Summary
You can import subscribers to LaunchNotes by uploading a CSV or Excel file with email addresses and optional category or region assignments. This is useful when you have an existing customer list you want to start sending announcements to.
Steps
Step 1: Upload your file
Navigate to Subscribers in your LaunchNotes workspace.
Click the Import button in the top right corner.
Download the CSV template by clicking Download CSV template to ensure your file has the correct column format.
Prepare your file with the columns:
Email (required) - subscriber email addresses
Categories (optional) - comma-separated list of category names
Region (only available on some plans) - subscriber region for targeting
Upload your prepared CSV or Excel file.
Click Continue to proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Configure your import
The Configure Import screen maps your CSV columns to LaunchNotes fields.
Review the field mappings showing how your CSV columns align to LaunchNotes fields.
For each field, verify the correct CSV column is selected from the dropdown:
Email field should map to your email column (required)
Categories field should map to your categories column (if included)
Check the Preview column to confirm the data looks correct on all columns
If mappings are incorrect, use the dropdown menus to select the right CSV columns.
Click Continue when all fields are correctly mapped.
Step 3: Validate and submit
The Validation screen lets you review and correct any data errors before importing.
Review the data validation summary showing:
All - total number of subscribers in your file
Valid - subscribers that passed validation
Error - subscribers with validation errors
If errors are present, click the Error tab to see problematic rows and how to remedy.
Click directly into any field to correct invalid email addresses or category names.
Once all errors are resolved and validation shows all records as valid, click Submit to complete the import.
Your subscribers will begin processing and appear in the Subscribers list within a few minutes.
Upon import your subscribers will not receive any email notifications
Notes & important info
Required column: Your file must include an Email column. Categories and Region are optional.
Supported file types: .csv, .tsv, .xls, .xlsx, .xml, .txt files (one record per row).
Multiple categories: To subscribe someone to multiple categories, separate category names with commas (e.g., "API, Mobile App").
Blank categories: If you leave categories blank, the subscriber will be added to all categories.
Processing time: Large imports may take a few minutes to appear in your subscribers list.
New categories: Misspelled or non-existent category names will create new categories automatically.
Unsubscribed emails: Previously unsubscribed email addresses will not be re-added and will show as failed imports.
File formatting tips:
From databases: Wrap category lists in double quotes:
[email protected],"API"[email protected],"API,Mobile"
From Google Sheets/Excel: Double quotes are added automatically when exporting to CSV.
Troubleshooting
Import fails: Check that your file includes the required Email column and matches the template format.
Categories not matching: Verify category names match existing categories exactly (case-sensitive). Download the template to see the expected format.
Subscribers not appearing: Large imports can take several minutes to process. Refresh the Subscribers page after waiting.
"Failed" status showing: This typically means the email was previously unsubscribed or has an invalid format.
Manually adding individual subscribers
To add subscribers one at a time instead of importing in bulk:
Navigate to Subscribers.
Click Add Subscriber (next to the Import button).
Enter the subscriber's email address and optionally select categories.
Click Save to add the subscriber.