How to subscribe contacts to a campaign when importing a contact list

📅 Last updated: June 2026

⏱ 6 min read

✅ Campaign import

In this article, you will learn how to subscribe contacts to a campaign when importing a contact list in SystemeScale.

This is useful when you are importing contacts and want them to enter a specific campaign immediately, or when you are moving contacts from a previous email system and need to preserve their campaign progress.

What you need before you start

A campaign created in SystemeScale
A CSV file containing the contact list to be imported
An email address field in the import file

⚠️

Only import contacts with permission

Only import and subscribe contacts who gave explicit consent to receive your emails.

📄

Need the basic import guide?

If you have not imported contacts before, start with the general import/export guide.

Read Import Guide →

Step 1: Choose the campaign

When importing your contact list, open the Campaign (optional) dropdown menu and select the campaign you want the imported contacts to join.

After choosing the campaign, click Next.

Start the contact import

Go to CRM → Contacts, then begin the contact import process.

Open the Campaign dropdown

Find the Campaign (optional) dropdown menu during the import setup.

Select the campaign

Choose the campaign you want the imported contacts to be subscribed to.

Continue the import

Click Next to continue to column mapping.

Step 2: Choose the column type

The import file must contain an email address field.

In the column-mapping dropdown, select the Email column so SystemeScale knows which column contains each contact’s email address.

Find the email column

Locate the column in your CSV file that contains the contacts’ email addresses.

Map it as Email

In the dropdown for that column, select Email.

📧

Email column is required

The import cannot correctly create or update contacts unless the email address column is mapped properly.

Map campaign progress fields

If your CSV file contains campaign progress data from a previous system, map the two additional campaign fields.

For the campaign step number from your previous system, select Select last sent email number column.
For the date the contact received the last email, select Select last sent email date column.

Map the last sent email number

Select Select last sent email number column for the column that contains the previous campaign step number.

Map the last sent email date

Select Select last sent email date column for the column that contains the date the contact last received a campaign email.

🔁

Use these fields when migrating campaign progress

These fields help SystemeScale understand where contacts should continue from when you are importing contacts from another system.

Import the contacts

After mapping the Email column and any campaign progress columns, click Import.

SystemeScale will import the contacts and subscribe them to the campaign you selected during the import setup.

Review the mapping

Check that the Email column and campaign fields are mapped correctly.

Click Import

Click Import to complete the import and campaign subscription process.

When should you map the last sent email fields?

Map the last sent email number and date fields when you are migrating contacts from another system and want them to continue from the correct point in the campaign.

If you are importing fresh contacts who should start from the beginning of the campaign, you may not need to map previous campaign progress fields.

✅

Use the right campaign position

If contacts already received some emails in another system, mapping their last sent email number and date helps avoid restarting them incorrectly.

Best practices

Confirm that the campaign is created before importing contacts.
Make sure your CSV file includes an email address column.
Map the Email column carefully.
Use last sent email number/date fields only when migrating campaign progress.
Only subscribe contacts who gave permission to receive your emails.
Test with a small import first if you are migrating a large or sensitive list.

Related contact and campaign guides

Use the related guides below if you need to import or export contacts, create a campaign, create tags, or understand contact management before importing.

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📄Contacts & CRM help articles→📄How to import or export a contact list→📄How to create an email campaign→📄How to create a tag→📄How to automatically and manually add tags to your contacts→📄How to add a contact manually→