How to import your existing members to Ghost

You can easily import your current subscribers and audience into Ghost so they can access the material on your new membership website. You may ensure that your audience can access your material on your Ghost site by exporting any external list of supporters, email subscribers, or patrons.

Gather your subscribers list

You should begin by exporting your current members or subscribers if you're utilizing an external site like Mailchimp, Substack, or Patreon. Use the instructions given.

Prepare your CSV file

There is a downloadable template to help you get started. Ensure you clean your data before importing it into Ghost.

The following fields should be supported by imports, which should be in CSV format:

• email - email addresses [required]
• name - full names
• note - member notes
• subscribed_to_emails - [true/false] determine who will get email newsletters from the membership
• stripe_customer_id - To import current paying subscribers, need a special Stripe customer ID.
• complimentary_plan - [true/false] import subscribers that are on a free plan
• labels - Labels need to be in quotes and comma separated e.g. “label 1, label 2”
• created_at - Date format ISO 8601: 2023-10-30T14:52:08.000Z

The email field is a required field - all other fields are optional.

Multiple newsletters

When you have numerous newsletters, you can import members as follows:
Importing new members

• subscribed_to_emails=true → members will be opted in to all newsletters that have "Subscribe new members on signup" turned on.
• subscribed_to_emails=false → members are unsubscribed from all newsletters upon import.

Importing existing members

• subscribed_to_emails=true → email subscription preferences will be left alone, unless they were previously unsubscribed from all.
• subscribed_to_emails=false → members are unsubscribed from all newsletters.

Import your CSV file

1. Navigate to the Members dashboard in Ghost admin

2. Click the Settings icon at the top-right of the screen and select Import members

3. Upload your CSV file and make any further required changes before clicking Import members

Integrations

Using the Zapier integration, you can also automatically add new subscribers who have been subscribed to other applications into Ghost or vice versa, keeping your member list up to date.