How To Clean Up Your Contact Lists To Improve Deliverability
Learn how to clean up your contact lists to improve deliverability. Step-by-step guide with screenshots.
Learn how to import and manage contacts in hubspot crm. Step-by-step guide with screenshots.
How to Import and Manage Contacts in HubSpot CRM
A comprehensive guide to centralizing your data and mastering contact organization in HubSpot.
Managing a growing database of prospects and customers is the heartbeat of any successful business. HubSpot CRM offers a powerful, intuitive platform for centralizing this data, but the transition from messy spreadsheets to a streamlined CRM requires a strategic approach. Whether you are migrating from another tool or starting fresh, understanding the nuances of importing and managing contacts is essential for maintaining a clean, actionable database. In this guide, we will walk through the technical steps of data preparation, the import process, and the long-term management strategies that ensure your team always has the right information at their fingertips.
✅ Key Takeaways
- Clean your Excel or CSV files before importing to prevent duplicates and data errors.
- Map your data columns correctly to HubSpot internal properties to ensure information flows to the right fields.
- Use the "Email Address" field as the unique identifier to avoid creating duplicate records.
- Leverage CRM views and filters to segment your contacts for more personalized marketing and sales outreach.
- Audit your database regularly to remove "zombie" contacts and keep your subscription costs efficient.
1
Prepare Your Contact Data File
The success of your import depends almost entirely on the quality of your source file. HubSpot supports .csv, .xlsx, and .xls files. Before you upload, ensure your header row contains clear labels like "First Name," "Last Name," and "Email."
Crucially, HubSpot uses the Email Address as the primary unique identifier. Ensure every contact has an email address associated with them; otherwise, you risk creating duplicate records if you try to update these contacts later. Remove any blank rows or extraneous formatting to keep the file "clean" for the HubSpot parser.
💡 Pro Tip: If you have contacts that work at the same company, include a "Company Domain Name" column. HubSpot can automatically associate contacts with their respective companies based on the domain (e.g., name@company.com).
2
Navigate to the Import Tool
Once your file is ready, log into your HubSpot account. In the main navigation bar, click on CRM and then select Contacts. On the top right of the contacts screen, you will see an "Import" button. Clicking this will take you to the import dashboard where you can track previous uploads or start a new one.
3
Map Column Headers to HubSpot Properties
In this step, HubSpot will scan your file headers and attempt to match them to existing CRM properties. For example, your column "Work Email" might need to be mapped to the HubSpot property "Email."
If HubSpot doesn't recognize a column, you can manually select the property from a dropdown list. If the data you are importing doesn't have a matching property in HubSpot yet, you can create a Custom Property directly from the import screen. This is helpful for industry-specific data points like "Membership Tier" or "Favorite Product Category."
4
Confirm Marketing Status and Finalize
Before completing the import, HubSpot will ask you to confirm if these contacts are "Marketing Contacts." This is a critical distinction for billing purposes. If you plan on sending marketing emails to these users, mark them as "Yes." If they are simply for sales tracking or internal records, mark them as "No" to save on your subscription tier limits.
Finally, agree to the terms that you have a legal basis to communicate with these individuals (GDPR compliance) and click "Finish Import."
5
Organize with Views and Lists
Once imported, managing your contacts is all about segmentation. Navigate back to the Contacts home screen. Use the Advanced Filters to narrow down your view. For example, you can filter for "Life Cycle Stage = Lead" and "City = New York."
You can save these filtered views as "Active Lists." Unlike static lists, active lists automatically update—so as soon as a contact meets the criteria, they are added to the list without any manual work on your part.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I import a contact that already exists?
By default, HubSpot uses the email address to de-duplicate. If the email matches an existing record, the import will simply update the other properties for that contact rather than creating a new one.
Can I import contacts and companies at the same time?
Yes! In the import wizard, you can choose to import "Multiple Objects." By including both contact emails and company domains in your file, HubSpot will create and link both records simultaneously.
Why am I seeing an "Import Error" notification?
Usually, this is due to formatting. Common culprits include special characters in email addresses, dates formatted incorrectly (HubSpot prefers YYYY-MM-DD), or trying to map text into a "Dropdown Select" property that doesn't have that specific option.