Merge Multiple Lists

Details

While lists cannot automatically be merged by our platform, the easiest way to combine multiple lists into one is typically to download each list, then re-upload them into one new main / master list in our product - or use a spreadsheet application to combine them. Doing so will also conveniently allow the platform to filter out any duplicates (at the time of import), too.

Process

In this guide, we'll cover the process illustrated below. First, we'll download all of your separate lists, add a new identifying field to each one, then re-upload them all back into our platform (into your new single / master list).

The reason we're adding a new identifying field is so that you can easily locate people who come from a specific source list. That way, if you want to send a newsletter to those contacts that came from your eNews list, you'll still be able to find them. Without this extra column / field, you'll never be able to know which contacts originally came from what list prior to the merge.

Alternative Solutions

We also have an Email Preferences function which might be of interest. Preferences can be assigned at the time of import and can (optionally) be presented to the contact so that they can opt in and out of certain types of communications that you might send.

Rather than following the process in this guide (below) of adding a new column as an identifying field prior to re-importing your contacts into a consolidated list, you could use Email Preferences instead.

Email Preferences

Things To Consider

• As part of the merge process, our instructions below will step you through importing your new lists back into the system. As you're technically adding more contacts (even if just temporary), this may cause your pricing tier to change, as these new contacts may push the account to the next level (though you'll be prompted first).
• If you don't want this to occur, you'll need to remove the contacts / lists (after downloading) prior to re-importing them back into the system.
• Deleting a list will also delete any contacts (and contact data, including statistics for each contact) associated with that list, as well as any forms associated with that list.
• Deleting contacts will also delete their reporting data.
• If a contact has previously unsubscribed from your list, they will be blocked from being re-imported in future and as part of this process ...so you don't have to worry about accidentally emailing them again.
  Managing Unsubscribers

How-to Guide

Part 1: Download & Prepare Your Lists

1. Navigate to Lists and Forms in the sidebar. Your lists will now be displayed.
2. Locate the first of the lists you'd like to download and add into your new main / master list. Click the ellipsis (...) over on the right and select Download. The list will now download; save it in a safe place.
   
3. Repeat Step 2 for all remaining lists that you need to download.
4. Open the first list in a spreadsheet application such as Google Sheets of Microsoft Office Excel.
5. There will likely be a number of system fields in this file (as shown below); delete these as you won't need them for the re-import. Just keep the fields with your relevant contact data in them.
   
6. Next, add a new column to the end of your spreadsheet.
7. In the column header (first) row, enter the name of the source list - this will help you identify (find) this group of contacts once they're eventually mixed together with all of the contacts from your other lists. In the case of our example, the contacts came from our XYZ Customers list, so we'll call the new column heading 'XYZ Customer'.
8. Next, set the value in this column to 'Yes' for all contacts in your spreadsheet (as shown). Again, this will help us find them later on, once they're mixed together with everyone else in our master list.
   
9. Save the spreadsheet.
10. Repeat steps 5 - 9 for each spreadsheet you downloaded. The only difference would be making sure you use a different column (in Step 7) for each source list.

Part 2: Re-Import Your Contacts

Before starting part 2, be sure to review some of the notes in the "Things To Consider" section at the top of this guide first!

With your lists all edited & saved, it's time to import them all back into the platform in a single list.

1. Select Lists and Forms from the sidebar.
2. Click Import Contacts.
3. Select the Upload a file import method. In the list section, choose the Add new option and give your new list a name.
   Using a name like 'Master list' or 'Main list' might be good!
4. Click Browse and locate the first of your edited spreadsheet files to import (from Part 1 of this guide).
5. Click Next. After analysing your file, you'll see a preview of some of your contacts on the screen - with a column to match each of your spreadsheet columns. If our system hasn't realised that your first row is a header row & is trying to import the headings as contact data (like in our first screenshot below), you can fix this by clicking Settings, then ticking the File includes header rows option (as shown in the second screenshot below).
   
   
6. Ensure each of the grey column headings is showing the correct column (field) name, then click Finish importing.
   If any of the headings are incorrect, you can click on the grey heading and rename / edit them (or even skip them entirely if desired).
7. If you have more spreadsheets to add to this new main / master list, click Import more (as shown below). For this guide, we'll assume you have at least one more to do.
   
8. You'll now be taken back to the import dialog. Select your second spreadsheet and click Next.
   Although it should already be selected, make sure the list you're importing into is your newly-created main or master list (ie. the same one you imported into a few moments ago; as shown)
9. Click Next.
10. You will once again be shown a preview of some of your new contacts on the screen - with a column to match each of your spreadsheet columns. It's likely that some of your fields (the grey column headings) matched to existing fields, but any new fields will be skipped by default, as shown below.
    
    We DO want to import this skipped field, so click on the grey column heading and create a new field for this column, as shown below.
    
11. Click Save. Repeat this process for any other columns that are being skipped (unless you really do want to skip them & not import that column of data).
12. Once all of your columns are correctly mapped to a field, click Finish importing. If you have more spreadsheets to add to this new main / master list, repeat this import process for the remaining spreadsheets.

Viewing Your New List & Its Fields

1. Select Contacts from the sidebar.
2. Use the dropdowns at the top to locate your new main / master list. The contacts on this list will now be shown.
3. If fields you've imported seem to be missing, click the Table Settings (small ⚙️) icon towards the top-right of the table and tick the fields you'd like to display in the main contacts view.
4. Click Apply. The fields will now be shown.

Locating Certain Contacts

Earlier, you'll remember that we created a special extra column for each our spreadsheets ("XYZ Customer" & "eNews list", in the case of our example) and we put the value 'Yes' into these fields for each of our contacts.

This makes it easy to locate and send to certain groups (or segments) of contacts. This is achieved using the Advanced selection tool on the email send screen (as shown).

When you're ready to send to a segment of contacts, see Send To Segmented Contacts or Contacts With Email Preferences

Further Reading

For more tips & tricks on database maintenance & list cleaning, see List & Database Maintenance Tips.