Flodesk Import Review: How to Clean a Subscriber List So It Gets Approved

To get a list through Flodesk's import review, upload only subscribers who opted in, with their opt-in date, time, IP and method, after removing unsubscribes, bounces and spam complaints and verifying every address. Keep each CSV to 10MB or less with no empty rows. Flodesk reviews imported lists and can block an upload or ask you to remove contacts, and a paused account cannot send or process uploads.

Facts below are from Flodesk's help centre, read on 2 November 2026. Flodesk's pricing and a cost calculator for your list size are on the Flodesk newsletter page.

What Flodesk checks on import

From why can't my imported list be serviced:

• "Flodesk reviews imported subscriber lists to make sure they meet email marketing permission requirements." It "may prevent it from being uploaded or reach out to ask you to remove it."
• Opt-in records: "date, time, IP address, and method of opt-in for each subscriber". "Flodesk can't service lists without complete, verifiable opt-in records."
• Rejected list types: purchased, rented, scraped, trade-show, giveaway and implied-consent lists. Past buyers must have actively opted in.

And from account review: Flodesk may pause an account automatically on high bounce or complaint rates, rejected emails, low engagement or suspicious activity. A paused account cannot send, and CSV uploads are not processed.

Flodesk does not publish a bounce percentage. Plan around 2% or less per send, as most platforms do.

How Flodesk handles bad addresses

From subscriber statuses and soft bounces:

Status	Meaning
Active	Receives email
Archived	Set aside, can be restored; used after repeated soft bounces
Unconfirmed	Has not confirmed double opt-in
Unsubscribed	Only the subscriber can opt back in
Bounced	Hard bounce
Marked spam / Complained	Reported your email
Cleaned	Removed by Flodesk; "Cleaned is a permanent status"

Soft bounces are archived after "7 soft bounces with no subscriber activity", or "up to 15 soft bounces for subscribers with recent engagement". At CSV upload Flodesk also excludes role-based addresses "Due to their association with high bounce rates and spam complaints".

So Flodesk does some cleaning, but its review looks at permission and its pause looks at your bounce and complaint rates. Neither tells you in advance which mailboxes are dead.

Step 1: Export subscribers

From export a CSV of your subscribers:

1. Go to Audience, then Segments.
2. Hover over All subscribers (or a segment), click the … in the top-right of its card and choose Download CSV.
3. Flodesk emails the link to your login address. It expires after 24 hours.

The file includes unsubscribed, bounced and spam-marked contacts. Use the status column to split them out before verifying.

Moving to Flodesk from another platform? Export there, keeping opt-in date, IP and signup source columns if the platform has them. See our export guides for Mailchimp, Kit and MailerLite.

Step 2: Remove what Flodesk will not accept

Flodesk's import preparation guide says to leave out unsubscribed, hard-bounced and spam-complaint contacts. Also remove:

• Subscribers without an opt-in record you can show.
• Giveaway entrants, unless the entry form had a separate, unticked opt-in.
• Duplicates, with remove duplicate emails.
• Role addresses such as info@ and hello@, which Flodesk excludes anyway. The role-based email filter takes them out so your counts match after upload.

Then delete empty rows and empty columns, and any row without an email.

Step 3: Verify

Upload the file on the verify page. Each address gets a live mailbox check and your opt-in columns stay attached. A sample can go through the CSV email verifier first.

Result	Upload to Flodesk?
Valid	Yes, into a "Verified" segment
Catch-all	Yes, into a separate segment, sent later
Unknown	Hold; re-check before upload
Invalid	No
Disposable	No

Flodesk users are often creators and small brands whose lists come from freebies, quizzes and shop checkouts. Those sources collect typos and throwaway inboxes, so expect some invalid and disposable rows. Course creator email list covers the freebie case.

Step 4: Prepare the upload

• Keep files to 10MB or less; split bigger lists with the email list splitter.
• Include opt-in date, time, IP and method columns. Map them to custom fields so the records live in Flodesk too.
• No empty rows, no empty columns, no rows without an email.

Step 5: Upload the valid rows into a segment

From Flodesk's import steps:

1. Go to Audience, then Segments, and click + New segment. Name it, for example, "Verified Nov 2026".
2. Open the segment and choose Add subscriber, then Upload CSV.
3. Map each column. For a new field, type a name and click +Create.
4. Click Continue, then Finish. A confirmation email arrives when the upload is processed.

Repeat for the catch-all file in its own segment.

Flodesk's help does not say whether a CSV overwrites fields on existing subscribers, and addresses cannot be edited, so upload the clean list rather than relying on an update. To remove invalid subscribers already in Flodesk, filter to them and use bulk actions to delete or archive (segments).

Step 6: Send to the safest segment first

Send the first email to the verified segment, starting with the most recent signups. Check bounces and complaints, then widen to the rest, and send to the catch-all segment last. If part of the list has not heard from you in months, a short reminder of who you are and why they are getting the email lowers complaints; see the re-engagement campaign guide.

Checklist

• Opt-in date, time, IP and method for every subscriber
• No purchased, giveaway or implied-consent contacts
• Unsubscribed, bounced, spam-marked and role addresses removed
• Every address verified; invalid and disposable rows left out
• Files 10MB or less, no empty rows or columns
• Valid and catch-all uploaded into separate segments

Verify before you upload

Upload your list on the verify page. You get 100 free email checks when you sign in with Google, no card, enough to see how a sample of the list holds up before the import review. For bigger lists, monthly plans are on the pricing page.