How to create and add subscribers to a new list

You will learn

Learn how to create a new list in Klaviyo and how to add contacts to it by uploading a CSV containing their contact information.

Why use lists

Lists can be used when sending campaigns, to trigger flows, and to keep track of how your audience is growing over time.

It's important to add contacts to a new list when pulling them from another email service provider, getting started with Klaviyo, or when you collect a list of contacts from an event, giveaway, or signup form. You can have up to 1,000 lists and segments in your account at any given time. 

Before uploading a list of subscribers

Before uploading your list, make sure to answer the following questions:

• Does my list abide by Klaviyo's Terms of Service?
• Does my list include only opted-in subscribers who subscribed by filling out a signup form or providing their email address to you directly?

If you're unsure or answered no to either of the questions above, then review our guidelines for compliant lists before uploading your list.

Requirements for formatting CSVs

There are some important requirements for formatting your data: 

• Your list of contacts should be in CSV format.
• If you're working in Excel or a similar program, save your data to a CSV file by clicking File > Save As and selecting CSV as the file format.
• The maximum allowed file size is 50 MB. Larger uploads must be split into multiple CSV files. 
• The header (top row) of the first column in your CSV should be labelled with one of the following options:
• Email
• Email Address
• Phone Number
  
• The order of the other columns doesn't matter. Add additional columns to include Klaviyo properties or custom properties in your upload.
• Klaviyo properties
  Use the Klaviyo property name as the header for the column so that the data in that column maps to the corresponding Klaviyo property and the data type is automatically selected.
• Custom properties
  Name each column with the intended custom property name. For example, if you are importing birthdays, name the column "Birthday" and give each row a value (e.g., "1992-06-21").
  
• Dates
  Insert dates in an accepted format (e.g., YYYY-mm-dd HH:MM:SS). Dates must use an accepted format in order for Klaviyo to recognize the value as a date.

Keep the following in mind when uploading contacts via a CSV:

• Any new value/column that you include in a CSV upload that does not already exist on a contact's profile will:
• Create a new custom property
• Not affect existing custom properties
• Any value/column that you include in a CSV upload that already exists on a contact's profile will overwrite the prior value.
• If you're interested in uploading a list of values for a single property (such as “Sizes”), you will need to use JSON syntax. Create an array of your values that looks like this: ["value1", "value2", "value 3"].
  

Create a new list and import subscribers

1. Navigate to Audience > Lists & Segments.
2. Click Create List/Segment in the upper right corner.
3. Choose List.
4. Give your list a name and add any applicable tags.
5. Click Create List.
6. Click Manage List > Import Contacts.
7. Click Upload and select your CSV file of email subscribers. 
8. Map the columns in your uploaded CSV to Klaviyo fields, which represent where your data is stored on your contacts in Klaviyo. Then, click Next. 
1. Select the field you'd like to map them to and select the data type
   OR
2. Add a new custom property by typing the new property name and selecting Create option
   
9. If you have explicit permission from everyone in your CSV file to send email marketing, select the option Yes, update subscription status for all imported contacts to subscribed. If your CSV file contains both emails and phone numbers, select which channel(s) they’ve subscribed to.
10. Click Import. 

Additional resources

• Troubleshooting list imports
• Understanding the benefits of having a main list for each marketing channel
• How to upload and segment with consent