Using first party data (AKA 'Voter File Data' or 'CRM Data') to create an ad audience is a great way to ensure that your list—whether it's from the voter file or other data your campaign has available—makes up a foundational portion of your digital ad audience.

This foundational data source requires a minimum list size of 1,001 people (that means you must have at least 1,001 records of data to import, but we recommend a list of at least 10,000 for best results).

New offer alert: Having trouble uploading your list or want to save time? Let our Client Success Team handle it for you. Whether you're facing challenges or just need a little extra help, our expert team will re-format and upload your list straight to your My Audiences tab in the Ads platform. Visit our Creative Store and purchase the Voter File or CRM List Formatting and Upload.

To upload your list, first navigate to 'My Audiences' in the left-hand navigation menu and select 'Create Audience' in the upper right-hand corner. Hint: if you're already in the process of building a campaign, you can also access this feature by clicking "Upload a Voter File or CRM Audience" in Step 3 of the campaign builder.





Then, download our .csv audience template file by clicking the download button at the bottom of the screen:



The list upload template has strict parameters - please follow the instructions to ensure your list is accepted. The main things you need to remember are:

  • The list must include at least 1,001 rows of records (10,000 or more recommended)
  • All column headers must remain exactly as they are in the template file. Do not edit the names or rename the column headers from the template file.
  • Your file must have at least one of the following combinations to achieve a match. You must use the same combination for all rows in your file—for example, if you are matching to email addresses, you may not have any rows without an email address. If you also have phone numbers for your contacts, you may include that.
    • Email
    • Phone number
    • Name AND zip code
    • Lookup type AND lookup value (if using encrypted data).
  • Please remove any excess data from your file. Do NOT add any additional columns to the template.
  • Ensure that there are not any extraneous or non-english characters in any required field. For example, the entire file will be rejected if one of your fields has any characters not typical for that field.
  • If you are using encrypted data, do not also use plain text data. You may only use EITHER plain text or encrypted data, not both at the same time.
  • If exporting your list from the voterfile, please be sure to download your list as an 'individual' export, not household. The 'Name' field should have one first name and one last name. 
When your list is correctly formatted within the template, click the "Upload Data" button at the top of the screen to navigate to the upload page. Name your audience something distinctive (this is only visible to you and your team), and choose the advertiser (if you are using an agency or organization account). Then, drag and drop your CSV file into the uploader or click the "Browse" button to locate the file in your computer files. Once you have selected your file, click "Submit" in the bottom right-hand corner.

You should receive a confirmation message that your audience was uploaded successfully.

Your audience will then be visible under "My Audiences" on the left-hand navigation menu immediately, and you can continue to build out your campaign and attach the audience to any campaigns, however, it may take up to 24-48 hours until the match has completed before your ads can begin to deliver to this audience.

Still have questions? Reach out to our Success Team at success@turnitbluedigital.com.