Importing phone numbers is a quick way to enable SMS and WhatsApp communication with your contacts.
You can import phone numbers in two ways: together with an email address, or on their own. Both follow the same import flow described in "Importing your database into edrone" — go to CUSTOMERS > IMPORT, select your file, and confirm the mapping, tags, and import settings on the Confirm Import screen. Here's what's specific to phone numbers.
Importing contacts with email and phone number
Make sure your file has a column with the email address and a column with the phone number.
On the Confirm Import screen, map each column to the right field — Email and Phone number — using the dropdown at the top of each column.
Note: SMS campaigns can only be sent to contacts with a subscribed SMS status.
If your file doesn't include a subscription status column, use the Import Settings panel to set a status manually for the Email, SMS, and WhatsApp channels.
Important: pay attention to the subscription status you choose for SMS and Email. Are you adding phone numbers collected from past orders, without marketing consent? Set the status to unknown. Only mark a contact as subscribed when you have their explicit consent to receive marketing content.
Also important: in edrone, a phone number can only be linked to one email address. If your file has duplicate phone numbers, the number gets assigned to whichever email address appears first in the file.
When everything looks right, confirm the settings and start the import.
Importing contacts with phone number only
Prepare your file with the phone number column (and any other fields you want to include), then upload it the same way.
On the Confirm Import screen, map the phone number column — the system usually maps it automatically, but you can adjust it manually.
Tip: you can also import a WhatsApp subscription status. Just add an extra column to your file for it, and map that column during import.
If your file doesn't include subscription status columns, set the SMS and WhatsApp statuses manually in the Import Settings panel.
Confirm the settings and start the import.
Need more help?
If you have any further questions about importing contacts into edrone, please do not hesitate to contact us at hello@edrone.me