Audience
By Maildesk Team ·
Import Subscribers from a CSV
Bring your existing list into Maildesk with the CSV importer — including column mapping and custom fields.
Moving from another platform, or have a list in a spreadsheet? The CSV importer gets your subscribers into Maildesk in a couple of minutes.
Before you start
- Export your list as a
.csvfile. Every other email platform can export contacts as CSV. - Make sure it has an email column — that’s the only required field.
- Only import people who have explicitly agreed to receive email from you. Importing scraped or purchased lists tanks your deliverability and violates the consent confirmation you’ll make during import.
Not sure about the format? Click Download Example on the import page to grab a sample CSV.
Step 1: Upload your file
- Go to Subscribers and click through to the add-contacts page.
- On the Import CSV tab, tick the consent checkbox: “I confirm that all contacts in this CSV have explicitly granted consent to receive emails from us.”
- Drag your CSV into the dropzone, or click it to browse.
Step 2: Map your columns
Maildesk previews your file and opens the Map CSV columns modal. For each column in your CSV, choose what it maps to:
- A built-in field — Email, First Name, Last Name, Phone Number, Birthday
- Skip this column — the data is ignored
- + Create new custom field — type a label and Maildesk creates the field on the spot
Two rules to know:
- Email is required and can only be mapped to one column.
- Custom fields you create here become available everywhere — as
{{customFields.yourField}}merge tags and as trigger conditions in automations. The CSV importer is currently the place to create custom fields, so if you need one, this is where it happens.
Step 3: Confirm the import
Click confirm and Maildesk imports the file. You’ll see a toast like “120 subscribers imported successfully” and land back on your subscriber list.
Understanding subscriber statuses
Every subscriber has one of these statuses, and you can filter your list by them:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Confirmed | Has confirmed they want your emails — receives campaigns and automations |
| UnConfirmed | Added but hasn’t confirmed via double opt-in yet |
| UnSubscribed | Opted out — Maildesk will not email them |
Statuses only move one way: an unsubscribed contact can’t be flipped back to confirmed by an import.
Adding a single subscriber manually
For one-off additions, use the Manual tab on the same page — fill in the contact’s details and save. You can then open the subscriber’s detail page to set their first name, last name, and tags.
Next: Organize your subscribers with tags so you can target the right people.
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