Import Your Email List

Bring Your Mailing List to Sleeve

Already have a mailing list? Bring it. Sleeve turns it into a proper artist newsletter, directly tied to your page... no separate Mailchimp, Substack, or Buttondown account required.

Whether your list lives in Mailchimp, Substack, Bandcamp, a spreadsheet from tour signups, or anywhere else, you can import the addresses to Sleeve and keep your fans in one place.

What happens after you import

Once imported, your fans:

  • Join your free follower tier automatically
  • Start receiving your public posts by email as soon as you publish
  • Can visit your artist page anytime to catch up, follow other artists, or upgrade to a paid membership

No separate newsletter tool to maintain. No double-opt-in step. They were already your subscribers... now they're following you on Sleeve.

Two ways to import

  • Paste emails directly into the import box (comma-separated, line-separated, or any combination)
  • Upload a CSV file if you already exported your list from another tool

Both work. CSV is faster for larger lists.

Where the import lives

  1. Open your artist dashboard (open the Your Sleeve menu in the top-right, choose Manage).
  2. Click the Subscribers tab.
  3. Click Import Your Mailing List.
  4. Paste or upload your contacts, write a welcome message, and import.

Writing your welcome message

Every import sends a one-time welcome email so subscribers know why they're suddenly hearing from you. Keep it warm and direct... explain that you moved to Sleeve and what they'll get going forward.

Example:

You're getting this email because you signed up for my mailing list. I just moved my newsletter to Sleeve so my music, posts, and updates all live in one place. You're now following me on the free tier and will get my public posts in your inbox. You can unsubscribe anytime, or visit my Sleeve page if you ever want to support me with a paid membership.

Customize it to sound like you... drop in a current project, a recent show, anything that anchors the message in something real.

Best practices

  • Only import lists you've grown yourself. No purchased lists, no scraped emails. Your sender reputation depends on it... and Sleeve's reputation depends on yours.
  • Post something within a week of importing. Your welcome email is one moment; the next post is the one that actually earns the open.
  • If your list is huge, import in batches. Most artists' lists are fine in one go, but a 50k+ list can benefit from a phased import so deliverability stays clean.
  • Use the unsubscribe link. Every email Sleeve sends includes one automatically. Unsubscribes are normal and healthy.

Exporting your list (going the other way)

Sleeve doesn't lock your list in. From the same Subscribers tab, you can download your full subscriber list as a CSV anytime. Useful when:

  • You want to back up your list locally
  • You're using a one-off tool (a Mailchimp campaign for a specific show, a Bandcamp digest)
  • You want to hand a list to a manager or label working with you
  • You're auditing who's on what tier

Your fans are yours. They go where you go.

Growing your list after the import

Your artist page includes an email signup form by default. Anyone who lands on yourname.sleeve.fm (or your custom domain) can join your list with one click. Share the page on Instagram, TikTok, your shows, your link-in-bio... every fan who hits the page gets the option to follow.

Need help with an import? Reply to support@sleeve.fm.