{"id":2028,"date":"2026-02-17T12:57:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heyloyalty.com\/support\/help\/importing-and-exporting-contacts\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T08:39:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T06:39:28","slug":"importing-and-exporting-contacts","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/guides.heyloyalty.com\/en\/help\/importing-and-exporting-contacts\/","title":{"rendered":"Importing and exporting contacts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why import and export contacts? 
<\/strong>
There are several reasons why your contacts may not have been automatically added to your list in Heyloyalty. The reason is minor, but nevertheless, it makes sense to make sure that all your contacts end up in Heyloyalty.   

Similarly, there may be situations where you need to enrich your contacts or otherwise need them in another system.  

Below, we walk you through the process of importing contacts to\/from Heyloyalty, including potential pitfalls you should avoid. <\/p>\n\n

Import contacts <\/h2>\n\n

When importing contacts into Heyloyalty, first of all, make sure you have the contacts in a .csv file. The actual delimeter is not important, but make sure the file format is .csv. A delimiter is the character used to divide the information in the file and is very often either a comma (,) or semicolon (;). <\/p>\n\n

To import the contacts, go to the list you want to import them into by clicking Lists<\/strong> –> select the relevant list<\/em><\/strong>–> Import\/Export<\/strong>–> Import members<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

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Then click Choose file<\/strong> and locate the file on your computer before clicking Import members to.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

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Now choose the import type<\/strong>, i.e. whether you want to: <\/p>\n\n

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  1. Create new contacts and therefore ignore the contacts in the file that are already on your list <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Update existing contacts. This means no new contacts will be created on the list even if there are new contacts in the file you\u2019re importing <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Create or update contacts.<\/strong> Here, new contacts will be created and the contacts you already have in the list will be updated with data from the file you import <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
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        Then choose the field that should identify the members. It should be a field that is unique to each contact, which is why you\u2019ll often choose either email or mobile number here. <\/p>\n\n

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        Now decide if you want to send automations <\/strong>to the contacts you create with this import. There is no right or wrong answer here, but read the help text and decide whether to send something or not. <\/p>\n\n

        The same applies to import previously unsubscribed contacts<\/strong>. However, the default here is to re-import the contacts. <\/p>\n\n

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        For delimeter <\/strong>, select the character that divides the columns in your file. Unless you have deliberately edited your import file, you will often need to choose a semicolon here. <\/p>\n\n

        You\u2019ll know you\u2019ve chosen the right delimiter when, further down the page, you get a row for each column in your import file: <\/p>\n\n

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        This row of fields is also the final step in your contact import. <\/p>\n\n

        Here you select which data fields from the file that the import function should deal with. Then from firstname <\/strong>you choose to change the dropdown from Disregard <\/strong>to Firstname<\/strong>. This way you map the data fields from the file with fields in your list in Heyloyalty. <\/p>\n\n

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        When all the desired fields have been mapped, click Import members<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

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        Wait a moment and click on the Lists<\/strong> menu item. You can now see that more contacts have been added to your list and\/or that the contacts have been updated with data from your import file. <\/p>\n\n

        Export contacts <\/h2>\n\n

        To export your contacts, click on the list you want to export the contacts from and then select Import\/Export <\/strong>–> Export members.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

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        Now wait a few moments and refresh the page. Once the contacts have been exported, you will be able to download the file by clicking on the file in question under Previous Exports, which you can find by clicking Import\/Export. <\/p>\n\n

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