Add SMS Opt-Ins from a Marketing List or External Data Source

  • Updated

If you have SMS opt-ins from another provider or an external data source, you can upload them to Act-On as a Marketing List and add that list as an SMS Opt-In source. Numbers on the source list flow into the Opt-In List and stay in sync as contacts are added.

Who does this: Marketing ops migrating from another SMS provider or loading a bulk import
Time needed: 15-30 minutes plus time to prepare the data file
Why this matters: When you switch SMS platforms, a clean migration of opt-ins is what keeps your audience intact. Mapping date formats and phone formats correctly the first time avoids the "0 contacts in Opt-Ins" surprise that comes from a DateTime column or a mis-identified phone field.
In plain English: Upload a CSV as a Marketing List with three columns - phone, source, date - then map that list to Opt-Ins. Anyone added to the Marketing List later flows through automatically.
Before you start: Export your SMS opt-in data (.csv or .xls) and have SMS Credits in place. If you don't have Credits yet, you can still collect opt-ins through an Act-On Form - or upload your data later when Credits arrive. Extension lists are not supported as an opt-in source.

Step 1: Import data and prepare your Marketing List

Upload your SMS opt-in data as a Marketing List first. Full instructions: Creating a Marketing List.

If your opt-in data is coming from a separate SMS provider, you likely have it as a CSV. You can upload it directly - just note that Email Address is a required field when creating a new Marketing List.

To use a Marketing List as an SMS Opt-In source, the list needs these three fields:

Field Data format
Mobile Phone Number

Act-On accepts most phone number formats and converts them to the format SMS requires.

Examples - North America:

  • (123) 456-7890
  • +1 123-456-7890
  • 1 (123) 456-7890
  • 11234567890

Example - International:

  • +44 7975 123456
Opt-In Source Plain text.
Opt-In Date

Any consistent date format is accepted.

DateTime formats are not accepted and will show 0 contacts in your Opt-Ins.
International numbers: Subscribers outside the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico need to include their country code starting with +. For Forms, you can require this via validation - see Add SMS Opt-In to a Form.

Notes on your data:

  • Field names don't have to match - you map columns in the next step.
  • Other columns can be in the Marketing List; they won't be used by the Opt-In List.

Step 2: Select and map your Opt-In List

Once your Marketing List is ready, add it as an Opt-In source:

  1. Go to SMS > Opt-Ins and click Add List.
  2. Select the Marketing List containing the opt-ins and click Map Fields.
  3. Use the dropdowns to match each required field to a column in your list:

Map fields

  1. Specify the Date Format for your Opt-In Date field using the three dropdowns. Use the data preview to check you picked the right format. (In the example below, the format is YYYY-MM-DD.)

Date format

  1. If you are mapping multiple lists, scroll and continue mapping each one. When you are finished, click Next.
  2. Decide whether to send a Welcome Message to contacts on this list. You can choose both, one, or neither:
    • Send welcome message to these contacts immediately sends an SMS Welcome Message to everyone on the list.
    • Send to contacts added from this list in the future automates the Welcome Message for anyone added to the list later. An Administrator can toggle this later.

Welcome Message choice

  1. Click Add Lists to finish.
Note: Contacts added to an already-mapped Marketing List are added to the SMS Opt-In List automatically.

Next steps

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