How to import subscribers to a list

You will learn

Learn how to add subscribers to a list in Klaviyo. Uploading contacts is key when getting started with Klaviyo, particularly if you’re migrating from another service provider or pulling in information from a third party. 

Before you begin

Please note the following before starting the import process: 

• Your list must abide by Klaviyo's Terms of Service. 
• Turn off any flows triggered by the list you’re uploading, unless you want the flow to send to all of the imported contacts. 
• Uploads do not trigger double opt-in
• Your CSV file must be 50 MB or less. Larger uploads must be split into multiple CSV files. 

Upload a CSV to a list

Format your CSV

Place email addresses or phone number in the first column

In general, the first column should be your customers’ email addresses (labeled either “Email” or “Email Address) or phone numbers (labeled “Phone Number”). If you are importing SMS subscribers, we recommend reading through our guide on uploading SMS consent. 

Import contacts with consent

1. Navigate to Audience > Lists & segments.
2. Select the list you want to add your contacts to (e.g., Newsletter).
   • If you want to create a new list, instead select Create New > Create list and name the new list.
     
3. Open the Manage List dropdown in the upper right. 
4. Choose Import contacts from the dropdown.
   • If the option to import contacts does not appear, that means you either do not have the correct user permissions to upload contacts, or this is a segment, not a list.
     
5. Click Upload and select your CSV file of email subscribers.
6. Click Next. 
7. Map each column from your CSV to an appropriate property in Klaviyo, then click Next.
8. If your CSV includes a consent type (e.g., Email Marketing Consent) or timestamp (e.g., Email Marketing Consent Timestamp) column, Klaviyo knows to apply consent, so you can jump to step 10. 
9. If you have neither a consent timestamp or column indicating consent, you’ll see the following: 
   • Under Did these contacts subscribe to messaging, select Yes to add consent.
     
   • Check the box for the types of consent to apply (e.g., Email).
10. When ready to proceed, click Import. 

The import process can take up to a couple of hours to complete. Please wait a few additional hours before you turn your list-triggered flows back on (if applicable). 

Upload via copy/paste

As an alternative to uploading a CSV file, you can copy and paste a list of subscribers to upload them. 

1. Navigate to Audience > Lists & segments.
2. Select the list that you want to add subscribers to.
3. Click the Manage list dropdown in the upper right-hand corner. 
4. Click Import contacts. 
   1. If the option to import contacts does not appear, that means you either do not have the correct user permissions to upload contacts, or this is a segment, not a list. 
5. Click Switch to copy and paste CSV beneath the bottom-left corner of the upload tool.
   
6. Paste contact information in this format:
   Email,First Name,Last Name
   someone1@example.com,George,Washington
   someone2@example.com,Abraham,Lincoln
   

   If you are adding properties with list values as part of your copy/paste import, use the following structure: 
   Email,Property 
   someone1@example.com,"[""a"",""b""]"

7. Click Next.
8. Map each column from your upload to an appropriate property in Klaviyo.
9. To add consent (i.e., if you have explicit email consent for every contact): 
   1. Under Did these contacts subscribe to messaging, select Yes to add consent.
      
   2. Choose the type of consent (e.g., Email). 
10. Click Import.

Add subscribers via Quick Add

Add subscribers via Quick Add (email only)

If you would like to quickly add a handful of individuals to your list, you can use the Quick Add option instead.

1. Navigate to the list you'd like to add the profile to.
2. Click Quick Add.
   1. If the Quick Add button does not appear, that means you either do not have the correct user permissions to upload contacts, or this is a segment, not a list.
      
3. On the following page, fill in the Email field.
4. If the person has explicitly opted in to receive emails from you, check the box for Profile has granted explicit consent to receive email marketing.
   
5. Optional: add other information about the contact, such as their name or title. 
6. Click Add subscriber.

Once the CSV finishes importing, Klaviyo will either create a new profile or associate the data to an existing profile.

With email for instance, Klaviyo looks for any existing profiles with that same email. Then, Klaviyo updates the consent status and any properties you chose to import to that contact. 

Bulk remove consent 

If you want to remove consent for profiles, you can use essentially the same import process. 

The only differences are that you must:

• Have a column for the type of consent (e.g., Email Marketing Consent). 
• Add “Unsubscribed” for each profile within that column. 
  • Note that you cannot reset profiles in bulk to “Never Subscribed.” 

Additional resources

• Troubleshooting list imports
• Upload SMS consent
• Create and add subscribers to a new list
• The difference between segments and lists