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Syncing Contact Lists via FTP

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    Act-On supports File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for importing and exporting contact lists. You can schedule the transfer of lists into/out of Act-On to keep your records up to date. This is especially useful for users without a CRM. 

    Set Up the FTP Connector

    If you don't have the FTP feature on your account, please contact our support team to enable it.

    1. Navigate to Settings > Connectors
    2. Click Data Sources, then click FTP 
    3. Click the Connect button to create your FTP account on an Act-On server.
      • Your FTP Username is generated for you and cannot be changed
      • When prompted, create a password and save it for future reference
      • The FTP server information will appear on the screen – you will need this to import lists into Act-On

    If you need to reset your password, you can click the Disconnect button and repeat this process, entering in your new password when prompted. 

    PGP Encryption

    Within the FTP connector settings, you can add PGP encryption when transferring your marketing lists. With PGP enabled, a private key will be used for all marketing lists for that account. If a marketing list fails decryption, either by virtue of being unencrypted or encrypted by a non-matching public key, an error message will be displayed to inform the recipient.

    Keep in mind:

    • If you enable PGP for FTP the expectation is that every file you upload to Act-on will be encrypted not just Marketing lists
    • If you enable encryption and try to open a file that is not encrypted it will not work (this setting is all or nothing)
    • If PGP encryption is enabled, the connector will attempt to apply the decryption key to all previously uploaded files as well. Be sure to replace any existing (unencrypted) files with encrypted ones

    Import a New List to Act-On

    1. Ensure that your FTP connection is set up on the Settings > Connectors page 
    2. Navigate to Contacts > Marketing Lists
    3. Click New List
    4. Enter a list name and choose a folder
    5. Click Select Method in the Set Up New List Contents section
    6. Choose Import from your recently uploaded FTP files
    7. Accept the terms of the agreement
    8. Select one of your FTP files and click Next
    9. Click Next again 
    10. Specify the fields you want to use in Act-On, then click Finish

    Import an Existing List

    You can set up any marketing list in your account to receive data from your FTP location.

    1. Ensure that your FTP connection is set up on the Settings > Connectors page
    2. Navigate to Contacts > Marketing Lists
    3. To the right of the list you want to import, click the dropdown arrow and select Import/Export > Manage FTP Sync
    4. Click New (or select a current sync to change its settings)
    5. Select the Import check box and choose the relevant settings:
      • Select File and locate the file from your FTP location
      • Choose whether to add new records and/or update existing ones
      • Choose which list field will be used to check if a record already exists (eg. email address)
    6. Choose Run Now for a one-time sync or Schedule to run a recurring sync
    7. Click Save

    Note: Once an Act-On field is populated, emptying the field in the CSV file will not clear the Act-On field. The Act-On field will continue to hold the original field data even after an FTP sync.

    To change this behavior, contact Support and request the “overwriteBlankEntries” setting. You will then have this option in the Sync window.

    Export an Existing List

    You can set up any marketing list in your account to send its data to your FTP location.

    1. Ensure that your FTP connection is set up on the Settings > Connectors page
    2. Add a CSV file to your FTP folder from your computer (using a client such as CyberDuck) – this will be where the exported data is sent  
    3. Navigate to Contacts > Marketing Lists
    4. To the right of the list you want to import, click the dropdown arrow and select Import/Export > Manage FTP Sync
    5. Click New (or select a current sync to change its settings)
    6. Select the Export check box and choose the relevant settings:
      • Select File and locate the file that you uploaded in step 2
      • Choose which list fields should be exported to the file
    7. Choose Run Now for a one-time sync or Schedule to run a recurring sync
    8. Click Save

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