Mailchimp audience import file formatter: one clean row per contact
In short: Upload any export (.xlsx or CSV) or paste cells. The tool writes Email Address, First Name, Last Name and Phone Number, keeps one address per contact, merges repeats and can add a Tags column with a tag you type. Limit: Only Email Address, First Name, Last Name, Phone Number and Tags are written; map groups, addresses and birthdays in Mailchimp.
Mailchimp needs one email address column with a single address per contact; first and last name are optional, and tags go in one column labeled Tags with commas between them. Upload your export here and it writes that file: names split, addresses lower-cased, repeats merged and an optional tag added to every row.
Price: this tool is free. Checking a whole email list is from $9/mo, and the first 100 checks are free with Google, no card. Check your list free nowSee pricing
Used only to complete phone numbers.
Sample result
Jane and Leo get one address each under Email Address, and both carry the tag cold-list-nov.
- Contacts
- 2 contacts
- Tags
- cold-list-nov
- Repeats merged
- 1
What this means for you
Mailchimp takes one address per contact, so extra addresses in a cell are dropped and counted.
- One address per contact
- Tags column, 100-character tags
- Phones in international form
- No consent columns
- Mailchimp
- Audience
- CSV
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
Check the addresses before they go into Mailchimp.
- Export the email column from the file you just made, or use the check button under the result.
- Upload or paste it at /verify. Every address gets a live mailbox check, and the first 100 email checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card.
How do I prepare a CSV for a Mailchimp import?
- Upload the export (.xlsx or CSV), or paste the cells with the header row first.
- Type a tag if you want every imported contact tagged, for example the name of the list's source.
- Check the columns found, then download the CSV.
- In Mailchimp, choose Import contacts, upload the file and match each column to its field.
Example
- You enter
- A sheet with Full Name, Work Email, Mobile, Country and Company:
Jane Doe,[email protected],(415) 555-0132,United States,Northwind;Leo Martinwith[email protected]; [email protected]; a repeat row for[email protected]; and a row with only a phone,(212) 555-0100. The tagcold-list-novis added to every contact. - You get
- Two contacts under Email Address, First Name, Last Name, Phone Number and Tags, each tagged
cold-list-nov. Leo keeps[email protected]; the second address is dropped and counted, the repeat merged and the phone-only row left out. - Limits
- Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded. Files up to 25 MB.
What does Mailchimp ask for in an import file?
Mailchimp's format guidelines require an email address column with only one address per contact, and say other fields are optional. Clear column labels let you pick the right field during import, and the tags column should be labeled Tags. See Mailchimp's import file guidelines.
How do tags work in the file?
Mailchimp reads one column named Tags, with several tags for a contact separated by commas; tags that don't exist yet are created on import, and each tag name is limited to 100 characters, with emoji unsupported. The tag you type is written to every row, with emoji and quotes stripped and long names cut to 100 characters (and flagged).
What about phone numbers and extra addresses?
Mailchimp's Phone field uses international format by default, so numbers are written as +country code and number using the country you choose. A cell holding several addresses keeps the first, and the count of dropped extras is shown so you can put them in rows of their own.
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- Newsletter owners
- Move subscribers from another tool or a spreadsheet into Mailchimp with a source tag.
- Small business owners
- Prepare a customer export so every row has a single clean address.
- Agencies
- Give each client's audience a tag that records where the list came from.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- Only Email Address, First Name, Last Name, Phone Number and Tags are written; map groups, addresses and birthdays in Mailchimp.
- No consent or marketing-permission columns are created.
- Mailchimp's file-size limits aren't stated on its guidelines page, so none are checked here.
- Extra addresses in one cell are dropped, not moved to new rows.
Common questions
- How many email addresses can one Mailchimp contact have?
- One. Mailchimp's guidelines say each contact needs exactly one address in the email column.
- How do I import tags?
- Use one column labeled Tags, with several tags for a contact separated by commas. Tags that don't exist are created during import.
- What is the tag length limit?
- 100 characters per tag; longer names are cut.
- Does this tool set consent or marketing permissions?
- No. It writes no consent or permission columns. Import only people who agreed to hear from you.
- Is my list uploaded to SimpleVerifier?
- No. The file is read and rewritten in your browser.
Sources
A tidy list can still be full of dead addresses.
Extracting, deduplicating and syntax checks all work on the text of an address. None of them can tell whether the mailbox exists. Only the server that hosts it can answer that, through an SMTP check, and that is what the paid product does.
- Upload the cleaned file as it is: CSVs up to 100,000 rows
- A real SMTP mailbox check on every row, with catch-all detection
- Small list? Starter at $9/mo covers 2,500 emails a month, cancel anytime
Plans from $9 a month, cancel anytime, no contract. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. The free tools stay free either way.