Migrating to Nashra
How to move from Substack, WordPress, Squarespace, Beehiiv, Kit, Mailchimp, Webflow, or Framer — importing subscribers from a CSV, importing posts (WordPress site address, Substack ZIP, WXR export, or CSV) as drafts with their original publish dates, covers, and categories, which CSV columns Nashra reads, and what to check before your first send to a migrated list.
Bringing your subscribers
Subscribers come in through Nashra's CSV importer, whichever platform you're leaving. Export your list as a CSV from your current platform, then bring it in the same way described in Audience:
Export your list
Every major platform, including Beehiiv, Kit, Mailchimp, and Substack, can export your subscriber list as a CSV. You need at least an email column.
Import and map columns
On the Audience page, click Add → Import from CSV, upload the file, and map its columns to email, first name, last name, and any custom fields.
Tag the import
Give this batch a tag on the way in, like imported-from-beehiiv, so you can find, filter, or email this exact group later, separately from subscribers who join through Nashra directly.
Imported subscribers are added as subscribed directly. The import skips double opt-in confirmation even if you have double opt-in turned on, since these people already confirmed on the platform you're leaving. That makes the list you bring in your responsibility: only import subscribers who opted in and still expect to hear from you, not a purchased list or one nobody has emailed in years.
Once the import finishes, turn its tag into a segment. That gives you a live, filterable view of exactly who came from this migration, separate from anyone who joins Nashra directly afterward.
Bringing your posts
Nashra can read your existing posts straight from some platforms and import others from an export file. Pick the source that matches where you're coming from:
| Coming from | What you need | Import source in Nashra |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress (live site) | Nothing but your site's address | WordPress |
| WordPress (export file) or Squarespace | A WXR .xml file (WordPress → Tools → Export, or Squarespace → Settings → Import / Export) | Squarespace or export file |
| Substack | Your export ZIP (Substack → Settings → Exports) | Substack |
| Webflow CMS collection | A CSV export of the collection | CSV file |
| Framer CMS | A CSV export | CSV file |
Beehiiv, Kit, and Mailchimp don't have a dedicated reader. Bring their posts in as a CSV with at least a title column and a content column, or recreate them by hand. Treat a CSV import as a starting draft, not a finished, fully formatted post.
Open the importer
In the Library, click Create → Import posts. In an empty Library, use or import from another platform instead.
Point Nashra at your posts
Choose your source. For a live WordPress site, enter your site's address and click Check site. For everything else, drop the export file. Files can be up to 200MB, which covers even a long-running Substack archive.
Check what Nashra found
Nashra shows how many posts it found, with a few sample titles. If it looks right, click Import.
Let it run
The import runs in the background, with a progress card at the top of the Library. You can keep working. Cancel import stops it, and posts already imported stay as drafts. When it's done, the card shows how many posts came in, and how many were skipped or failed.
What comes over
- Every post arrives as a draft. Nothing is published until you say so.
- Original publish dates. Each post keeps the date it was first published, so when you publish it, it lands in the right place in your archive rather than on today's date.
- Covers. If the source names a featured image, it becomes the post's cover. If it doesn't (a Substack export names none), Nashra uses the first image in the post.
- Images are copied into your media library, so they keep working after you close your old account.
- Categories. Each post brings its first category. Nashra creates any category you don't have yet and skips WordPress's "Uncategorized". See Categories.
- Slugs. Posts keep the slug the source gives them, so the last part of each URL stays familiar.
- Formatting. WordPress, Substack, and WXR imports carry over formatting along with the content. CSV imports carry only what's in your columns, so budget more time for cleanup after one of those.
You're not limited to a single import. Bring in a WordPress archive and a separate Substack export if your history spans both. Re-running an import skips posts you already have.
By importing, you confirm you have the right to bring this content in. Don't import content you don't own.
Shaping a CSV
Nashra matches column headers by name, ignoring case. Only title and content are required:
| Field | Headers Nashra recognizes (examples) |
|---|---|
| Title | title, name, headline, post title |
| Content | content, body, html, rich text, post body |
| Slug | slug, handle, url slug, path |
| Date | date, published, published on, publish date, created at |
| Summary (used for social cards and share images) | excerpt, summary, description, subtitle |
| Cover image | image, featured image, thumbnail, cover, image url |
| Category | category, categories, topic |
Dates in most common formats work, including day-first dates like 25/03/2024. A date where both readings are possible, like 03/04/2024, is read month-first (March 4). If a post has no date Nashra can read, it gets the import's date. Check a few before you publish.
Publishing what you imported
Review a few drafts in the editor first. When you're ready, publish them one at a time from the editor, or in bulk: in the Library, select the posts and use Change status → Published. Nashra gives each one a URL and skips any draft with no content.
After the import
A migration is a good moment to check the basics before you go back to sending and publishing regularly.
Check your subscriber count
Confirm the import landed the number of subscribers you expected, and spot-check a few records for correct names and tags.
Verify your sending domain
Before you send to a migrated list, set up your sending domain. Inboxes are more likely to flag a first send from a brand-new domain to a list they've never seen mail from.
Add a card or choose a plan
Sending email to your list needs a card on file or a paid plan. The card isn't charged. See Before your first send.
Send a test
Send yourself a test email, and review a couple of imported posts before you publish or send to your full list.
Taking your posts with you
Your posts are never locked in. In the Library, select posts and click Export to download them as a Markdown archive, one file per post. See Exporting posts.