How to import contacts in Webmecanik Automation ?

In order to grow your database, Webmecanik Automation allows you to import contacts directly from the interface.

You can import your contacts with a CSV UTF-8 file, you can choose what contacts' data to import (example: email, first name, address, company etc.).

How to import contacts via CSV?

To import contacts into your Webmecanik Automation instance, you need to create a CSV file. Two CSV file formats are accepted:

• CSV files with a semicolon separator.
• Comma separated CSV files.

Please note: the first line of the file must match the column names.

The CSV file must be encoded in UTF-8. You can find more details in this article: What format should my CSV file have?

Importing your CSV file into Automation

Once your CSV file is created, log into your Webmecanik Automation instance.

Go to the contacts section by clicking on "Contacts" then click on the small arrow on the right and on "Import".

Choose the file to import

The Limit field indicates the number of contacts imported per wave (100 by 100 by default). It is not necessary to change it.

The separator should be modified according to your CSV file. If it is a comma separated CSV file, you can leave the character "," . If it is a comma separated CSV file, you will need to change it to the ";" character.

The enclosure (optional) is what surrounds each value in each cell. It is usually 2 quotes on each side of the field value. Usually you don't need to change it.

Escape allows you to define how special characters are escaped in the CSV file. Usually you do not need to change this.

Once you have selected your file and set your separator, click the Upload button.

Mapping your contact fields  

This next step is the field mapping. The aim is to link each column in your file to a contact field. 

As a reminder, you can create your custom contact fields directly in your Automation instance using this guide.

The mapping automatically detects the columns in your file. To match a contact field with the column in the file, click on the drop-down list and choose the correct contact field.

Tip: If the name of your columns matches the alias of the custom fields in Webmecanik Automation, the mapping will be done automatically. To see the alias of the fields, go to the Custom fields section.

IMPORTANT: the email must be added in the mapping because it is the unique identifier. This allows contacts to be merged if they already exist in the database rather than creating duplicate contacts.

• When mapping, there is also the possibility of adding contacts directly into a segment. You can also add one or more tags and a contact owner.
• Don't overwrite value if already exists: allows you to overwrite the values already contained in your contact fields with those in your CSV file. If you want to keep the values of your contact records, choose YES.
• Overwrite with blank value: allows you to overwrite the values already contained in your contact fields if no value is present in your CSV file. If you want to keep the values of your contact records, choose NO.

Launching your import

Once the mapping has been done, all you have to do is launch the import.

You will find 2 different ways to launch an import:

• Import from the browser: the import will be done directly in the browser window. You will then see a loading bar. Be careful, you must not close the window before the end of the import. Not recommended if your file contains a lot of contacts (over 1000).
• Import in the background: the import is done in the background, you can disconnect if necessary and the import will continue.

Once the import from the browser is complete, you will be able to see the number of imported, merged (contacts already in the instance) and ignored (invalid email) contacts.

If the import is done in the background, you will be redirected to the import history page.

You will also find your other imports in progress. If an import is missing, it is normal, it is done through the recurring tasks (CRONS).

As there is no notification when an import is finished, you will have to go back to the history page to see the progress of the import.

Go to the Contacts section, click again on the little arrow as if you were doing an import and click on Import History.

Congratulations, your contacts are now imported and ready to be used! 🚀