Overview
Use Bulk Upload to add many contacts at once — with their names, companies, and other details — from a CSV file. It's the fastest way to bring in contacts you keep in a spreadsheet or export from another system, or to update details for many existing contacts at once. Importing contacts doesn't send them anything.
Who this applies to: All users with access to Contacts
Plan requirement: Pro, Enterprise
Contacts isn't included on the Essentials plan.
Known Limitations
- You can upload only .csv files. Excel files (such as .xls) aren't accepted — save or download your sheet as a CSV file first.
- The consent status and lists you choose apply to every contact in the file, including contacts you already have.
- BombBomb doesn't tell you which rows were skipped.
Preparing Your CSV File
Put one header row at the top of your file and one contact per row below it.
- Email address — the only required column. Each row needs a valid email address; rows without one aren't imported.
- Other details — optional. You can import First Name, Last Name, Phone Number, Organization, Job Title, Company Address, Address Line 2, City, State, Postal Code, and Country. If your account has custom contact fields, you can import into those too.
- Extra columns — fine to leave in. You choose which columns to import when you map fields, and you can skip the rest.
Not sure how to set up your file? Click Download csv template in the Bulk Upload Contacts panel to get a CSV file with just a header row of BombBomb's contact columns, then fill in your contacts below it.
We recommend naming your column headers after the BombBomb fields — for example, Email Address, First Name, and Phone Number. When a header matches a field name, BombBomb maps that column for you. Capitalization, spaces and punctuation don't matter, so email address and Email-Address both match.
Importing Your Contacts
- Click Contacts in the left navigation.
- Click Add Contacts in the top-right corner, then click Bulk Upload.
- Drag and drop your CSV file onto the upload area, or click the upload area and choose the file.
- The file name appears in place of the upload area. To use a different file, click the X next to the file name.
- To add the contacts to lists, click the search box under Add uploaded contacts to Lists and select up to 10 lists.
- To create a new list, type its name and click Create list "<name>".
- If you don't select a list, the contacts are added to All Contacts only.
- Check Consent Status. It's set to Implied by default. To change it, click Change and choose Implied Permission or Express Permission.
🗣️ Note: This consent status replaces the current consent status of any contacts in your file that you already have.
- Click Continue.
- In Map Fields, check each row. From CSV File shows your column header, Sample Data shows a value from your file, and Map to Field shows the BombBomb field the column will fill.
- Map your email column to Email Address. You can't import until you do.
- To fill another field, choose it from the Map to Field menu. Each field can be used for only one column.
- To skip a column, choose Select field.
- Click Import.
- When you see Contacts imported, click Done.
Your contacts now appear in All Contacts and in any lists you selected.
For what Implied and Express Permission mean, see How to Add Contacts.
Updating Contacts You Already Have
If an email address in your file is already one of your contacts, BombBomb doesn't create a duplicate. Instead, it updates that contact:
- Mapped fields are replaced with the values in your file — for example, a new first name.
- Empty cells clear the field. If a mapped column is blank for a contact, the contact's existing value for that field is removed.
- Consent status is replaced with the one you chose in the Bulk Upload Contacts panel.
- Lists you selected are added to the contact.
To update only some details, map just the columns you want to change and set the others to Select field. Fields you don't map — and fields your file doesn't include — stay as they are.
Importing Near or Over Your Contact Limit
Before a large import, check the contacts remaining counter at the top left of the Contacts page.
BombBomb doesn't warn you or stop the import when you're at or over your limit. Every contact in the file is still added, but contacts over your plan's limit are marked Oversubscribed: they're kept in your contacts and lists, but they won't receive your emails.
See Understanding Contacts in the New BombBomb for how your contact limit is counted.
Troubleshooting: My Import Didn't Work as Expected
"Please upload a CSV file." The file you chose isn't a .csv file — for example, an Excel file. Save it as a CSV file, then upload it again.
I can't click Import. No column is mapped to Email Address. Choose Email Address in the Map to Field menu for your email column.
Some contacts are missing after the import. Rows without a valid email address are skipped, and Contacts imported still appears. Check those rows in your file, fix the addresses, and import the file again — contacts that were already imported are updated, not duplicated.
⚠️ Re-importing updates the contacts already in your file. Any empty cell in a mapped column erases that contact's existing detail, and the consent status you choose replaces their current one. Before you import again, fill in or unmap (Select field) any column you don't want to change.
Some contact details disappeared after the import. A mapped column was empty for those contacts. Add the details back to your file and import it again, or set that column to Select field next time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I upload an Excel file? No. Save your spreadsheet as a .csv file first, then upload it.
Which columns does my file need? Only a column of email addresses. All other columns are optional.
What happens if a contact in my file already exists? BombBomb updates the existing contact with the mapped details and the consent status from your import instead of creating a duplicate. Empty mapped cells clear that detail.
How do I know how many contacts were imported? Compare the All Contacts count, or the count next to your list, before and after you import. The import doesn't list skipped rows.
Does importing contacts send them an email? No. Importing only saves the contacts to your Contacts.
Can my teammates see the contacts I import? No — not even account admins. Contacts and lists belong to the user who adds them.
Can I add just a few contacts without a file? Yes. Click Add Contacts, then click Paste Email Addresses or Add a Contact. See How to Add Contacts.