[intro] When you have completed this Guide, you will have successfully created a spreadsheet to upload the details of any customers who have subscribed to your email newsletters in person, at a workshop, seminar or event. [/intro]

[summary]

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If you aim to regularly collect customers’ details to add them to your email newsletter mailing list, it’s worth taking their details on the spot at events, workshops and seminars to then upload to your EKM Email Marketing account using a spreadsheet at a later date.

Creating your Spreadsheet

To upload Contacts using a spreadsheet, you need to ensure that the spreadsheet is formatted correctly. EKM Email Marketing supports any CSV file that contains a header which identifies the columns within the document. The header is just a single line at the top of the document which looks something like:

The headers used in this example are:

  • Email = This is essential - as you can’t email the customer without it!
  • FirstName, LastName = These headers too are essential, so you can add a tag to your email greeting the customer by name to add a personal touch.
  • Address1, Address2, TownCity, County, Postcode = These headers are optional; whilst you don’t need to know the postal address of the customer, this information is sometimes useful to have - especially if you want to wow your customers by sending Christmas cards through the post, for example.

EKM Email Marketing needs to have a minimum of the Email, FirstName, and LastName headers (in that order) on a spreadsheet for the details to be added to a Group. Anything less than these basic three and it simply will not work.

The other headers that you can use are:

  1. Address1
  2. Address2
  3. TownCity
  4. County
  5. Postcode
  6. TelephoneNumber

Whilst these headers are not needed to create Contacts on EKM Email Marketing (as the platform does not require this information in order to send email campaigns), the details are still saved against your customer’s contact details which can be useful. You can also use Custom Headers. These allow you to add specific attributes to your Contacts, which can help you with promotions and market research at a later date. These headers are very easy to remember:

  • Custom1
  • Custom2
  • Custom3
  • Custom4
  • Custom5
  • Custom6
  • Custom7
  • Custom8
  • Custom9
  • Custom10
  • Custom11
  • Custom12
  • Custom13
  • Custom14
  • Custom15
  • Custom16
  • Custom17
  • Custom18
  • Custom19
  • Custom20

You can use Custom Headers to catalogue different attributes for each customer, such as:

  • Custom1 = The URL of their website if they have one;
  • Custom2 = Where they signed up for the newsletter (name and date of workshop, seminar, etc.);
  • Custom3 = Individual discount codes (which can be set up for the customers in the Discount Management feature);
  • Custom4 = The Customer’s company name (if applicable).

Remember that Custom Headers are optional and you will need to add these to a spreadsheet in order for them to work - with that in mind, keep the Custom Headers to a minimum so you don’t unintentionally make hard work for yourself!

[remember] Save your spreadsheet as a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file so you can easily upload this into your EKM Email Marketing account. [/remember]

Uploading your Spreadsheet

1. From the Dashboard, click the Contacts tab:

You will need to create a Group to upload your Contacts into. If you have already done this, click the Group you would like to upload your Contacts to and skip to step 4. To create a Group, click Create Group in the top right-hand corner:

2. This will open a window, with fields for you to add a name and description to your Group:

3. Complete these fields, and then click the green Create Group button:

4. You’ll then see your new Group displayed as an empty page. To add Contacts, click Import Contacts:

5. Click Import for Import File on the right-hand side:

6. Select your file within the File Explorer window and click Open. You’ll then see the file listed on EKM Email Marketing. Click the green Begin Import button:

7. You’ll then see this window appear:

8. You need to make sure you have obtained consent from the people whose email addresses are listed on your spreadsheet - this is essential. To not obtain consent is against GDPR legislation which you can read more about by clicking here. If you have previously obtained consent, click the green button:

9. When the system has uploaded these contacts for you, you’ll then see this message:

10. You’ll then be able to view those Contacts by clicking Contact Groups:

11. Then you need to click the Contact Group you’ve uploaded the Contacts into:

12. You’ll then see all of those Contacts listed:

You will then be able to send this group of Contacts Email Newsletters in the future.

[more]

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[contact] If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert or the Customer Support Team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. We're open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-5.30pm weekends. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. If you have a non-account-specific question to ask the EKM Team, join us in the EKM Community. [/contact]