Articles on: Contacts

Contact Import Errors and Fixes

Contact Import Errors and Fixes


Purpose


Contact uploads can fail for specific rows or entirely. This article walks through the import flow, common failure reasons, how to read the failure report, and how to fix your CSV so the next upload succeeds.


The Import Flow


  1. Upload CSV — Drag and drop or browse. Your file must have at least an email column.
  2. Map fields — SuperSend shows detected columns. Map each to a campaign field: email, first_name, last_name, title, company_name, linkedin_url, etc. Columns that match standard names are pre-mapped.
  3. Validation (optional) — If you enable "Validate all emails," SuperSend uses credits to check deliverability. If you don't have enough credits, validation is automatically disabled.
  4. Upload — Click Upload. A background process runs. You see a progress notification.
  5. Result — When done: "X contacts added, Y updated, Z failed. View reasons: [URL]"



Common Failure Reasons


Reason

What to do

Missing email column

Add an email column. It's required.

Invalid email format

Fix malformed addresses (typos, missing @, spaces).

Missing required mapped field

If a field is required for the campaign and your CSV has blanks, either add data or change the campaign's requirements.

Session expired

Refresh and log in again. Re-upload.

No campaign selected

When adding at team level, select a campaign first.

API error

Check the failure report. Common: rate limits, server errors. Try again in a few minutes.



The Failure Report


When contacts fail, the completion message includes a View reasons link. Click it to download a report that lists each failed row and the reason.


Use this report to:

  • Correct email addresses
  • Fill in required fields
  • Fix encoding issues (e.g., ensure CSV is UTF-8)
  • Remove invalid rows and re-upload the rest



Validation Credits


If you check Validate all emails:


  • SuperSend shows: total contacts × cost per validation = estimated credit cost.
  • Available credits = your org's global credits minus what's used.
  • If there aren't enough credits, validation is disabled automatically.
  • Validation helps reduce bounces by checking deliverability before sending.



CSV Best Practices


  • Encoding — Save as UTF-8 to avoid character issues.
  • Headers — First row must be column names.
  • Email column — Required. Name it email for auto-mapping.
  • No formula injection — Avoid cells starting with =, +, -, @ unless intended as data.
  • Consistent format — Dates, numbers, and phone numbers in a consistent format.



"No file selected"


If you see this, you haven't chosen a file yet. Drag and drop or click to browse and select your CSV.



"Z failed" — What to Do Next


  1. Download the failure report from the link.
  2. Open it alongside your CSV. Match failed rows by email or row number.
  3. Fix the issues (invalid emails, missing fields, encoding).
  4. Save a corrected CSV.
  5. Re-upload. Previously added/updated contacts will be updated again; previously failed rows may succeed after fixes.



Expected Result


You can diagnose why rows failed, fix your CSV, and re-upload successfully. The failure report is the key to resolving import errors.



Updated on: 17/03/2026

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