Migrating from ActiveCampaign to Omnisend transfers your contacts, email templates, and automation workflows. This guide walks you through each step – from exporting contacts to recreating workflows – so you can switch platforms without losing data or momentum.
⚠️ Important: Keep your ActiveCampaign account active until you've transferred all data, recreated workflows, and verified everything works in Omnisend.
Before You Begin
Before you start, connect your store to Omnisend. This integration syncs customer data, products, and orders, and enables Signup Forms and Automation.
Migration Checklist
Export Contacts from ActiveCampaign
Once you connect your store, Omnisend syncs customer, product, and order data. You also need to export contact data from ActiveCampaign, including custom fields, engagement scores, and subscription statuses.
Note: For ActiveCampaign-specific export steps, check their Help Center or contact their Support.
How to Export
In ActiveCampaign, go to Contacts → Contacts overview → Export.
In the Export Options window, select both Default and Other fields.
Confirm the export, then download the file from Exports → Download.
⚠️ Important: ActiveCampaign keeps Subscribed, Unconfirmed, Unsubscribed, and Bounced contacts separately. Export each status to a different file so you can assign the correct subscription status in Omnisend.
Default fields: Email address, Phone number, First name, Last name, Status, Contact record created, IP address, User-agent, and Organization.
Other fields: Tags, List, Custom fields, Accounts, and Scores.
Critical fields:
Email address or Phone number (required; contacts without either won't import).
Status (export separately by status or add as a custom property for filtering).
Scores (tracks engagement; map to a custom property in Omnisend).
Note: The "date-added" field in Omnisend reflects when the contact was added to Omnisend, not the original ActiveCampaign date.
Format Contact Data for Import
Your CSV file must follow this structure:
One contact per row.
One data type per column (e.g., First name, Last name, City).
Example:
Data Types Omnisend Accepts
String or Text
Boolean
Date
Number value
Phone Number Formatting
Phone numbers must use international format: +[country code][area code][number], such as +12345678901.
💡 Excel tip: To prevent Excel from removing the "+" sign:
Add an apostrophe before the number: '+12345678901.
Import Your Contacts to Omnisend
Start the Import
Go to Audience → Add contacts → File import → Select file.
The import process includes four stages:
Upload File – Select your CSV.
Map – Match file fields to Omnisend properties.
Organize – Set subscription status (Email/SMS) and add tags or Segments.
Review – Confirm import details.
Map Contact Fields
After uploading, map your CSV columns to Omnisend fields.
Tips:
Use default Omnisend fields when available (e.g., map "Birthday" from ActiveCampaign to "Date of Birth" in Omnisend, not a custom field)
Map all available fields during your first import
If you import duplicate contacts, Omnisend updates existing records instead of creating duplicates
Source tags:
Omnisend auto-tags imported contacts:
source: platform (from store sync).
source: manual import (from CSV).
Set Subscription Status
In the Subscribe step, choose the subscription status for Email and SMS channels.
Check the box to import contacts as Subscribed (Active).
Leave unchecked to import as Non-subscribed (Unconfirmed).
Note: "Non-subscribed" is different from "Unsubscribed." To add contacts with Unsubscribed status:
Import them as Subscribed.
Then unsubscribe them in Omnisend (see Unsubscribed Contacts below).
💡 Tip: Omnisend pricing is based on Subscribed + Non-subscribed contacts. Unsubscribed contacts don't count toward your plan limit.
⚠️ Important: Import contacts by status separately (Subscribed, Unconfirmed, Unsubscribed, Bounced). A contact synced from your store as Subscribed may have been Unsubscribed in ActiveCampaign. Importing status-specific lists prevents mismatches.
Manage Your Segments
After importing, organize contacts into Segments based on engagement, status, and behavior.
Recommended Segments:
Unsubscribed contacts (Unsubscribed + Bounced from ActiveCampaign).
Engaged contacts & VIP customers.
Inactive contacts.
Custom Lists & Segments.
Omnisend syncs store data (orders, abandoned carts), but some ActiveCampaign data (e.g., custom engagement scores) may not transfer automatically. Export these Segments from ActiveCampaign as separate CSV files and import them to Segments in Omnisend.
Unsubscribed Contacts
Omnisend unsubscribes contacts who:
Unsubscribe manually
Bounce
Mark emails as spam
Omnisend doesn't differentiate between Bounced and Unsubscribed – bounces are listed as an unsubscribe reason.
To import Bounced + Unsubscribed contacts:
Import them to a separate Segment with Subscribed status
Open the Segment → Select all contacts → Actions → Unsubscribe
Engaged Contacts
When switching to a new platform, warm up your sender reputation by emailing your most engaged contacts first. These are contacts who recently opened emails, clicked links, or made purchases.
To create an Engaged Contacts Segment in Omnisend:
Use store data (recent purchases, order value).
Use the Scores field from ActiveCampaign (add as a custom property, then filter by score).
Important: Focus on recent engagement – contacts who opened or clicked emails in the last 30–90 days.
Migrate Templates, Forms, and Automation
Omnisend offers pre-built email templates, Signup Forms, and Automation workflows. Recreating your content in Omnisend ensures compatibility and helps you learn the platform.
Explore:
If you'd like to migrate email templates, you can use HTML:
Import custom HTML templates for Email Campaigns and Automation Workflows.
Or add a custom HTML content block to emails built in Omnisend.
Next Steps
Test your workflows: Verify that Signup Forms collect contacts and Automation Workflows trigger correctly. Use the Trigger Preview Tool to review your automation trigger.
Authenticate your sender domain: Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to improve deliverability and strengthen brand recognition. Learn how to set up your email domain.
Set up SMS channel (if needed): Generate your toll-free number and verify it for the US/Canada. Get started with SMS.
Warm up your sender reputation: Follow the warm-up plan to gradually increase email volume and improve deliverability.
Explore multi-channel messaging: Use Email, SMS, and Push Notifications to reach contacts where they're most active. Learn about communication channels.
💡 Find other advanced migration steps (domain setup, SMS configuration, workflow recreation, compliance) in our comprehensive guide: Migrating to Omnisend for SMS & Email Marketing.
FAQ
Why are my contacts imported as "Non-subscribed" instead of "Subscribed"?
The opt-out date column in your CSV file overrides the subscription checkbox. If the opt-out date is later than the opt-in date, contacts become Unsubscribed regardless of the checkbox.
To resolve this, remove the opt-out date column from your CSV file (or leave blank for subscribed contacts), then re-import with "Import as subscribed" checked.
How do I fix phone numbers that won't import or show SMS opt-in errors?
Common causes of SMS import issues:
Excel removes the
+signMissing country code
Numbers not in international format (+[country code][area code][number])
SMS opt-in/opt-out date columns mapped incorrectly
Format the phone number column as Text in Excel, and add an apostrophe before + sign (e.g., '+12025551234), ensure all numbers include the country code.
Need some extra guidance? Get in touch with our Support Team via in-app chat or at [email protected].