ConvertKit (Kit) → AcelleMail Migration — Visual Walkthrough

Before you start#

You'll need:

• A ConvertKit (Kit) account with subscriber-export permission
• An AcelleMail installation up and running
• ~30 minutes for <100k subscribers

ConvertKit was rebranded to Kit in 2024. The UI shifted but the export flow remains the same — this guide uses the current Kit screen names.

Export from Kit (ConvertKit)#

In Kit's top nav, click Subscribers. Filter by tag, segment, form, or "all subscribers" — whichever scope you want to migrate. Then click Export in the toolbar.

Kit asks for format (CSV) and field selection — pick all the custom fields you've defined. The file prepares in the background; Account → Imports & Exports shows the download link when ready (usually <5 minutes).

Exported CSV includes: email, first name, all custom fields, tags (comma-separated), confirmed-at timestamp, source.

Import into AcelleMail (the same 6 clicks for every source)#

Once you have the CSV exported from your previous platform, the import flow in AcelleMail is identical regardless of where the data came from.

1. Open your destination list#

In AcelleMail's sidebar, click Audience → choose the list that will receive the migrated subscribers (or create a new one — New list button top-right).

You'll see a per-list overview card with subscriber counts:

2. Click "Import" in the list toolbar#

The wizard entrypoint is on the list detail page:

3. Upload your CSV#

Drop the CSV file from the previous platform into the upload area:

AcelleMail parses the file and confirms detection:

4. Map the columns#

The wizard auto-detects standard columns (email, first_name, last_name) and shows green Mapped to EMAIL chips. Adjust manually for any non-standard column from the source:

5. Pick duplicate handling#

In the same screen, choose what AcelleMail does when a subscriber already exists in this list:

• Skip — keep the existing row, don't overwrite
• Update — overwrite name/tags/custom fields with values from the CSV
• Unsubscribe — mark existing rows as unsubscribed (rare; used when re-importing an opted-out list)

6. Run the import#

Click Start import. The job runs in the background — close the popup, work elsewhere, return to Audience → [list] → Import to see progress:

You'll see Pending → Running → Complete per import job, with rows-imported / rows-skipped / errors counts.

After the import#

• Verify list count matches your expected size (rows that failed validation appear in the Errors column with a downloadable error CSV).
• Re-tag if needed — for behavioural data that doesn't fit a CSV column (e.g. "opened campaign X"), you may need to re-create the tag via segmentation rules.
• Pause for warm-up — if the imported list is large (>10k) and your sending IP is new or recently rotated, run a short warm-up campaign to your most-engaged 10% before the full send. See IP warm-up best practices for the schedule.

Rebuilding Kit (ConvertKit) automations#

Kit's automations (formerly called "sequences" + "rules") map to AcelleMail's Automations. Equivalent triggers:

Kit's "Visual Automations" (drag-and-drop sequence builder) closely mirror AcelleMail's automation canvas — the rebuild is largely 1:1 with the same node primitives.

Merge-tag syntax differences#

Kit uses Liquid templating, very close to AcelleMail's own syntax. Most templates copy-paste with only the email_address → email rename and unsubscribe-URL rename.

# Kit (v4) API key from Account → API & Apps
curl -X GET "https://api.kit.com/v4/subscribers?per_page=1000" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <KIT_API_KEY>" \
  -o kit-subscribers.json

ACELLE_TOKEN="..."
ACELLE_LIST_UID="..."

jq -c '.subscribers[] | {email: .email_address, first_name: .first_name}' kit-subscribers.json \
  | while read sub; do
      curl -X POST "https://acellemail.com/api/v1/subscribers" \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACELLE_TOKEN" \
        -d "{\"list_uid\":\"$ACELLE_LIST_UID\",\"subscriber\":$sub}"
    done

Related articles#

• Importing contacts CSV — best practices and field mapping
• Migration from Mailchimp to AcelleMail
• Building a welcome email series in AcelleMail
• Re-engagement campaigns — win back inactive subscribers