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Export an audience and download it as a CSV file

Updated

To export an audience, go to your list of audiences and open the three-dot Actions menu on the audience's row. Select Export the Audience, click Confirm, then click Download in Your File is Ready.

Your browser downloads the audience as a CSV file. The download sends nothing to another system.

Use this article when

  • You want a CSV of an audience (a saved list of people) for a spreadsheet or another platform.
  • You cannot find where to export an audience.
  • You want to know which settings change the columns and rows in the file.

Before you begin

Plan Avid Intelligence, Avid Pathways, Avid Playbooks, or Avid Operating System. Avid Benchmarks does not include audiences.
Permission You need Export for Pathways. An admin sets it under Settings > Team > the team member > Access Level. The Full Access preset includes it. View Only does not.
Audience Any audience except a Lookalike audience. Propensity and Analysis audiences can be exported.
Setup None. Every organization already has the File Export destination. You do not need full Pathways (sending audiences to connected tools such as email and ad platforms).
Time About 5 minutes.

File Export runs once each time you confirm. It builds a new CSV from your current data and has no schedule.

Export an audience

This path works on every plan that includes audiences.

  1. In the left nav, click Pathways, then click the Manage Audiences tab.

    The page lists your audiences.

  2. In the row for your audience, click the three-dot Actions menu, then select Export the Audience.

    Pathway Summary opens. Destination reads File Upload: File Export, and Sync Frequency reads One Time.

  3. Review the columns under Columns to Export. Each row has a Source Column and an Output Name. Click Add Column to add one.

    Avid saves your column choices for this audience and reuses them next time.

  4. Review Questions About Your Export. These switches appear for audiences built on your constituent data blend (your main donor data).

    All four are off on a new mapping. The first is Export every individual associated with an account? With all four off, you get one row per account. The email, phone, and address switches can add rows.

  5. Wait for the bottom button to change from Validating to Confirm. Then click Confirm. The button shows Processing while Avid builds the file.

    You see Your File is Ready. The dialog says the audience has been exported to a file and is ready to download.

    The first time you export a Wiland audience, a Wiland Audience Download Terms dialog appears after you click Confirm. Check I agree to the Wiland Audience Download Terms. Then click Agree and continue.

  6. Click Download.

    The file link opens in a new browser tab, and your browser downloads the CSV. The original tab reloads on Add a new Pathway with full Pathways, or on Manage Audiences without it.

For agency partners

Advanced Settings (collapsed) holds the source columns and Prioritization Column(s). For details, read Fix: File Export shows multiple rows for the same account.

The download link expires after 1 hour. Export the audience again to get a new link and a fresh file.

Start from Add a new Pathway instead

Use this path if your organization has full Pathways and your user has Export for Pathways.

  1. Click Pathways in the left nav. The Add a new Pathway tab opens.
  2. Under Step 1: Select Audience, click the audience.
  3. Under Step 2: Choose a Destination, click File Upload: File Export.
  4. Click Review Pathway. It stays disabled until you pick both. Pathway Summary opens.

Then follow steps 3 through 6 above.

Other ways to start an export
  • Suggested Audience Export: click Export on a Suggested Audience card on the audiences page. Avid saves the suggested audience to your list first, then opens Pathway Summary.
  • Ask Edna in Slack: click Download on the reply after Edna creates an audience.
  • Compare audiences: select two or three audiences and click Compare audiences. Then click Combine Lists, then Download unique list for a split-test file.

About the downloaded file

  • The file is a CSV that Excel reads correctly.
  • The header row uses each column's Output Name.
  • For audiences built on your constituent data blend, default columns include Id, Contact Id, First Name, Last Name, and Email. Other audience sources start with different defaults.

If you can't export

What you see Cause Fix
Export the Audience is missing from the Actions menu. You lack Export for Pathways, or the audience is a Lookalike audience or a Wiland audience without download rights. Ask an admin to turn on Export under Settings > Team. Lookalike audiences cannot be exported.
An Access Denied dialog with You don't have permission to perform this action. Please submit a request ticket if you feel this is incorrect. Your user lacks Export for Pathways, or a Wiland audience lacks download rights. Ask an admin to check your Access Level. For Wiland audiences, contact LockStep Support.
An archived audience has no Actions menu. Archived audiences cannot be exported. Click the filter button next to Search, turn on Archived, then click Restore audience on the row. Then export it.
On Add a new Pathway, a tile shows You cannot push modeled audiences to this destination The audience is a Lookalike audience. Lookalike audiences cannot be exported. Choose another audience.
Under a column row: Please select a source column, Please enter a static value above, or Please enter the column name for your export. The button stays Need Attention. A row in Columns to Export is incomplete. Complete the row that shows the message. Then click Confirm.
A Pathway Not Created dialog. Avid found a problem with the column mapping. Read the message, correct Columns to Export, and try again.

Next steps