Here's everything you need to know about uploading your current media lists for use in the PR CRM.

Don't have a media list? Don't worry - we can provide a bespoke, carefully researched list just for you. Read more about our Curated Press List service.

Preparing your media list for upload

Before you upload contacts to the CRM, you will need to make sure that your list is compatible with our upload service. It shouldn't be too time consuming, but there are some important factors to note.

To make things easier, we've created a templateExcel file with all the fields you might want to complete for your contacts. Just download, fill in, and upload!

Download template Excel

Then, follow these pointers to ensure each of your columns will upload without issues:

First name

Ensure the first name column is separate to the surname column. If there isn't a first name for the contact (eg. general inboxes), we recommend using a placeholder such as 'Editorial team'. When you send an email, we use this variable Hi {first_name}, and if you've no name, it will show blank.

Email address

The CRM only accepts unique email addresses, so before you upload, be sure to remove any duplicate emails, and in general any errors in your email, such as extra spaces or incorrect characters.

Tags

You can choose to add your tags to each contact before you upload. Separate each tag with a comma in your file, except for the last tag, which should not have a comma after it.

Phone numbers

Numbers in Excel or CSV files can sometimes be distorted by the use of symbols or brackets. If you're using international numbers, instead of adding them with symbols, add only numbers.

Troubleshooting

Upload error codes

While trying to manually add a contact to a new or existing list, you might come across the following error message.

Alternatively, after the import of an Excel or csv file with multiple contacts, you might get the following error signs:

The letter E means that this contact has previously unsubscribed from one of your newsrooms. In that case, we aren't allowed to re-add them to the system unless there is an explicit consent note from that person.

If you see an R instead of an E, it means that emails to this contact have already bounced repeatedly and so they've been blocked from the CRM.

💡 This error might occur again if the contact is re-added and another bounce happens. In that case, make sure to have a backup email address for that person or organisation.

Upload doesn't finish

If the upload never seems to finish, the cause is most likely a minor flaw in the formatting which leads to an incompatibility with our CRM system.

The most important thing to check is that there should be no duplicate emails in your file, since our CRM only works with unique addresses.

Please double check your file (we recommend reading about how to prepare your file for upload), and try to upload it again.

💡 Always use Chrome or Safari when trying to upload contacts to pr.co - these browser options work faster and more efficiently!

If it still isn't working, feel free to contact us at hello@pr.co and we'll be happy to take a look and identify the problem.

Uploading from Excel or CSV

Importing contacts has never been easier! All you need to do is have your list ready as a CSV or Excel file.

Navigate to the CRM and hit Add contacts. Then choose either Excel or CSV, whichever your list is currently saved as.

Next, drag your file into the white central box box.

On the next step, you can match your columns to our fields. Can't find the field you’re looking for? You can always customize it - Just don’t forget to click on “Create & save”. If you find that one or more columns are not relevant to your list, you can click on “Do not import”.

Use tags to organize your contacts by clicking on the existing ones you might have in store from your previous lists or by just simply creating new ones. You can select as many tags as you wish and remove/add them at any time.

On this next step, you have three options for managing your new contacts:

If you do not wish to put them in a specific list yet, just go to the next step - they will automatically be added to “All contacts"
To put them in a list(s), check the boxes to the right of each list
Create a new contact list by selecting this option at the bottom of the page

Almost there! Your contacts will be imported in a couple of minutes and you will get an email notification once this has been done - you may even close the pr.co window if you wish. If your upload hasn't completed within a maximum of 10 minutes, then the upload has not worked properly. You can revise your file using the hints above, or you can reach out to us via email or chat and we can help.