Supported Contact List Format

Before sending emails with Benchmark, you must upload your contact list. Your file needs to be in the right format and contain the required fields to ensure a smooth import.

Topics covered in this article:

How to format your list
How to create a CSV file.

BEFORE GETTING STARTED

To avoid import errors and ensure your list is accepted, make sure your file meets the following requirements:

File format: Only CSV files encoded in UTF-8 are supported. Files in other formats or encodings will be rejected.
File size: Your contact file must be 100 MB or smaller.
Column headers: The first row must include labeled fields (e.g., Email, First Name). If headers are missing, the import will fail.
Tags (optional): If you're including tags, you can either:
- List multiple tags in a single cell, separated by commas
- Or place each tag in its own column

How to format your list:

Include an Email field: This is required. Without it, we can’t import your contacts.
Use column headers in the first row: These define your fields (e.g., Email, First Name, Last Name).
Start your data on the second row: The contact info should begin directly under the header row.

For example, a CSV File with a contact list of 10 people and four fields, Email, First Name, Last Name, and Tag, might look like this:

How to create a .CSV or .XLS file:

Open your spreadsheet.
Go to the File menu (or Settings, depending on the app).
Choose Download or Save As.
Select CSV (.csv) as the file type.
Save the file to your computer.

Once your file is saved, you can import your contact list to Benchmark. In the example above, we used Google Sheets to create and export a CSV file using the steps above.