Step-by-Step Guide to Upload Lists to HubSpot

Importing your contact list into HubSpot is a crucial step in centralizing your customer data and streamlining your marketing efforts. Our step-by-step guide walks you through the process, from preparing your data to finalizing the import, ensuring a smooth transition. By following these best practices, you'll be able to effectively leverage HubSpot's powerful features to engage with your contacts and drive business growth.

Preparing Your Contact List for Import

Before importing your contact list into HubSpot, it's crucial to clean and organize your data to ensure accuracy and usability. This step will save you time and prevent potential issues down the line. Here's how to prepare your contact list:

1. Remove any duplicate entries, ensuring each contact appears only once in your list.
2. Standardize the format of your data, such as using consistent date formats (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY) and capitalizing names consistently.
3. Ensure all required fields are populated, including email addresses, first names, and last names.
4. Verify that your data is in the correct format for each field type:

• Email addresses should be valid and follow the standard format (e.g., name@domain.com).
• Phone numbers should include country codes and follow a consistent format (e.g., +1-555-123-4567).
• Dates should be in a format recognized by HubSpot (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY).

When formatting your spreadsheet, make sure to:

• Include a header row with clear, descriptive column names.
• Avoid using special characters or spaces in column names.
• Ensure each column contains only one type of data (e.g., don't mix phone numbers and email addresses in the same column).

By taking the time to clean and organize your contact list before importing, you'll ensure a smooth transition and effective use of HubSpot's powerful features. For more tips, check out our guide on building a prospect list.

Setting Permissions and Access in HubSpot

To perform imports in HubSpot, users need the necessary permissions, such as 'Import' and 'Edit' permissions. Here's how to set these up:

1. Go to Settings > Users & Teams in your HubSpot account.
2. Click on a user to open their record, then navigate to the "Access" tab.
3. Under "Permissions", click "Edit permissions".
4. Expand the relevant sections (e.g., "CRM" for importing contacts) and toggle on the required permissions:

• For importing, enable the "Import" permission.
• For editing imported records, grant "Edit" permissions for the relevant objects (e.g., Contacts, Companies).

When granting permissions, consider:

• Limit permissions to only what each user needs to perform their role.
• Regularly audit user permissions to maintain account security.
• Use permission sets (Enterprise only) to efficiently manage permissions for groups of users.

By carefully configuring user permissions, you can ensure that your team can effectively manage imports while maintaining the integrity and security of your HubSpot data. For more tips, check out our guide on sales prospecting tools.

Bardeen's AI assistant can help you automate sales prospecting tasks, saving you time and increasing efficiency.

Selecting and Uploading Your Import File

To import your contacts into HubSpot, start by accessing the import tool:

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings icon in the main navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to "Objects" > "Imports".
3. Click the "Start an Import" button in the upper right.
4. Select "File from computer" as your import type, then "One file" since you're importing a single object.
5. Choose "Contacts" as the object to import and click "Next".

On the Upload screen:

1. Drag and drop your CSV or XLSX file or click "Choose a file from your computer".
2. If updating existing contacts, check "Update existing records" and choose the field to match on, like Email.
3. Click "Next" to upload the file and proceed to field mapping.

HubSpot supports importing most common file types including CSV, XLSX, and XLS. For best results, ensure your file meets these requirements before uploading:

• Only one sheet with all data to import
• A header row with labels matching HubSpot property names
• No more than 1000 columns
• File size under 512 MB for paid accounts, 20 MB for free
• UTF-8 encoded for special characters

By preparing your data file according to HubSpot's specifications and carefully stepping through the import wizard, you'll be able to smoothly upload your contacts and move on to integrate Google Sheets for further data management.

Mapping and Validating Data Fields

After uploading your contact file, the next crucial step is mapping the columns in your spreadsheet to the corresponding properties in HubSpot. This process ensures your data is imported into the correct fields for effective segmentation and personalization.

In the field mapping screen, HubSpot will attempt to automatically match columns to properties based on the header labels. However, you should carefully review and adjust these mappings as needed:

1. For each column, use the dropdown menu to select the appropriate HubSpot property. If a match doesn't exist, choose "Create a new property" to define a custom field.
2. HubSpot properties are grouped by object type (Contact, Company, Deal) and data type (string, number, date, etc.), so select accordingly.
3. Ensure required properties like Email are mapped. If not, contacts may not import successfully.
4. For columns you don't want to import, select "Don't import" from the dropdown.

During mapping, you may encounter errors or mismatches, such as:

• Invalid email addresses
• Incorrectly formatted dates
• Values that are too long for the property
• Incompatible data types (e.g., text in a number field)

HubSpot will flag these issues and provide options to resolve them, such as ignoring rows with errors or replacing invalid values with a default. Carefully review the error log and choose the appropriate action.

Some other tips for smooth mapping:

• If you have multiple values for a contact property like phone number, HubSpot will import the first value and ignore the rest. Consider concatenating the values into one column before importing.
• Dropdown select properties in HubSpot must exactly match the values in your spreadsheet. Consider standardizing the values in your file first.
• To update existing contacts' properties, be sure the Email column is mapped and matches HubSpot's records exactly.

By taking the time to accurately map and validate your fields, you'll ensure a successful import and unlock the full potential of HubSpot's CRM and marketing tools.

Bardeen can automate data enrichment and qualification, saving you time on mapping and updating fields. Try Bardeen to streamline these tasks and focus on more important work.

Reviewing and Finalizing the Import

Before completing your contact import, it's crucial to review the results and address any errors or warnings flagged by HubSpot. This final check ensures the accuracy and integrity of your data.

On the import summary screen, carefully look over the following:

• Total number of contacts to be created or updated
• Any contacts skipped due to errors or missing required fields
• Duplicate contacts identified based on email address

If HubSpot detects issues, such as improperly formatted email addresses or missing data in required fields, you'll have the option to:

1. Skip importing those specific contacts
2. Replace the invalid values with a default
3. Manually correct the errors in your import file and re-upload

For the best data quality, we recommend fixing the errors directly in your CSV file and reimporting.

Once you've addressed all errors and are satisfied with the import preview, click the "Finish Import" button to complete the process. HubSpot will then create or update contact records based on your mapped fields.

After finalizing, you can view a detailed report of the import, including:

• Number of contacts created and updated
• List of contacts with errors (if applicable)
• Time and date of the import

You can also set up tagging and segmentation for your newly imported contacts. Consider:

• Applying tags to indicate lead source or import date for future reference
• Creating a smart list based on import criteria for targeted marketing campaigns

By thoroughly reviewing and finalizing your import, you'll maintain a clean, accurate database that effectively powers your HubSpot marketing and sales efforts.

Uploading a list to HubSpot can significantly streamline your CRM data management, enabling efficient contact segmentation and targeted outreach. While manual uploads serve their purpose, automating this process with Bardeen can save you precious time and reduce the risk of human error, ensuring your data is always up-to-date and accurately categorized.

Here are some powerful automations that Bardeen offers to enhance your HubSpot data management:

1. Copy all HubSpot products to Google Sheets: This playbook automates the transfer of your HubSpot products into a Google Sheets spreadsheet, facilitating easy access and analysis of your product data.
2. Copy all HubSpot products to Airtable: Seamlessly sync your HubSpot product data with Airtable, enabling a dynamic and collaborative environment for managing your products.
3. Generate a list of tasks from a HubSpot ticket using OpenAI and save them to ClickUp as new tasks: This playbook uses OpenAI to analyze HubSpot tickets and create actionable tasks in ClickUp, streamlining your customer service and project management processes.

Explore these automations by downloading the Bardeen app today and transform how you manage your HubSpot data.