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Mailchimp

The Sesamy Mailchimp integration automatically syncs user data, tags, and activity from Sesamy into your Mailchimp audience.

Overview

Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing platforms. Once connected, Sesamy provides a real-time feed of subscription and purchase data so you can run highly targeted, personalised campaigns without manual data handling.

  • Automatic Sync -- User data is always up to date in Mailchimp
  • Smart Tagging -- Tags are added and removed based on subscription status
  • Activity Tracking -- User actions appear as Mailchimp activities
  • Real-time Updates -- Sync happens instantly as users interact with Sesamy

Setup

To set up the Mailchimp integration, provide the following information to Sesamy support.

1. API Key

This key allows Sesamy to write data to your Mailchimp account.

Follow Mailchimp's guide to generate an API key (see the "Generate an API key" section).

Dedicated API key

We recommend creating a dedicated key for Sesamy instead of reusing an existing one.

2. Audience (List) ID

This ID tells Sesamy which Mailchimp audience (list) to update.

See how to find your Audience ID.

3. Merge Fields

Sesamy enriches your Mailchimp audience with subscription and activity data. To ensure this works, you need to create the following merge fields in your audience:

FieldTypeDescription
FNAMETextUser's first name
LNAMETextUser's last name
SESAMYUSRTextUnique Sesamy user ID
PHONEPhoneUser's phone number
SMYLASTSEEDateWhen user was last active
SMYSUBSCTextHas active subscription (True/False)
SMYARTPURNumberNumber of articles purchased
SMYACTSUBSNumberNumber of active subscriptions
SMYCANSUBSNumberNumber of cancelled subscriptions
SMYEXPSUBSNumberNumber of expired subscriptions (naturally expired)
SMYENDSUBSNumberTotal ended subscriptions (cancelled + expired)
SMYISSREMNumberIssues remaining in subscription

See Mailchimp's official guide: Getting Started with Merge Tags.

Field names must match exactly

Make sure the merge field names match exactly as listed above. If fields are missing, Sesamy cannot sync the corresponding data.

4. Complete the Setup

Once you have your API key, Audience ID, and the merge fields created, contact Sesamy support to finalise the integration.

What Gets Synced

Merge Fields

Each contact in Mailchimp is enriched with fields from Sesamy. You can use these fields in your campaigns for personalisation, for example:

"Hi |FNAME|, you have |SMYISSREM| issues left."

Tags

All Sesamy-managed tags start with sesamy_, so they are easy to recognise. See Integration Concepts for the complete tag reference.

Tag safety

Only tags that start with sesamy_ are modified by the integration. All your existing and manual tags remain untouched.

See Tag Patterns for the full list of tags and examples. Only sesamy_-prefixed tags are modified -- your existing and manual tags remain intact.

User Activities

User actions on Sesamy are logged into Mailchimp as contact activities.

ActivityTriggered When
user_createdA new user registers
contract_purchasedUser buys a subscription
checkout_completedUser completes a purchase
contract_cancel_requestedUser requests a cancellation

Learn more: About Contact Profile Pages.

Events

The Mailchimp integration responds to all eight standard Sesamy events. See Event Types for the full list.

Using This Data for Campaigns

Segmentation Ideas

  • Active Subscribers -- sesamy_active_subscriber
  • Churned Users -- sesamy_overdue_contract (great for win-back campaigns)
  • Product-Specific -- use product or SKU tags for tailored offers
  • Single Purchasers -- sesamy_made_single_purchase for upsell campaigns

Personalisation

Drop merge fields into your templates for a personal touch:

  • First name: FNAME
  • Active subscriptions: SMYACTSUBS
  • Issues remaining: SMYISSREM

Use Cases

  • Welcome email series for new subscribers
  • Re-engagement campaigns for expiring subscriptions
  • Premium content newsletters for active subscribers
  • Renewal reminders before subscription expiration
  • Win-back campaigns for users with overdue contracts

Important Notes

  • Sesamy tags are limited to 99 characters (duplicates are removed automatically)
  • New users are added to Mailchimp with status "subscribed"
  • Archived users are automatically reactivated when they become active again
  • The integration respects Mailchimp's API limits

Alternative Integration Method

For more advanced integrations, you can use both APIs directly:

Next Steps

Released under the MIT License.