MailChimp Sync Settings

Table of Contents

The MailChimp Sync extension for WP-CRM System has only a few settings you will need to configure before you can start to fully use the plugin.

MailChimp API Key #

The MailChimp API Key is a required setting in order for WP-CRM System to communicate with your MailChimp account. Without this, no connection between MailChimp and your WP-CRM System site can be made.

To generate an API key, you must have a MailChimp account with either Manager, Admin, or Owner permissions. Viewers or Authors on your account will not be able to generate an API key.

  • In your MailChimp account, click your profile name at the lower left side of the page, and choose Account.
  • Go to the “Extras” drop-down menu and select “API Keys”
  • Click on the Create A Key button.
  • After MailChimp created your API key, add a label for your API key so you can remember which application uses that key later on. Change with “WP-CRM System” or anything else should be fine
  • Copy the API key that you have generated earlier

Return to your WP-CRM System site and enter your API key in the plugin’s settings.

  • Navigate to WP-CRM System > Dashboard, then click the MailChimp tab.
  • Paste the API key you have just generated in the MailChimp API key field and save it.

MailChimp List ID #

The MailChimp List ID tells MailChimp which list you want to use.

  • Click Audience from the left side menu.
  • Click on the name of the list you want contacts to be subscribed to.
  • Go to the Settings drop-down menu and select Audience name and defaults.
  • Your list ID will be located under the section that says Audience ID. Copy the ID.

Return to your WP-CRM System site and enter your List ID in the plugin’s settings.

  • Navigate to WP-CRM System > Dashboard, then click on the MailChimp tab.
  • Paste the List-ID you have just found in the MailChimp List ID field and save it.

Subscribe or Confirm #

You have two options: Subscribe or Pending.

  • Subscribe: Automatically subscribes contacts to your MailChimp list with no confirmation from your contacts as to whether or not they wish to subscribe. Prior to this, you have to make sure you have your contacts` permission to include them in the subscription list, or you may be in violation of MailChimp’s terms of use and could have your account disabled.
  • Pending: If you do not have your contacts` permission and you wish to verify they want to in your list, select this option. An email will be sent to your subscribers asking them to confirm that they would like to be added to your list.
    • To edit the welcome email sent to your subscribers, you can check this tutorial from MailChimp

It’s preferable that you send confirmation before getting someone subscribed to your list. First, you can confirm that the email address you have on file is valid. Second, you will be less likely to receive spam complaints if the contact knows that they subscribed to your mailing list. Too many spam complaints could get your MailChimp account in hot water, so be careful who you are subscribing to your list.

MailChimp Merge Fields #

These fields are optional, and can easily be left empty and still be able to send data to your MailChimp list.

On the other hand, you may want to have additional information sent to MailChimp about each of your contacts.

For example, it’s sometimes nice to personalize emails with the recipient’s name:

Dear Sally,

You may already collect other information about your mailing list’s subscribers like the company they work for, or their phone numbers. If you want to pass any of the information you have on file for your contact to MailChimp, simply fill in the appropriate Merge Field from your list.

To find your list’s Merge Fields:

  • Click on Audience from the left side menu.
  • Click on the name of the list you want your contacts to be subscribed to.
  • Click Settings and select List fields and *|MERGE|* tags.
  • Find and copy the appropriate tag in the list provided, or click Add A Field to add a new tag if the one you want doesn’t exist.
    • Email Address: This merge tag is required by MailChimp, and can’t be changed by you. Therefore, we hard coded this merge tag into the plugin’s settings so you don’t have to worry about entering it.
    • When copying a tag, you can copy either the tag in the text box or the MERGE# tag. In the screenshot below, FNAME or MERGE1 would work for the list shown.
    • Do not copy the *| or |* symbols before and after the tag.

Return to your WP-CRM System site and enter your Merge Tag in the plugin’s settings.

  • Navigate to WP-CRM System > Dashboard, then click the MailChimp tab.
  • Paste the Merge Tag you just found in the appropriate Merge Field box.

Multiple Lists #

In version 3.0 of the MailChimp Sync extension, we added support for multiple lists. The settings are the same as described above. Once you enter your information for the first list and save the settings, you will be presented with a new set of fields for an additional list. Simply repeat the steps above to enter the List ID, the subscribe/confirm option and any merge tags you want to pass along. Save the changes, and a new set of fields will be presented to you should you want to add additional fields. Repeat as needed.

Custom Fields #

If you are using our Custom Fields extension, we have added support for those fields to be synced to your MailChimp list as well. To do this:

  • Create a custom field that is applied to your Contacts in the Custom Fields settings.
  • Repeat for as many custom fields you want.
  • In the MailChimp settings (WP-CRM System > Dashboard > MailChimp) you will see your custom field(s) listed below all of the default fields.
  • Enter the merge tag (see above) from your MailChimp list that relates to the field you want to be synced to.
  • Save Changes
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