Switching from Mailchimp to ActiveCampaign: Complete Guide

Mailchimp works fine for basic email blasts. But if you need real automation (behavioral triggers, lead scoring, sequences that branch based on what people do), you've probably realized Mailchimp isn't built for that.

ActiveCampaign is. The automation builder is one of the most powerful in the space. Lead scoring tracks engagement automatically. And the pricing is comparable to Mailchimp's paid tiers (often cheaper once you factor in what you're actually getting).

The migration takes 2-3 hours. Here's how to do it.

What Transfers and What Doesn't

What transfers: Your contact list (emails, names, custom fields, tags, subscriber status). Everything exports as a CSV from Mailchimp and imports into ActiveCampaign.

What doesn't transfer: Email templates, automations, campaigns, and reporting history. You'll rebuild automations in ActiveCampaign. Your old campaigns stay archived in Mailchimp if you need them.

The rebuild sounds worse than it is. ActiveCampaign's automation builder is visual and intuitive. Most people rebuild their core flows in 1-2 hours.

Step 1: Export Your Contacts from Mailchimp

Log into Mailchimp. Go to Audience > All Contacts. Click Export Audience > Export as CSV. Mailchimp will email you a download link. Download the file.

If you have multiple audiences, export each one separately. You'll import them as separate lists in ActiveCampaign.

Important: Make sure your CSV includes tags. ActiveCampaign uses tags heavily for segmentation and automation triggers. If your Mailchimp contacts are tagged, those tags need to come over.

Step 2: Sign Up for ActiveCampaign

Go to activecampaign.com/pricing and start a 14-day free trial. No credit card required.

ActiveCampaign will ask about your business and what you plan to use the tool for. Answer honestly. It helps them set up your account with the right templates and suggestions.

Step 3: Import Your Contacts into ActiveCampaign

In ActiveCampaign, go to Contacts > Import. Upload your Mailchimp CSV.

ActiveCampaign will show you a preview and ask you to map the fields (email, first name, last name, custom fields, tags). Match each column from your CSV to the corresponding field in ActiveCampaign. If a field doesn't exist, create it.

Pay close attention to the tags. ActiveCampaign relies on tags for automation triggers and segmentation. Make sure they import correctly.

Click Import. For lists under 10,000 contacts, this takes a few minutes. You'll get an email when it's done.

Step 4: Authenticate Your Domain

Go to Settings > Advanced > Sender Domains. Click Add Domain and follow the instructions.

You'll add a few DNS records to your domain registrar. ActiveCampaign walks you through it. This takes about 5 minutes.

Wait 24-48 hours for DNS to propagate. Once verified, your emails send from your domain instead of ActiveCampaign's shared servers. This improves deliverability by 30-40%.

Step 5: Set Up Lead Scoring

This is one of ActiveCampaign's best features. Lead scoring tracks engagement (opens, clicks, site visits, form submissions) and assigns a score to each contact. High-scoring contacts surface at the top. Your team knows exactly who's hot.

Go to Contacts > Manage Scoring. Create a new score. Add rules (opened email = +5 points, clicked link = +10 points, visited pricing page = +20 points, etc.). Adjust the values based on what matters for your business.

Once it's set up, scoring runs automatically. You don't have to do anything. Contacts accumulate points based on behavior, and you can see their score in real time.

Step 6: Rebuild Your Automations

Go to Automations > Create an Automation. Choose a trigger (contact added to list, tag added, form submitted, specific link clicked, etc.).

Add your first email (click the + button > Send Email). Write the message. Add a wait condition (+ button > Wait > set the delay). Add your second email. Keep building until the sequence is complete.

ActiveCampaign's builder is visual. You drag blocks, connect them, and the flow shows up as a flowchart. It's intuitive once you've built one.

Start with your most critical automation (usually a welcome series or lead nurture flow). Get that running. Then rebuild the others one by one.

Step 7: Add Site Tracking

ActiveCampaign can track what contacts do on your website (pages visited, time on site, specific actions). This data feeds into lead scoring and automation triggers.

Go to Settings > Tracking > Site Tracking. Copy the tracking code. Paste it into your website's header (if you're on WordPress, Shopify, or another platform, ActiveCampaign has plugins that do this automatically).

Once tracking is live, you can trigger automations based on site behavior (someone visits your pricing page and gets added to a high-intent sequence, for example).

Step 8: Send a Test Campaign

Before you send to your full list, test.

Go to Campaigns > Create a Campaign > Standard Campaign. Write a short message. Send it to yourself. Check that it lands in your inbox (not spam) and looks correct on desktop and mobile.

If it lands in spam, verify that your domain is authenticated. If the formatting looks broken, adjust and test again.

Step 9: Warm Up Your Sending

Don't blast your entire list on day one. Email providers flag sudden volume spikes from new senders.

Start with your most engaged contacts (people who opened emails in the last 30 days). Send to a small segment (500-1,000 people). Wait a few days. Send to a larger segment. Gradually ramp up over 2-3 weeks.

ActiveCampaign's deliverability is strong, but warming up your sending builds a good sender reputation from the start.

How Long Does This Take?

Active work: 2-3 hours. Most of that is rebuilding automations and setting up lead scoring.

The contact import takes 10 minutes. Domain authentication takes 5 minutes to set up, then 24-48 hours to propagate. The warm-up period (gradual sending) takes 2-3 weeks, but that's passive.

Why People Switch

The main reasons people move from Mailchimp to ActiveCampaign:

1. Automation depth. Mailchimp's automation is basic (trigger > email > done). ActiveCampaign lets you build complex flows with branching, conditional logic, and multi-step sequences that respond to behavior in real time.

2. Lead scoring. ActiveCampaign tracks engagement automatically and scores contacts based on their actions. Mailchimp doesn't have this. You're guessing about who's ready to buy. With ActiveCampaign, you know.

3. Site tracking. ActiveCampaign connects email behavior to website behavior. Someone visits your pricing page and gets escalated automatically. Mailchimp can't do this without third-party integrations.

The Bottom Line

If you've outgrown Mailchimp's automation and you need behavioral triggers, lead scoring, and sequences that actually respond to what people do, ActiveCampaign is the move.

The migration is straightforward. Export your contacts, import them, rebuild your automations (which takes less time than you think), and you're running. Most people finish in an afternoon.

→ Go to ActiveCampaign

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