Heads up! This article is about a legacy integration. If you're just getting started with connecting Mailchimp to PatronManager, you should use the new and much improved official Mailchimp integration instead. Click here to learn more!
PatronChimp only supports using one MailChimp Audience, but don't worry, you'll still be able to segment your audience using Static Segments. Here's how to prepare your MailChimp account for the transition!
If you'd like to learn more about PatronChimp first, start here.
If you've just signed up for a MailChimp account and haven't used it yet, you can skip the following and get started with PatronChimp here.
Before setting up PatronChimp, consolidate your MailChimp Audiences
You'll need to have just one Audiences in MailChimp before you can start using PatronChimp. Luckily, MailChimp has a tool for this, called the "Combine Audiences Tool".
As noted in that article, you will need to go seven days without sending Campaigns before you can combine Audiences, so you'll need to plan your transition and adjust your email schedule as needed.
Campaign activity won't carry over when you combine your Audiences, so you may want to archive your Campaigns first.
I combined my MailChimp Audiences! Now what?
Great! You're now ready to move forward with PatronChimp. Follow these instructions to get started!
Why can't I have more than one Audience?
PatronChimp uses "Static Segments" instead of "Audiences" to organize your audience in MailChimp.
The PatronChimp integration is only compatible with one MailChimp Audience. Specifically, PatronChimp will only sync to the Audience with the earliest 'created date' in MailChimp.
If you've been using MailChimp for awhile, you probably have more than one Audience. MailChimp encourages their customers to use separate Audiences to categorize different groups of patrons (donors vs subscribers, for example).
With PatronChimp, you'll use a single MailChimp Audience to house all of your patrons, and you'll use Static Segments to sub-divide that Audience into various (sometimes overlapping) groups of patrons, known as "Tags" in MailChimp.
What are Static Segments?
Static Segments (in the context of PatronChimp) are groups of patrons that come from PatronManager reports. You'll create reports in PatronManager, and link those reports to static segment mappings (also in PatronManager). You'll then click a button to upload that collection of patrons to MailChimp as a Tag (within your one MailChimp Audience). Finally, you'll use that Tag as the recipient list for your MailChimp Campaign.
But I already have my MailChimp Audience organized. Can I keep them and still use PatronChimp?
No. You should consolidate your MailChimp Audiences before you start using PatronChimp.
MailChimp's pricing is based on the number of "Subscribers" i.e. email addresses. MailChimp counts each email address once for each Audience where it appears. In other words, if one email address is in three different MailChimp Audiences, MailChimp counts that as three separate Subscribers, and charges you accordingly.
The PatronChimp integration adds email addresses to the first Audience that was created in MailChimp. If that Audience doesn't already contain all of your patrons, you may wind up duplicating email addresses that exist in other Audiences, and your MailChimp bill may increase.
Also, since PatronChimp only syncs with one MailChimp Audience, the data in your other Audiences won't stay up to date.