Moving your list from Kit, formerly ConvertKit

Kit, which was called ConvertKit until 2024, exports subscribers as a CSV, and Issue Mint reads two columns from it: the email address and the first name. Kit keeps first names properly, so this is one of the tidier imports to do.

The work is in the export rather than the import. Kit holds unsubscribed, bounced and inactive readers alongside your active ones, and whichever selection you export is what Issue Mint will treat as your list.

Where the export lives

Kit’s export sits with the subscribers: open your subscriber list, narrow it to the people you want, and look for the export option.

Kit often prepares the file and emails you a link rather than downloading it there and then, so check the inbox of the address on the account if the page looks like it did nothing. On a large audience the email can take a while to arrive.

Filter before you export, not after

The selection you apply in Kit before exporting is the one thing on this page worth slowing down for.

Kit lets you narrow the list by form, tag, segment and subscriber state, which means you can export exactly the readers you intend to bring and skip the spreadsheet work entirely. Export the active readers only. Anybody Kit has marked as unsubscribed, bounced or complained should stay behind, because Issue Mint imports every row it is given as an active subscriber and does not read a status column.

What to map on the mapping screen

Point the email field at the address column and the first name field at the first name column. Issue Mint normally has both pre-selected from the header row.

The screen also asks you to tick that these people gave you permission to email them, and to say in a sentence where the list came from. Custom fields, tag columns and subscription dates in the file are ignored, so there is nothing else to decide. Importing a CSV covers the mechanics, including the 20 MB file limit and what to do with an export too large to upload in one piece.

What the counts mean afterwards

When the import finishes, Issue Mint emails you three numbers.

Imported counts the readers now sitting on your list. Skipped is addresses that were already there, addresses appearing twice in the file, and anything suppressed by a previous hard bounce or complaint. Invalid is rows that are not addresses, and addresses whose domain can no longer receive mail at all. Those refused addresses are named on your subscribers page and kept for 180 days, so the difference between your file and your list is always accountable.

Because Kit is often used for years before anybody thinks of moving, the invalid figure here is frequently larger than people expect. Company domains disappear, and a list built in 2019 carries some addresses that no longer resolve anywhere.

What your list looks like on arrival

Imported readers land active, with their first names, and no confirmation email is sent to anybody.

They appear in your list straight away, and every issue you send from then on includes a one-click unsubscribe link, so a reader who does not want you can leave without reporting you. Unsubscribing explains what happens on this side when they do.

What to do next

Write and send. Nothing needs configuring first, because Issue Mint sends your issues itself from the day you sign up.

How Issue Mint sends covers what that means in practice, including the option of moving delivery onto your own Amazon SES or SMTP account later at no extra cost, which is a reasonable thing to want if you are arriving from a tool where you already thought about deliverability. If you are still comparing, the price ladder is based on total active readers, so the number that lands from this import is the number you are billed on.