In this article, you will learn how to add and update contacts in Rule. With our import tool, you can easily manage your members—either by uploading a file or copying and pasting fields directly into the tool. If you want to import data from another system, check out our integration guides here.

Subscribers with Rule Free can import 250 active members and send a total of 1,000 emails per month.

If you want to update existing members with new information, simply follow the same steps.

Before you start

• We recommend using a program like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, and saving the document as a CSV or XSL file.
• When adding languages and phone numbers to your file, they must be in the correct format for proper import.
• Avoid unnecessary characters or filters in the file that might complicate the import process.
• Create the member field attributes (e.g., first name, postal code) before the import via the 'Members' tab and 'Groups and Member Fields'. Learn more about member fields here.
• When importing members to Rule, any duplicate email addresses will be automatically removed.

How Should the File Look?

To ensure both readability and simplicity during the file import, it’s important that member data is imported in the correct format and with accurate spelling. Examples of such data include email address, phone number, and language.

Below is an example of a file import with the most common fields, including correct formatting, country code for phone numbers, and ISO code for languages.

For individual recipients, you can import the members manually. Please double-check that you enter the members in the same way as shown in the example below.

Multiple Choices

For cases where member fields can contain multiple parameters, there is the option to import multiple choice options. This is especially useful for filtering, such as based on interests. To keep communication relevant, it’s important to capture these variations.

In the file you import, create a separate column with a name that matches the member field for multiple choices. For each member, you can then add multiple selections by separating them with the "|" symbol. Example: "pants | sweater | shorts |".

Start the Import

1. Click on "Subscribers" to the left
2. Then "Import subscribers"
3. You can then choose between two options: either Upload File or Copy and Paste.
4. To continue, click on the next step in the top-right corner.

Tags and Preferences

1. Choose a tag or tags. If you're unsure what a tag is in Rule, you can read more about it here. If you don't have a tag yet, you can create one in this step. Enter a suitable name for the tag you want your members to be assigned to, and click the "+" that appears on the right.
2. If you have preferences set up already, you can enable them here when importing your new members. If you want to learn more about preferences, you can read more here!
3. Then click on "Next Step" in the top-right corner.

Match Custom Fields

Now we will match the columns from your file to custom fields in Rule.

1. This is what it looks like when you match "Email" with the email addresses.
2. When it is not matched automatically, it will say "Do not import this data." Click the dropdown menu to match the correct member field.

If you don not have custom fields to match the data to, we will show you below how to create your own!

In the final step, you will have the option to block members from "Campaigns" and "SMS" sends. If you don't want to do that, click on "Finish Import."

Import results

1. New subscribers– This shows the number of new email addresses that have been imported.
2. Duplicates – Duplicates refer to the number of duplicate email addresses found in the imported file.
3. Failed – Failed refers to columns in the imported file that had no value/content.
4. Partially Failed – Partially failed shows the number of columns from your file that are missing content. For example, an email address may be included, but some other member fields, such as phone numbers, are missing.