Looking to move your leads and campaign data out of Meetalfred and into Excel? Maybe you want to run your own reports, share data with the team, or just keep a backup you actually control. Whatever your reason, exporting from Meetalfred isn’t rocket science, but there are some gotchas and annoyances to watch out for. This guide is for folks who want clear steps (with none of the fluff) and a few honest tips about what works—and what doesn’t.
What You Can (and Can’t) Export from Meetalfred
Before you dive in, it’s worth knowing what Meetalfred actually lets you export. If you haven’t tried it before, Meetalfred is a LinkedIn automation tool that manages outreach and lead generation campaigns. It’s mostly used by sales teams, recruiters, and agencies. The export options are decent, but they’re not perfect:
- What you can get: Leads (contacts), campaign results, message history, and some activity logs.
- What you can’t get: Full message threads, custom fields (sometimes), or attachments. Some data is locked behind Meetalfred or just not exportable at all.
Most people just want the leads with names, emails, company, and LinkedIn URLs. If you’re after something fancier, you might need to get creative or use a workaround (more on that later).
Step 1: Get Your Data Organized in Meetalfred
Don’t just hit export and hope for the best. Meetalfred’s exports are only as good as the data you’ve got in there. Here’s what helps:
- Clean up duplicates: If you’ve run a lot of campaigns, you probably have repeat contacts.
- Check your filters: It’s usually best to export only what you need—like leads from a specific campaign or timeframe.
- Tag or segment leads: If you use tags, filter by them before exporting.
Pro tip: Meetalfred’s search and filters are basic. If you need more granularity, consider exporting everything and cleaning up in Excel later.
Step 2: Log In and Find the Export Feature
This sounds obvious, but Meetalfred changes their UI every so often, so don’t be surprised if things move around. Here’s how to get started as of early 2024:
- Log in to your Meetalfred account.
- Go to the “Contacts” or “Leads” section—this is usually in the left sidebar.
- Apply any filters or select a campaign if you only want a specific subset.
You might see “Export” as a button near the top right, or as a dropdown option. If you can’t find it:
- Look for three dots (“...”) menus near the contacts list.
- Try right-clicking (yes, really).
- Still lost? Meetalfred’s help docs are inconsistent, but their support chat is decent for navigation questions.
Step 3: Choose Your Export Type
Meetalfred usually gives you two or three options for exporting:
- CSV: This is what you want. Excel opens these easily, and you won’t get weird formatting.
- XLS/XLSX: Sometimes offered, but I’d stick to CSV—fewer compatibility headaches.
- PDF: Not useful for working with the data.
Pick CSV. If there’s an “All fields” vs. “Selected fields” option, choose “All fields” unless you know exactly what you’re doing. You can always delete columns in Excel, but adding missing data later is a pain.
Heads up: Large exports (thousands of leads) might stall or fail. If you have a big list, break it into smaller chunks using filters.
Step 4: Download and Open the File
Once you hit export, Meetalfred will process the file. Sometimes you’ll get a direct download. Other times, you’ll get an email with a link (especially for big exports).
- Check your downloads folder. The file will usually be named something generic like “contacts.csv” or “export.csv.”
- If you get an email link, click it—but do it soon. These links often expire after a day or two.
Open the file in Excel. If you see gibberish or the data looks squished into one column, here’s what to do:
- Open Excel first. Go to “File” > “Open” and pick your CSV. This lets you set the delimiter (comma, usually).
- If you double-click and see everything in Column A, use Excel’s “Text to Columns” feature (under the “Data” tab) and split by commas.
Step 5: Clean and Format Your Data in Excel
Meetalfred exports aren’t perfect. Expect to spend a few minutes tidying up:
- Column names might be weird (“FirstName” instead of “First Name”).
- Empty columns: Delete what you don’t need.
- Duplicate rows: Use Excel’s “Remove Duplicates” feature.
- Weird characters: Sometimes you’ll get odd characters if someone used emojis or special text in their LinkedIn name.
Pro tip: Always save a copy of the raw export before making changes. If you mess something up, you’ll have the original to fall back on.
Step 6: What to Do If You Hit a Wall
Let’s be real—Meetalfred’s exports aren’t bulletproof. Here’s what can go wrong, and what to do about it:
- Export button missing or greyed out: You might not have the right permissions. Ask your admin.
- Partial data or missing fields: Sometimes data doesn’t export (especially emails), depending on LinkedIn privacy settings or campaign settings. Double-check your campaign setup.
- Export never arrives: Try a smaller chunk, log out and back in, or contact support. Sometimes exports just stall.
- Data seems out of date: Meetalfred doesn’t always sync instantly. Give it a few minutes and try again.
If you need more data than the export gives you (like message threads or custom fields), your options are limited:
- Copy-paste: Tedious, but sometimes that’s all you can do.
- API access: Meetalfred has an API, but it’s not user-friendly and may require a paid plan and some technical chops.
- Third-party tools: Some Chrome extensions claim to extract more data, but use caution—these can violate LinkedIn’s terms and may get your account flagged.
Step 7: Automate or Repeat as Needed
If you’re doing this export regularly, here’s how to make your life easier:
- Set a reminder to export weekly or monthly.
- Use Excel macros to automate the cleanup—once you’ve figured out what needs fixing, you can script it.
- Check if Meetalfred offers scheduled exports or integrations with Google Sheets, Zapier, or similar—sometimes these are buried in the settings or only available on higher-tier plans.
But honestly, don’t over-complicate it unless you’re exporting data all the time. For most people, a manual export every now and then is just fine.
What Actually Matters (and What Doesn’t)
- Focus on the core data: Names, emails, LinkedIn URLs, company—these are what you’ll actually use.
- Don’t stress over missing columns: Most of the extra data (like “Last Activity Timestamp” or “Prospect Source”) is filler unless you have a specific use case.
- Double-check for GDPR or privacy compliance if you’re sharing the export with others.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Don’t Overthink It
Exporting leads and data from Meetalfred to Excel isn’t complicated, but it’s not automatic magic, either. You’ll get better results if you clean up your data first, stick to CSV exports, and spend a few minutes making the Excel file readable.
Don’t chase fancy hacks or over-engineer the process. Export what you need, keep a backup, and tweak your approach as you go. If you hit a snag, it’s usually something simple—just step back, check your filters and permissions, and try again. And if Meetalfred’s export options aren’t enough for your use case, it might be time to rethink your workflow or look at other tools.
Keep it straightforward, and you’ll spend less time wrestling with exports—and more time actually using your data.