⚠️ Note: The Import Entries feature is available on Premium plans and above. If you don't see the Import Entries option, your current plan may not include this feature. View pricing here.
If you're seeing "0 entries imported" or fewer entries than expected, follow this guide to identify and fix the problem.
Quick Decision Tree
Start here to find your specific issue:
Did the upload show an error message? -> See "Error Message Decoder" below
Upload completed but 0 entries imported -> See "No Entries Imported (Silent Failure)"
Some entries imported, but fewer than expected -> See "Partial Import Failures"
Error Message Decoder
These error messages may appear during upload:
Error Message | What It Means | How to Fix |
Invalid template | Your CSV file is missing required columns (email, initial_entry) | Download a fresh template. Verify all required columns are present and spelled exactly. |
File encoding error | Your file contains special characters (accents, emojis) in the wrong format | Re-export the file as UTF-8 encoding from your spreadsheet app |
File too large | Your CSV exceeds the maximum file size (typically 10MB) | Split your file into smaller batches (e.g., 1,000 rows each) and upload separately |
Invalid email format | One or more email addresses are incorrectly formatted | Check emails for spaces, special characters. Valid format: [email protected] |
Make sure the file is formatted correctly:
No Entries Imported (Silent Failure)
Upload completed without errors, but 0 entries appeared in your campaign. Check the following:
File Validation Checklist
Required: Column named exactly
email(case-sensitive)Required: Column named exactly
initial_entrywith a number greater than 0No empty rows between data
Email column contains no empty cells
All emails are in valid format ([email protected])
File is saved as CSV, not Excel (.xlsx)
File is UTF-8 encoded (not ANSI or other encoding)
No duplicate emails in the same file
initial_entry is missing or set to 0
This is one of the most common causes of a silent "0 entries imported" result. The initial_entry column is required and must contain a number greater than 0 for each row. If the column is missing entirely, misnamed (e.g. "entries" or "entry"), or contains blank/zero values, no entries will be imported — even if all emails are valid and the file looks correct.
To fix: ensure the column is named exactly initial_entry and every row has a value of at least 1.
Common Silent Failure Scenarios
All entries already exist in campaign
By default, ViralSweep does not re-import duplicate email addresses. If everyone in your file already entered the campaign, the system will skip them. To force an update, check "Update existing entrants" when uploading.
Wrong column names
Column names must match exactly (case-sensitive on some systems). Verify: email not "Email" or "E-mail", and initial_entry not "entries" or "entry". Use the template provided by ViralSweep as your reference.
Empty or whitespace-only cells
Entries with blank email addresses or names filled with spaces will be skipped silently. Remove all empty rows and trim whitespace from data before uploading.
Campaign is closed or paused
New entries cannot be added to a closed or paused campaign. Verify the campaign is "Active" or "Running" before importing.
Partial Import Failures
If some rows imported but others didn't, individual rows may have validation errors. Here are common causes:
Duplicate emails
Email addresses that already exist in the campaign will skip unless "Update existing entrants" is checked. Check your import summary for skipped row counts.
Date format mismatch
If you have a "Date" field, ensure all dates match the expected format (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY). Inconsistent formats will cause those rows to fail.
Invalid data types
Custom fields may expect specific data types (numbers, dates, single-select). If a row contains the wrong type, it will be rejected. Review the import template to confirm field types.
Diagnosing Import Problems
Check the import summary after upload: It shows total rows, imported count, and skipped count
Look for error logs: Some systems provide a downloadable error report for failed rows
Start with a small test file: Upload 5-10 rows first to verify the process works
Compare against the template: Download a fresh template and re-map your data to it
Still Having Issues?
If you've checked all of the above, please provide the following when contacting support:
A screenshot of the error message (if any)
The number of rows you attempted to import
The number of rows that actually imported
A sample of your data (email addresses can be anonymized)
The campaign name and date of the import attempt