Overview
This guide explains how to add contacts to Emma.
Emma newsletters are sent to groups rather than individual contacts, so we recommend that you create a group first, and then import your contacts:
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Step 1: Create at least one group (mailing list) to hold your contacts.
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Step 2: Import a spreadsheet containing your contacts. During this import process, select at least one group to hold your contacts.
Helpful terms
We use the following terms:
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Contact: A person whose information you save in Emma, and who may or may not currently receive your newsletters.
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Contact field: A single piece of data about a contact (for example, a person's first name, last name, or email address can all be individual contact fields).
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Group: A mailing list of contacts. When sending a newsletter, you select groups rather than individual contacts as your recipients.
Additional guides
Already imported your contacts and need to learn more about managing them? Refer to our guide:
Logging in to Emma
- Go to https://home.e2ma.net and log in with the following credentials:
- Username: Your @usc.edu email address
- Password: The password you created during setup, which may not be the same as your USC NetID passphrase
- You may be asked to enter a verification code, which Emma sends to your email.
- Click the Audience tab. When you need to add contacts or groups (mailing lists), you will work in this tab.
Creating a group (mailing list)
Emma uses the term groups to refer to mailing lists. For most Dornsife departments and units, a single group is enough to hold all the contacts who will receive your newsletter, but you can create as many groups as you need.
We recommend creating at least one group before importing any contacts. While you can create groups during or after the import process, it may be more work to add contacts to the group after the import.
Quick guide
- Make sure you're in the Audience tab. In the left menu, click Groups.
- Click Create a group.
- Type a name and click Create.
- The group is created and added to the list. You can select this group when adding new contacts, or you can add existing contacts to this group.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Make sure you're in the Audience tab. In the left menu, click Groups.
- Click Create a group.
- Type a name and click Create.
- The group is created and added to the list. You can select this group when adding new contacts, or you can add existing contacts to this group.
Adding contacts by importing a list
Make sure that everyone you're adding has consented to receive your newsletters. Emma requires this:
Rented and purchased lists are not allowed. You can only upload a contact list if everyone on that list has either asked to receive messages from you or has had a clear relationship with your organization (as a customer, employee, or volunteer, for example) in the last 12 months. If you have contacts who were added earlier than that, you must have messaged them at some point within the last 12 months to keep them on your list.
You can import a .csv (recommended), .xls, or .xlsx file. The first row should be the header row. For example, your file might look like this:
Once your contacts are imported, the column headers will become contact fields in Emma.
Quick guide
- Make sure you're in the Audience tab. Click Imports in the left menu.
- Click Choose file, and select the file.
- (Optional) Select a source for the import, and keep Update their records selected.
- Click Continue.
- Emma attempts to match the header row titles in your file to existing contact fields. For any fields where Ignore appears, select an existing field or click Add field.
- Click Continue.
- Add the contacts to one or more groups (mailing lists):
- To add the contacts to an existing group: Select one or more groups.
- To create a new group and add the contacts: Type a name and click Add.
- Click Continue.
- Leave the subscription selection blank, and click Continue.
- Review the summary and click Import.
- Emma begins importing the contacts in the file. The page may not automatically update once the import is complete, so you can navigate to other pages in Emma and then return to the Audience tab to check progress.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Make sure you're in the Audience tab. Click Imports in the left menu.
- Click Import contacts.
- Click Choose file, and select the file.
- (Optional) Select a source for the import, and keep Update their records selected.
- Click Continue.
- Emma attempts to match the header row titles in your file to existing contact fields. For any fields where Ignore appears, select an existing field or click Add field.
- Click Continue.
- Add the contacts to one or more groups (mailing lists):
- To add the contacts to an existing group: Select one or more groups.
- To create a new group and add the contacts: Type a name and click Add.
- Click Continue.
- Leave the subscription selection blank, and click Continue.
- Review the summary and click Import.
- Emma begins importing the contacts in the file. The page may not automatically update once the import is complete, so you can navigate to other pages in Emma and then return to the Audience tab to check progress.
Adding contacts one by one
If you just have one or two contacts to add, it may be faster to add them manually than by creating and importing a spreadsheet:
Quick guide
- Make sure you're in the Contacts page of the Audience tab.
- Click Add contact.
- Fill in the relevant fields. The default fields are email address, SMS (phone number), first name, and last name. Any custom fields also appear here (to add a new custom field, refer to our guide).
- Add the contact to one or more groups: you can select existing groups or click Create group to create a new one.
- Select Save and close or Save and add another.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Make sure you're in the Contacts page of the Audience tab.
- Click Add contact.
- Fill in the relevant fields. The default fields are email address, SMS (phone number), first name, and last name. Any custom fields also appear here (to add a new custom field, refer to our guide).
- Add the contact to one or more groups: you can select existing groups or click Create group to create a new one.
- Select Save and close or Save and add another.
Adding contacts by signup form
You can encourage people to add themselves by directing them to your newsletter signup form. To create and share a signup form:
Adding existing contacts to a group
If you did not select a group when you initially added the contact, you can still add the contact to any groups afterward. Refer to the following instructions: