How to Build a CSV List for CanForm Contact Form Outreach

CanForm’s autonomous outreach mode processes an uploaded company-list CSV one company at a time. This page explains the exact CSV format CanForm can read, and how to build a usable contact form outreach list from scratch — whether or not you’re using CanForm’s autonomous mode.

The CSV format

CanForm only reads company-list CSVs in the following format.

• Exactly 3 columns, in this fixed order: company name,URL,company description
• No header row — data starts on line 1
• Comma , as the delimiter
• UTF-8 encoding
• If a field contains a comma, line break, or double quote, wrap the whole field in " and escape internal " as ""

Here’s what each column is used for.

Use the company’s top-level homepage (e.g. https://example.com/), not a specific product or article page. CanForm follows on-page links such as “Contact” or “Inquiry” from the homepage to find the form. It’s safest to strip tracking parameters (?utm_source=..., etc.) from the URL first.

Sample CSV

Example Manufacturing Co.,https://example-manufacturing.example.com/,A mid-size manufacturer specializing in metal processing and precision parts. About 80 employees.
Test Solutions Inc.,https://test-solutions.example.com/,A software company building custom back-office systems for small and mid-size businesses.
Sample Staffing Services LLC,https://sample-staffing.example.com/,A recruitment and staffing agency serving mid-market companies.

A ready-to-use 3-row sample CSV is available. Download the sample CSV to see the exact format before replacing the rows with your real list.

Having AI collect a list for you

If you use an AI tool with web search capability, you can have it collect candidate companies for your list against a set of criteria. When you do, make sure your instructions explicitly include the following.

• Output only real, verifiable companies and URLs — do not guess or fabricate entries
• Prioritize companies that have an official website with a likely-existing contact form
• Strictly output as company name,URL,company description — 3 columns, no header, UTF-8
• Exclude government agencies, municipalities, and sites that explicitly state they don’t accept sales inquiries

Companies to exclude

As a rule, leave the following out of your list. This is an important part of responsible outreach.

• Government agencies, municipalities, and public institutions (outside the scope of B2B sales outreach)
• Sites that explicitly state they don’t want sales calls or emails
• Personal blogs or social media accounts with no verifiable official company site
• Companies whose existence you couldn’t verify

See our responsible use guide for more on detecting opt-out sites. CanForm includes opt-out detection that can automatically skip sites with this kind of language (toggle it on or off in settings).

Checking for duplicates

Avoid including the same company or domain in multiple rows. Duplicates mean you risk reaching out to the same company more than once. Before uploading, it’s worth checking for duplicate domains in your URL column. CanForm also skips companies it has already submitted to on subsequent runs, but it’s still good practice to de-duplicate your list up front.

Next steps

• Getting started with CanForm
• Responsible use guide