Importing Subscribers

In Texta you can import your subscribers in several different ways in bulk.

• Import using CSV file

Note: When importing subscribers via CSV please make sure that mobile numbers either start with the international code (eg. 6421 for NZ) or have a 0 in front (eg. 021). If you have created your CSV file in Microsoft Excel it is likely that Excel has stripped out all the zeros from the front of your numbers. To stop the zeros being stripped out by Excel you can change the cell format to text or strings.

Import subscribers using CSV files

A comma-separated values (CSV) file is used for the digital storage of data structured in a table of lists form, where each associated item (member) in a group is in association with others also separated by the commas of its set. Each line in the CSV file corresponds to a row in the table. Within a line, fields are separated by commas, each field belonging to one table column. Since it is a common and simple file format, CSV files are often used for moving tabular data between two different computer programs, for example between a database program and a spreadsheet program.

If you have an excel spreadsheet with the following columns

When this excel file is saved as a CSV file, if you view it (using Notepad or Text Edit) then the data will look something link this

“James”,”Brown”,”0212453786″
“Sally”,”Taylor”,”02743468999″

Once you have a CSV file, you can import it in the “Import from CSV” section.

After your file has been uploaded to our server (happens in the background) you will be asked to verify whether or not the very first row of your CSV file contained actual data or the names of the columns in your CSV file.

Once you verify this, you will be given the opportunity to map the columns in your file with the columns in the mailing list.

On the left hand side you will see the columns in the mailing list and on the right hand side will be the drop down box enlisting all column headers extracted from the CSV file you just imported.

Once you have mapped all the fields, click on the “continue” button to complete the process.

After the import is complete, your list will go through our standard post import process during which time it will be locked and unavailable for use in a campaign.

Post Import Process

After importing contacts into a list, each list is put through a set of processes to ensure the list is clean and good for use in a campaign. The following is a breakdown of the individual processes the list is put through.

List Cleaning

Post import, every list goes through Texta’s built in cleaning process which is the second generation of the Predictive Bounce back Handler you may have encountered in our Texta Product. During this process Texta will automatically delete any blank records and flag duplicate mobile numbers for you to review.

Texta will do it’s best to check that you have entered a valid mobile number. Your mobile numbers should be in the 021, 027 format. Internationally prefixed numbers 6421??? will also work.

Duplicate Checking

When importing records, Texta will check for duplicates using the mobile numbers as the unique identifier.

If duplicates are found the list is automatically locked down with a red flag until you manually decide what you wish to do with the duplicate records.

You can process duplicate records in one of two ways.

You can either tell Texta to keep only one instance of the record and delete all others with no bias toward any one occurrence of the record.

or

You can merge the duplicate records based on certain criterion being met.

When merging duplicate records you will be asked to select one of the instances of the duplicate records to be a master. All other instances of the duplicate record are then merged into the master.