PlugPress
Import Subscribers into Mailpuff from a CSV, Mailchimp or Another Plugin
Import subscribers from a CSV file, Mailchimp's export zip, Kit, beehiiv, Substack or a plugin on your site. Match columns, add tags to everyone or from a column, use rules, and choose statuses.
To import subscribers into Mailpuff, go to Mailpuff, Subscribers, Import, drop in a CSV file (or the zip Mailchimp sends), check how the columns are matched, pick the tags everyone should get, and click Import. Exports from Mailchimp, Kit, beehiiv, Substack, MailerLite, FluentCRM and Groundhogg are recognised and matched for you. An import sends no email.
Which files can I import?
- Any CSV file with an email column. Mailpuff finds the separator itself, so comma and semicolon files both work. Every other column is optional.
- Mailchimp’s audience export zip. Drop the whole zip. Subscribed, unsubscribed and cleaned people come in together, and the ones who left come in as unsubscribed or bounced, so they are never emailed.
- Exports from other newsletter tools. Mailchimp, Kit, beehiiv, Substack, MailerLite, FluentCRM and Groundhogg files are recognised by their columns. Mailpuff matches the columns and reads each service’s own status words.
Moving from a plugin on the same WordPress site? MailPoet, The Newsletter Plugin, FluentCRM and Groundhogg show under the drop zone with an Import button. See importing from another plugin below.
How do I import a CSV file?
- Go to Mailpuff → Subscribers and click Import, or use Create → Import subscribers at the top of any Mailpuff page.
- Drop your file on the page, or click Choose a file.
- Under Columns, check what each column is matched to. Set any column you don’t want to Skip. To keep a column such as Company, add it as a New custom field and match it.
- Under Tags, add the tags everyone in the file should get.
- Under Settings, choose the status for new people and what happens to people already on your list.
- Read Before you import, then click Import.
The import runs in the background and the page shows its progress. You can leave the page while it runs.
How do I add tags while importing?
Mailpuff can tag people in three ways, and you can use them together:
| Way | Who gets the tag | How |
|---|---|---|
| Add to everyone | Everyone in the file, including people already on your list | Click Add tag and pick tags, or New tag to make one |
| A tags column | Each person gets the tags in their own row | A column named Tags, Lists or Groups is matched to Tags for you. Separate several tags with commas, semicolons or a | |
| Rules | Only the rows that match | Click Add rule, for example “Country equals UK, add to tag UK customers” |
A tag name from the file that you don’t have yet becomes a new tag. The Tags section shows the names it found and how many are new, and Before you import counts every tag the import gives.
Rules can also set a row’s status or source. They work with equals, does not equal, contains, is empty, is not empty and is greater than, and run top to bottom for every row.
Which status do imported people get?
A row with its own status, such as a Mailchimp or Kit export, keeps it. For rows without one, choose under Status for new people:
| Status | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Subscribed | People who agreed to get your email, such as your list from another newsletter tool |
| Pending | People who still need to confirm. They get no campaigns until they do |
| Not subscribed | Contacts you want to keep, such as customers, who did not ask for your newsletter |
| Unsubscribed | People who asked to stop. Mailpuff never emails them |
Only import people who agreed to hear from you. Each subscriber keeps a record of how and when they joined.
What happens to people already on my list?
Choose under People already on your list:
- Keep their details leaves their names and fields as they are.
- Update them takes the values from your file.
Either way they get the tags. An import never subscribes anyone again who unsubscribed, bounced or marked your email as spam. If your file says someone unsubscribed or bounced, that applies, even to people already on your list.
What does “Skip unusable addresses” do?
It leaves out addresses that can’t receive email or look made up: localhost and example addresses, addresses without a real domain, and throwaway inboxes. It’s on by default. Before you import shows how many it skips, along with duplicate rows and invalid addresses.
How do I import from MailPoet, FluentCRM or another plugin?
If MailPoet, The Newsletter Plugin, FluentCRM or Groundhogg is on the same site, it shows on the import page with how many people it has. Click Import. Mailpuff first shows what each person will become, then brings their lists and tags over as tags and their fields as fields. The other plugin stays as it is.
Can an AI agent import subscribers?
Yes. An agent connected to Mailpuff can add up to 500 people per call with the import-contacts tool, with tags. As subscribed, it must say how they agreed to get your email. As pending, each new person gets a confirmation email first, which needs your AI agents can send campaigns switch. An agent can also run an import from another plugin and tell you how it is going. See the MCP tools reference.
FAQ
Does an import send a welcome email?
No. An import from a file or another plugin sends no email at all: no confirmation, no welcome and no tag welcome email.
Why does “Import” say 0 subscribers?
Mailpuff found nobody it can import. Check that one column is matched to Email, then look at Before you import: the addresses may all be invalid, unusable or already unsubscribed.
Can I undo an import?
Not in one step. If you tagged the import with a tag of its own, open that tag in Subscribers, select everyone and delete them or change them.
How do I export my subscribers?
On the Subscribers page, show all subscribers, a tag or a segment, then click Export CSV under the list. It exports exactly the list you see.