# Marketing Audience Import Preflight

Canonical page: https://waitlist.crany.ai/marketing-templates/marketing-audience-import-preflight

By Tangenix. Published 2026-10-24. Category: Email operations.

Review a proposed email audience import for permission evidence, existing exclusions and status mapping before a contact becomes eligible for a campaign.

## Task

Prevent a contact import or migration from silently changing marketing eligibility or losing existing exclusions.

## When to use

Use this when a founder is preparing a legitimate audience migration or importing owned signup records. Review the mapping and permission history before an authorized operator changes the email system.

## Choose another approach when

The list is scraped or purchased, permission cannot be evidenced, or the purpose is to reactivate people who unsubscribed or complained without a valid new basis.

## Inputs

- The source list’s provenance, signup wording, timestamps and relevant permission scope.
- Current subscription, suppression and duplicate states in source and destination.
- The minimum necessary field mapping, intended campaign purpose and accountable import owner.

## Template

    Proposed import / purpose / owner / review date: [bounded change]
    Source provenance and permission evidence: [where permission came from]
    What content each group agreed to receive: [do not broaden by assumption]
    Source statuses: subscribed / pending / unsubscribed / complained / invalid / unknown
    Destination status mapping: [explicit result for each source state]
    Existing exclusion reconciliation: [preserve restrictive states and investigate conflicts]
    Duplicate identity rule: [do not merge unrelated people or revive a suppressed record]
    Minimum necessary fields / private evidence location: [no public contact dump]
    Controlled sample mapping review: [expected versus observed, before bulk action]
    Unknown permission group: hold / investigate; not automatically subscribed
    Decision and authorized next step: [approve bounded import or hold]
    Provider policy and applicable local requirements still need the correct context.

## Illustrative example

This is not a Crany customer result. Replace example details with verified facts.

    Fictional example: a founder plans to move an owned newsletter audience into a new email tool. The source file includes subscribed contacts, unconfirmed signups and people who previously opted out.
    The preflight maps those states separately. A destination's default “subscribed” import option is not accepted for the entire file, and an old opt-out is not erased because a duplicate row has a newer project tag. Unknown provenance remains held for investigation.
    The team keeps permission evidence in a private controlled location and reviews a minimal sample mapping. This worksheet does not import, delete, subscribe or contact anyone. Having an address in a customer database is not presented as proof of permission for the proposed newsletter.

## How to use

1. Establish list provenance and the permission scope for the proposed content.
2. Map every meaningful source state and reconcile exclusions before bulk changes.
3. Review controlled mapping evidence and hold unknown or conflicting eligibility.

## Checks

- The import does not silently convert pending or opted-out contacts into subscribers.
- Duplicate handling preserves exclusions rather than selecting the most permissive row.
- Only necessary fields enter the migration and private contact evidence stays protected.

## What to measure

Track mapping conflicts and records held because permission or status is unresolved. Verify actual destination eligibility only after a separately authorized import. This preflight is an operational review, not legal certification or permission to message contacts.

## Research and sources

Mailchimp requires express verifiable marketing permission and respect for audience contact types. This original import preflight protects state mapping and evidence; provider policy is not a universal legal opinion or a performed migration.

- [Mailchimp: The Importance of Permission](https://mailchimp.com/help/the-importance-of-permission/) — checked 2026-10-24. Verifiable permission and clear identity for marketing audiences; provider policy, not a universal legal opinion.
- [Mailchimp: Requirements and Best Practices for Audiences](https://mailchimp.com/help/requirements-best-practices-audiences/) — checked 2026-10-24. Audience preferences, opt-in practices and maintenance of subscribed audiences.

Prepared with AI assistance. Sources support the stated principles; they do not endorse Crany or guarantee performance.

## About Crany

Crany is an AI marketing co-founder in development for software founders and vibe coders. It is designed to strategize, execute approved marketing and improve based on results. These free resources are usable independently of app access. The public waitlist is at https://waitlist.crany.ai/.