The three things that go wrong
Three risks run through systeme.io's migration guidance: importing people who never agreed to hear from you, importing more contacts than the plan allows, and emailing the whole list on day one. systeme.io's own help articles address all three. This guide summarises them, read on 30 October 2026, and adds export steps from the tools people usually leave. It is research, not a record of our own import. [1][2][3]
Step 1: export the right file from your old tool
Mailchimp's export does not include engagement data such as opens and clicks, so if you want to segment by activity for the warm-up, build that segment in Mailchimp first and export it separately. [6][7][8][9]
| Old tool | How to export | What to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Audience, Export audience, Export CSV; may arrive as a ZIP with one CSV per contact type; Owners and Admins only | The subscribed file. Leave cleaned addresses out. Tags and opt-in times are included; opens and clicks are not |
| Kit | Subscribers, filter Status to Confirmed subscriber, select all, then Export; emailed link expires after five days | Confirmed subscribers, with tags and custom fields |
| Kajabi | Contacts, filter or segment, Select All, Bulk Actions, Export; emailed link expires after 3 days | Check the columns before relying on tags |
| ClickFunnels | Customers, Contacts, Bulk actions, Export; choose fields including Tags | Email, name and tags |
Step 2: clean and format the CSV
systeme.io accepts CSV only, with a comma, semicolon or pipe as delimiter. Email is the one required field; first name, last name and phone are optional. Save as UTF-8 to avoid broken characters, and use clear headers such as First Name, Last Name, Email, Tags. [1][2]
Before importing, systeme.io's migration guide recommends removing hard bounces, duplicates, generic addresses like admin@ and test@, and contacts with no interaction for 6 to 12 months. Keep proof of opt-in consent, because systeme.io says it may ask for it. [2][3]
Step 3: check your plan's contact limit
Worked example: a creator exports 3,400 subscribed contacts from Mailchimp. Removing 300 who have not opened anything in a year and 100 hard bounces leaves 3,000, which is over the Free plan's 2,000. Either import only the most engaged 2,000 on Free, or move to Startup at $17 a month. Annual billing on systeme.io is advertised as 2 months free. [5]
| systeme.io plan | Monthly price | Contacts |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 2,000 |
| Startup | $17 | 5,000 |
| Webinar | $47 | 10,000 |
| Unlimited | $97 | Unlimited |
Step 4: import, tag and optionally subscribe to a campaign
Go to CRM, Contacts, Import contacts. Select the delimiter and upload the file, choose a tag to apply to everyone in the file, click Next, map each column to a field, then Import. systeme.io's import article states the list must contain only people who gave explicit consent to receive your emails. [1]
If contacts were partway through a sequence in your old tool, choose the campaign during import and map two extra columns: the campaign step number and the last sent date. That keeps people from receiving emails they already got. The campaign has to exist before you import. [4]
Import in batches rather than all at once, review the import report, and wait 24 to 48 hours before sending a large campaign. [2]
Step 5: warm up sending
Authenticate your sending domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC and use a dedicated sender address before the first send. Then follow a gradual ramp. The schedule below is systeme.io's published 10-day example. [3]
| Day | Volume | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 500 | Opened in the last 30 days |
| 2 | 900 | Very engaged plus semi-engaged |
| 3 | 1,500 | Opened in the last 60 days |
| 4 | 2,000 | Engaged plus some recently inactive |
| 5 | 3,000 | Mixed active and lightly inactive |
| 6 | 4,000 | Inactive under 90 days |
| 7 | 5,000 | Excluding inactive over 120 days |
| 8 | 6,000+ | All except inactive over 6 months |
| 9-10 | 100% | Full clean list, unsubscribed and invalid excluded |
Numbers to watch in the first month
- Bounce rate below 2%. [3]
- Spam complaint rate below 0.1%. [3]
- Open rate above 20% and click-through above 2%, depending on the campaign. [3]
- No re-engagement blasts to inactive contacts during warm-up. [3]
- If you need to move the list again, systeme.io exports go to your account email and the file is deleted after 3 days. [1]
Questions before you decide
What CSV format does systeme.io need?
systeme.io accepts CSV files with a comma, semicolon or pipe delimiter. Its migration guidance says to use UTF-8 encoding and that email is the only required field; other columns are mapped during import.
Can I tag contacts while importing into systeme.io?
Yes. During CRM, Contacts, Import contacts you can choose a tag that is applied to every contact in the file, and you can also subscribe the imported contacts to an existing campaign.
How many contacts can I import on the free plan?
systeme.io's pricing page listed 2,000 contacts on the Free plan on 30 October 2026, 5,000 on Startup at $17 a month, 10,000 on Webinar at $47, and unlimited on Unlimited at $97.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- systeme.io Help: How to import or export a contact list Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- systeme.io Help: Migration of your contact list to systeme.io (advanced tips) Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- systeme.io Help: How to migrate without hurting your email deliverability Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- systeme.io Help: How to subscribe contacts to a campaign when importing a contact list Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- systeme.io pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Mailchimp Help: View or export contacts Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kit Help: How to export subscribers Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Kajabi Help Center: Export contacts Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- ClickFunnels Support: How to export contacts Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.