There are a couple of options to add private contacts. You can bulk import them from a .csv file, or one by one.
Adding contacts through bulk import:
Agility’s import tool makes it easy to work with lists created outside of the platform, whether you have been maintaining them yourself outside the system or you are moving them from a different service.
Preparing the Excel data file
The Excel file MUST contain the three mandatory columns of First name, Last name and Email address in order for the import to process successfully. Other columns can also be included (e.g. Telephone no., Outlet name, Twitter handle etc.) but are not mandatory.
NOTE: If you do not have the first name and last name, then you can put in dummy data under these field I.e. First name 1, First name 2, Last name 1, Last name 2 etc.
Save the excel spreadsheet as a .csv (comma delimited) file.
The import process
Step 1. Go to Media Relations > Private Contacts > Import contacts
Step 2. Click Start Importing Contacts and browse your computer for your CSV file > You can select up to 20 individual files to import and choose to either import them as 1 list or as individual lists.
Step 3. Use the drop-down menus to map the fields in Agility to the columns on the CSV file.
Step 4. Decide if you want to match your contacts to any Agility contacts. A match will be successful when names and email addresses are the same.
Select this option if you want to add the Agility contact to your list rather than the private version, which will allow Agility's media research team to keep that contact up to date for you.
Step 5. Select which lists you want to add the contacts to, if any. If you don't have lists yet, you can create them at this stage.
Step 6. Enter an email address to receive an email notifying you of the status of the import >
Step 7. Click on Import.
You will receive an email once the import is complete, explaining the status and result for each contact.
NOTE: Imports can take some time depending on how many lists are being processed at once. Agility will allow the user to continue working while lists are being imported behind the scenes.
Adding Contacts One-by-one:
If you are unable to find a contact in Agility, you can add your own so they're immediately available for distributions. To add your own private contact to Agility, please follow these four easy steps below.
Step 1. Go to Media Relation>Private Contacts>Create Contact
Step 2. Add the contact's first name, last name and email, plus any other information you have.
Step 3. Click Create Contact.