How to import profile properties using a CSV upload

You will learn

Learn about profile properties, including how they are used to store information about your subscribers and how to add properties in a variety of ways like using a signup form, through an integration, or by uploading a CSV file. In this guide, you will learn how to use a CSV file to upload profile properties. 

Table of contents

To import profile properties using a CSV upload: 

1. Create a properly-formatted CSV file 
2. Upload your CSV file 
3. Review the import
4. Ensure compliance

Create a CSV file

The first step in uploading profile properties to Klaviyo is creating a correctly-formatted CSV file containing those properties. Use any spreadsheet tool to create your file, like Excel or Google Sheets.

1. In your CSV, label the first row of the first column Email
2. In the first cell of the following columns, add the name of the profile properties you'd like to upload (e.g., First Name, Last Name) 
3. In the following rows, add in the email address and profile properties you'd like to upload

Make sure that all the data in your spreadsheet is in a format that can be read by Klaviyo. Learn more about data types in Klaviyo, including how to format them. 

Upload profile properties

Once your CSV file is ready to upload:

1. Navigate to Audience > Lists & Segments in Klaviyo.
2. In the top right corner select the Create New button and and choose Create List.
   
   • If you’re using an existing list rather than a new list, you can upload contacts by selecting Manage List in the top-right corner of the list's page, then Import Contacts
3. Click Upload Contacts.
   
4. Click Upload and select the CSV file you just created in the upload modal.
5. Map each column from your CSV to an appropriate property in Klaviyo.
6. If the property doesn’t yet exist in Klaviyo, click the Select or create new dropdown and
   select Create new field. 
   
7. Enter the name of the property you are creating and select the data type and click
   create.
8. Click Next.
9. Select No, import without updating subscription status.
10. Click Import.

Your import may take anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours, depending on the size of your list. You can navigate away from the page and the upload will continue. 

Review your import

Once the import is complete, open up your list and click on any profile. Navigate to the Information section of their profile. Here, you’ll find the properties you just uploaded. Many will appear under Custom Properties, but note that some default Klaviyo properties, like phone number or first and last name, will appear in the Contact section. 

Ensure compliance 

In order to maintain strong deliverability and comply with data privacy and marketing laws, make sure you only market to people who have explicitly opted in to email or SMS marketing. If the list you uploaded contains profiles who haven’t opted in, we recommend taking precautions to ensure you don’t reach out to them accidentally. For example, you could:

• Review your segment definitions to confirm only opted-in subscribers are included.
• Delete the list once the upload is complete. To delete the list, but keep the profiles, navigate to the Lists & Segments tab. Locate the list you just created and click the more options icon (three vertical dots). Click Delete. 

Additional resources

• About the information section of a profile
• Guide to properties
• About data types
• How to insert personalization into text blocks