importing contacts with the correct settings.
The duration of the import process would depend on the amount of data the system will be importing from your file. You will see the panel updating as the import progresses. (Important Note: Do not close your browser or move to another page while import is running.)
Import Complete
Once the import process is complete, you will be redirected to the Contacts list screen with this temporary notification message at the top:
Congratulations! You have successfully imported your contacts into your arpReach system.