🖇️ File Requirements
You must use our downloadable CSV template for your upload. You can find it by navigating to the the Account Section and selecting “Upload”:
You should use the exact template and keep it in the CSV format.
The file must include all column headers from the template, even if some fields have no data. If you make changes to the headers, your file will not upload.
The headers are case-sensitive and must match exactly as shown in the template.
🤔 What Information Should I Include in the Upload?
The only required field is the advocate's email address. That said, if you have more information on the advocate, you should include that in your initial file as tags or custom fields for better engagement, matching, and sorting.
You can upload a file later to create new advocates or add more information to existing advocates, by uploading a new CSV file. The system will check for existing advocates by email address.
If you have a large file, it may take some time to process. Particularly large files (over 100,000 rows) will require an overnight process.
🏷️ Create Custom Fields and Tags
Custom Fields
If you want to upload a Custom Field, you must create it in the platform first. Custom Fields can be found under the Advocate Section:
- Unlike Tags, Custom Fields have their own column. The Custom Fields previously created in your account will appear on the furthest right columns of the CSV template (one column per field).
- In the example below, Jane Smith’s advocate record will also have “Protect the Beaches” under the “Top Turtle Conservation Issues” Custom Field, in addition to the Tags shown.
Tags
Tags can be created in the platform beforehand (learn how to do so here) or directly through the upload:
Creating Tags through the Upload
It is important to format your Tags correctly to have them applied by the system. Within the downloadable template, you will see a “tag” column. This is where you will input all of the tags that you are adding to the advocates in the upload.
If you are applying more than one tag to an advocate, add them all to the “tag” column separated by a comma.
An example of how to format your Tags for a successful upload is below. In this example, we’re creating a record with the Tags “Advocate” and “Opener.”
For more information about creating Tags, read this guide.
Using Activate? A best practice is to add Tags for engagement in your previous email program. This will allow you to warm up your email list with advocates who will engage with your messages to improve your transition to a new email tool. To learn more, read our Email Deliverability guide.
🚀 Let’s Upload Your File
Before beginning your upload, ensure you have saved the template as a CSV. The system only supports files in a CSV format.
Now that you have your file ready, you can begin to upload it to the system. There are additional settings available that help enrich your data or affects what is overridden in an existing advocate profile.
Settings to Note for All Uploads
- Create Audience from Upload: Create an audience from the list of uploaded list of advocates.
- Run District Match on Upload: Match advocates to their elected officials based on address. Only advocates with full addresses can be matched.
- Run VoterMatch on Upload: VoterMatch will attempt to match uploaded advocates. Only advocates with full addresses can be matched.
Settings to Note When Uploading Existing Advocates
If you are uploading a file that may have some existing advocates, you will want to carefully read the two checkboxes before proceeding.
- Exclude Tags: This option avoids replacing all tags in an existing advocate profile. You should turn this option on if:
- The upload includes existing advocates already in the system, AND
- The existing advocates have tags attached to them in AdvocacyAI that are not included in this current upload.
- Override All Fields: Replaces all existing information for the advocates in the CSV template.
- Empty fields in the file will remove that information from the advocate profiles.
- This is a great option if you need to redo an upload that was incorrect or to update advocate information.
It is important to note that this could mean removing key information like First Name or Last Name if they are not included on your upload file.
How to Upload the CSV Template
- Click the “Upload CSV from Template” section. You will then get the standard file navigator on your computer to select the correct CSV for upload.
- Click the “Process Upload” button.
You will receive an in-platform notification and an email when the upload is complete. The processing time depends on the number of advocates you have uploaded.
🛠️ Troubleshooting File Issues
If you encounter issues with your upload, you will need to first and foremost check the file type.
- The system only supports CSV files, so be sure that you have that file format.
- The column headers must exactly match the columns in the downloadable template.
Do not delete any columns from the template. Even if data is not being applied for a column, the header must be included in the first row.
If the column headers do not match exactly, the file will not process. They are case sensitive. If you are unsure of the column headers, please redownload the template.
👋Need More Help?
We're always here for you. Reach out at help@advocacyai.com, and we’ll get you back on track.