> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.foreverfanmusic.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.foreverfanmusic.com/your-audience/importing-fans.md).

# Importing Fans

If you already have a list of fans from another platform, you can bring them into your audience with a CSV upload. The wizard walks you through it and shows you exactly what it found before anything is saved.

{% hint style="info" %}
Uploading fans is part of a paid plan.
{% endhint %}

## Before you start: prepare your CSV

Your file must be a `.csv` (a spreadsheet saved in CSV format). Every fan needs **at least one of an email or a phone number**. Rows with neither are skipped.

The upload reads your column headers, so name them plainly. It recognizes:

| Column               | Header names it accepts                                               |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Email                | `email`, `e-mail`, `mail`, `email_address`                            |
| Phone                | `phone`, `phone number`, `number`, `tel`, `telephone`, `phone_number` |
| Name                 | `name`, `full name`, `customer name`                                  |
| First / last name    | `first name`, `last name` (joined into one name)                      |
| City                 | `city`                                                                |
| Region               | `region`, `state`                                                     |
| Country              | `country`                                                             |
| Latitude / longitude | `lat` / `latitude`, `long` / `longitude` / `lon`                      |
| Tags                 | `tags`                                                                |

Only email or phone is required. Everything else is optional. For tags, list them separated by commas in a single `tags` column, like `VIP,Preorder`.

A small example:

| name        | email              | phone      | city    | country | tags     |
| ----------- | ------------------ | ---------- | ------- | ------- | -------- |
| Alex Rivera | <alex@example.com> | 5551234567 | Austin  | US      | VIP      |
| Sam Chen    | <sam@example.com>  |            | Toronto | CA      | Preorder |

{% hint style="warning" %}
The file has to be under 15MB. If yours is bigger, email <hello@foreverfanmusic.com> and we will import it for you.
{% endhint %}

## The upload, step by step

Open your audience and click **Upload Fans**.

<figure><img src="/files/FQsevg0dAeVYUD6JiIbw" alt="The upload wizard intro step with the example table"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

1. **Pick your file.** Choose your `.csv`. The intro screen links out to these specifications so you can double-check your columns first.
2. **Confirm compliance.** Check the box confirming your fans opted in to hear from you. This is a legal requirement, not a formality. See [Compliance and consent](/your-audience/compliance-and-consent.md) before you upload anyone.
3. **Tell us where your numbers are from.** Choose **Only US Numbers** or **International & US Numbers**. This tells the upload how to read your phone numbers.
4. **Format your numbers.** If your numbers are US only, you can leave them as plain ten-digit numbers and we format them for you. If any are international, put the country code in front of each one.
5. **Review the preview.** We process your file and show you what we found: how many **valid emails** and **valid numbers**, how many **invalid emails** and **invalid numbers** we had to skip, and how many fans are **new** versus how many are **updates** to fans you already have. A table previews up to the first 100 fans so you can spot-check before committing. Check the box confirming you understand the upload cannot be undone, then click **Yes, Add Them**.
6. **Add them to your welcome sequence (optional).** If you have an active welcome sequence, we ask whether these new fans should go through it. Choose **Yes, Add To Welcome Sequence** or **No, Just Upload**.
7. **Done.** Your fans start importing. You can close the page; it only takes a minute or two.

## New fans, updated fans, and duplicates

The upload checks each fan against your existing audience by email or phone. If it finds a match, it treats that row as an **update** and merges the new details into the fan you already have rather than making a copy. Where the new file has different information for a fan (a new city, for example), the new value replaces the old one. Fans with no match are added as **new**. Rows that repeat the same fan inside your file are counted once.

{% hint style="warning" %}
An upload cannot be reversed. Look over the preview counts before you confirm.
{% endhint %}