How do I import leads by email and how must the email be formatted?

Short answer

You can send leads to Leadnodes simply by email, without any technical integration. To do so, send a plain-text email (no HTML) to your import mailbox under the domain @import.leadnodes.com. The subject contains your personal API key, the message body contains the lead data – one field per line in the format field: value.

Detailed instructions

The email import checks the mailbox continuously (roughly every minute) and automatically creates a new lead in your system for every valid email.

Step by step

1. Copy API key: Navigate to Settings > API and copy the value under "Mail Inbox API Key".
2. Create a new email and send it to your import address under @import.leadnodes.com.
3. Subject = API key: Insert your API key (and nothing else) into the subject line. This is how the lead is assigned to your account.
4. Message body = lead data: Write exactly one field per line in the format fieldname: value.
5. Send as plain text: Make sure the email is sent as plain text and not as HTML/rich text.

Example message body

lead_type_id: 12first_name: Maxlast_name: Mustermannemail: max.mustermann@example.comphone: 030123456zip_code: 10115city: Berlinstreet_no: Musterstraße 1gender: mbirth_date: 01.05.1985

Mandatory details

• lead_type: The field lead_type_id is required. You can specify the ID, the short code or a stored alias of the lead type.
• Name: Provide first_name and last_name – or alternatively fullname (automatically split into first and last name).
• Location: Provide at least zip_code (postcode) or city.

Frequently used fields

email, phone, street_no, zip_code, city, country_code, gender, birth_date, company, newsletter_optin. In addition, you can populate all custom fields of your lead type via their field names.

Further frequently asked questions

How do I format the date of birth correctly?

The supported formats are DD.MM.YYYY (e.g. 01.05.1985), YYYY-MM-DD, DD-MM-YYYY and MM/DD/YYYY. If the format is invalid, the lead is flagged for manual review.

What happens if a field contains a colon?

The colon separates the field name and the value. Therefore avoid colons within values, as the value may otherwise be truncated. Use only one colon per line – directly after the field name.

Is my data cleaned up automatically?

Yes. Email addresses are converted to lower case and stripped of spaces, typical typing errors in phone numbers are corrected (e.g. "O" to "0"), and if no gender is given it is determined automatically from the first name.

Why was my lead rejected?

The most common reasons are an incorrect or missing API key in the subject line, a missing or unknown lead_type_id or an invalid data format. If a lead is rejected, you receive an email notification with the exact reason.

How quickly is my lead created?

The import mailbox is polled continuously (roughly every minute). Your lead is therefore usually created within a few minutes of sending.

Where do I find my API key?

You will find your personal API key under Settings > API in the "Mail Inbox API Key" section. You can also reset it there if required.