Got an CSV or Excel file with your contacts? E-goi makes it easy to import it.
You can upload virtually any contact database, from a plain-text email list to a full-blown sliced-and-diced Excel file. The more contact info you upload (eg. their name, mobile number, city, etc.), the more you can segment your sends later on to get the highest deliverability!
1) Let's crack on with importing your contacts! Go to the Contacts menu, head to the list you want to do the import on and click Contacts.
2) A page will come up with all contacts in that list. Click the Add/Update button, select Excel/CSV and hit Upload.
3) Select the file with your contacts in your computer (it should be in Excel, CSV, TXT or OST format) and upload it. When done (depending on the file size and your upload speed), just hit Next. If you know the file doesn't use a comma as separator (which is the default setting for Excel or CSV databases), click Advanced and specify the separator character before proceeding. A couple seconds later, E-goi will show a sample of the data in your file.
Now you just need to tell E-goi what's in each sample. This is as easy as matching up names! For example, if a data sample contains email addresses, simply match it to Email.
If you have other data samples in your file (eg. name, mobile number, etc.), just map them to their matching fields in E-goi (eg. select Mobile for the sample containing your contacts' mobile). Speaking of mobile or phone numbers, make sure your file includes the full numbers, including international prefix (eg. 44-XXXXXXXXXX).
4) OK, but what if you have a data sample in your file without a matching field in E-goi (say, a column labeled "city")? No problem, just create that field in E-goi right there and then. Map your sample to Create extra field now.
Enter the name of the new field (in this case, we'll be typing in "city"), select the field type ("text" is often used, but you can set it as date, number or even a list of entries) and hit Save.
Done! The new field has been added to E-goi and you can now use it to map your sample.
5) Once you've mapped all the data you'll be importing, click Next to see your import settings. All set? Hit Begin import.
When the import is finished (it usually takes less than a minute, but may take longer depending on your database size), E-goi will email you the import result.
Updating your mailing list with another contact database
Simply repeat the steps above with one key difference: in the last step, just before you hit Begin import, tick the Update my existing contacts' data option.
E-goi will then compare the email addresses (or mobile numbers or any other field you've set as a unique field) in your current list with the file you're importing. Any new contacts will be added immediately while existing contacts will be checked for differences. If new data is found (a different name, birthdate, etc.), the contact's information in E-goi will be updated accordingly.
Tagging the contacts you import
If you'd like to tag all contacts you're about to upload so they are segmented on import, simply follow the usual import steps with one difference: in the last step, just before beginning import, be sure to click Tag the contacts I'm importing and choose (or create) the tag you want to assign to these contacts. You can then proceed with your import as usual.
Importing contacts in multiple languages
Ensure the database file you'll be importing has a column labelled "language" with our language codes for each contact. Then simply match that column to E-goi's Contact language field during your import. You can use these codes:en = English
fr = French
de = German
es = Spanish
pt = European Portuguese
br = Brazilian Portuguese
Creating an importing template
Use templates to save time and reduce the risk of making mistakes every time you import contacts under specific settings.
1) Start importing your contact file as usual. Once you reach the last step, select all your options, then enter a name in Template for importing and hit Save these settings as a template. You can now finish your import, if you want to.
2) Finally, every time you want to import contacts using the options saved in the template, open the Advanced options after choosing the file in the first step of the import. Choose the Template for this import and go to the next step. The template settings will be come up automatically to finish the import.
Updating your mailing list with a database file off your site
If you keep your database file in your own site (web or FTP server) and regularly update its content, you can have E-goi automatically fetch it and update your list as well:
1) You'll need to import your file manually at least once. Make sure to import a database file which has the exact same name and column structure as the file in your web server! Then proceed as usual all the way to the last step and click the Enable recurrent import option.
2) The settings will come up. Under URL for importing contacts enter the full URL of your database file (including the database filename). Now choose how often E-goi will fetch the file (daily, weekly, etc.).
3) Be sure to tick the I am updating my database option and then click Begin import.
Done! E-goi will import the file and update your list with any new data it contains. From then on, the whole thing will be automated on the schedule you've set.