The Mailchimp integration keeps a Mailchimp audience in step with the readers on the site. Readers are added to the audience as they register, and the reader data chosen in the integration’s settings, such as donor status or subscription dates, is sent to Mailchimp as it changes. Fields from the audience can also come back into Newspack, to target prompts in Campaigns and to gate content. The integration is part of Audience Management.
Newsletter sending is not handled here. Newsletters are still written and sent through Newspack Newsletters. This integration covers reader data.
Before you start
You will need:
- Newspack Newsletters active, with Mailchimp connected as the email service provider. See Adding API keys.
- Audience Management enabled on the site.
- An audience in Mailchimp to receive the site’s readers.
The integration only works with Mailchimp. On a site whose newsletter provider is ActiveCampaign, reader data syncs through the ActiveCampaign integration instead.
Setting up the integration
- Go to Audience → Integrations.
- If the Mailchimp card shows Connect, click it. It opens the Newspack Newsletters settings, where Mailchimp is connected. When that’s done, Back to Integrations in the banner at the top of the page returns to the card.
- Click Enable. If no audience is chosen yet, a dialog asks for the Mailchimp Audience first.
- Click Configure to review the settings and choose which fields sync.
Sites that already synced reader data to Mailchimp through Audience Management find the integration enabled, with the audience, default reader status, deletion settings, and field selection carried over.
Settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mailchimp Audience | The audience readers are added to. The list shows the audiences in the connected Mailchimp account. |
| Default reader status | The Mailchimp status a reader gets while not subscribed to any newsletter: Transactional/Non-Subscribed, the default, or Subscribed. |
Sending reader data to Mailchimp
The Outbound section decides what the site sends. While Enable outbound sync is on, each reader’s contact is created or updated in the audience with the fields ticked in the list. The Outgoing fields reference describes every field.
- Each field is written to an audience field named with the Metadata field prefix in front, for example
NP_Registration Date. A field the audience doesn’t have yet is created by the first sync that needs it. - Mailchimp gives each field its own merge tag, such as
MMERGE7, and the same field can have a different tag in another audience. To use a field in a newsletter, look up its tag in the audience’s field settings in Mailchimp. - Mailchimp limits how many fields an audience can hold. A field that can’t be created is left out of the sync, and the other fields still go through.
- A reader’s contact is sent when they register, sign in, check out, change a subscription or donation, or change their newsletter lists. While a signed-in reader uses the site, it is sent again at most every five minutes.
Account deletion
With Sync user account deletion on, which is the default, deleting a reader’s account on the site reaches Mailchimp too. How to sync deletion decides how:
- Delete contact immediately, the default, archives the contact in Mailchimp, which takes it out of the audience.
- Sync deletion metadata keeps the contact, marks it as deleted in its fields, and removes it from the site’s newsletter lists, so a Mailchimp automation can take it from there.
Pulling Mailchimp data into Newspack
While Enable inbound sync is on, the Inbound section lists the audience’s fields. Tick a field to copy its value into each reader’s profile on the site.
- Ticked text, number, date, dropdown, and radio fields become criteria in Audience → Campaigns → Segments and conditions in Audience → Access Control, named after the integration, for example Mailchimp: Region. Address, phone, and other field types are copied as reader data only.
- The dropdown next to each ticked field decides how segments and gates match it: Number for number fields, Date range or Text for dates, Single value or Multiple values for dropdown and radio fields, and Text or Number for text fields.
- Values refresh as signed-in readers use the site: right away when a reader’s data is more than a day old, otherwise within five minutes.
- The list also shows the fields Newspack sends, which start with the metadata prefix. That data comes from the site in the first place, so there is no need to pull it back.
Checking sync activity
Open the card’s menu under Audience → Integrations and choose Logs to see the integration’s recent syncs and their status. Open a failed sync’s details to see its error.
Troubleshooting
The card reads “Requires Newspack Newsletters”. Install and activate Newspack Newsletters. Once it’s installed, the card offers Activate.
The card shows Connect. Mailchimp isn’t connected in Newspack Newsletters yet. Click Connect and add the API key there.
The card reads “Requires Mailchimp as the newsletter provider”. Newspack Newsletters is set to another provider. Change provider opens its settings. A site on ActiveCampaign syncs reader data through the ActiveCampaign integration.
The Mailchimp Audience list is empty. Check the Mailchimp connection in Newspack Newsletters. The list shows the audiences the connected account can reach.
The Inbound list is empty. The audience’s fields are fetched in the background once the audience is chosen. Reload the page after a few minutes.
Readers aren’t reaching Mailchimp. Check that the integration is enabled, an audience is chosen, and Enable outbound sync is on. Then look under Logs for failed syncs.
A field is missing in Mailchimp. Check that it’s ticked in the Outbound list. It’s created the next time a reader syncs. If it still doesn’t appear, the audience may have no room left for new fields.
An Inbound field doesn’t show in Campaigns or Access Control. Only text, number, date, dropdown, and radio fields can be used there, and the field must be ticked under Inbound while Enable inbound sync is on.