Importing Your First Subscriber List

Lists are the foundation of Senddera. Importing cleanly — correct fields, consent, and hygiene — protects deliverability from day one.

Create a mail list

1. Go to Lists → Create
2. Name the list (internal label, e.g. “Newsletter – Main”)
3. Choose double opt-in or single opt-in — see opt-in comparison
4. Set default from name/email (can inherit from sending server)

Prepare your CSV

• Required column: email (lowercase header recommended)
• Common optional columns: first_name, last_name, company, custom fields you define first in the list
• UTF-8 encoding; comma-separated; no blank rows
• Remove duplicates in Excel/Sheets before upload

Deep dive: CSV best practices.

Import wizard

1. Open the list → Subscribers → Import
2. Upload CSV — max size depends on PHP upload_max_filesize (raise on VPS if imports fail)
3. Map columns — match CSV headers to list fields. Unmapped columns are ignored.
4. Choose update behavior: skip existing, update existing, or tag-only append
5. Run import; large files process via queue — ensure cron/workers are running

Consent and compliance

Only import addresses that opted in to your mail. Document consent source (form, checkout, event). EU/UK: GDPR — GDPR guide. US: CAN-SPAM — CAN-SPAM checklist.

Never purchase email lists. High bounce rates damage domain reputation for months.

After import

• Review subscriber count vs expected
• Check Segments if you mapped tags or custom fields
• Send a small test campaign to a segment before blasting the full list
• Run list hygiene quarterly

Troubleshooting imports

• Stuck at processing — queue workers; see queue troubleshooting
• Invalid email skipped — normal for malformed rows; download error report if offered
• Memory error — split CSV into chunks or raise PHP memory on server

Next step

Create and send your first campaign.