How to migrate from Mailchimp to beehiiv

In order to successfully migrate from Mailchimp to beehiiv, you’ll need to do 2 things:

You can follow the step-by-step instructions for each below, click the links above to jump to a section, and/or watch a tutorial video on the process. 

Watch and learn: Import content from Mailchimp

Subscriber Migration

Export your subscribers from Mailchimp

1. Log into your Mailchimp account.
   
   
2. Navigate to Audience > All contacts.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Here, you will see all of your contacts. Click on the Export Audience button to begin the process.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. After clicking, you will be taken to the Audience exports area, select the audience list and click the Export as CSV option.
   
   
   
   
   NOTE: Depending on how many subscribers you're exporting, it may take several minutes to receive the export email.
   
   
5. Check the email of the account owner to retrieve the download link to the exported CSV file.

 

---

Import your subscribers to beehiiv

Before you import the exported Mailchimp CSV file into beehiiv, it is best practice to look through the data and clean up any fields that are not applicable anymore.

1. Open the exported Mailchimp CSV file and review the header, or top row, information.
   For easier mapping during the import, you’ll want to make sure the header fields use the same names as the tags and custom fields that you’ll be using in beehiiv, and remove any data that you don’t plan to use.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. From the left hand panel in your beehiiv account, go to Settings > Publication > then click on the Import Subscribers tab.
   
3. Depending on the amount of subscribers you need to import, please choose accordingly.
   
   If you're importing more than 10 subscribers into beehiiv, you'll first need to complete Stripe Identity Verification to verify your identity. You can do so by going to Settings > Publications > Import Subscribers, and then click on the Start Stripe Identity Verification button. Then, after you have completed the Stripe verification process, click on the Start New Import button.
   
   If you’d like to import more than 10,000 subscribers, you’ll need to complete the Stripe verification process as outlined above, then fill out a form to submit. You can access the form by going to Settings > Publication > Import Subscribers, then scroll down to Raise your import limit and click on Complete this form.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. After clicking on the Start Import button, you’ll be prompted to choose an import method. Select Upload a CSV file and then choose the CSV file that you want to import.
   
   
   
   
   
   If you have a welcome email setup or an active automation, you can choose those options or leave them blank. You can also select or skip the email validation.
   
   
5. Review your selections and click on Import Subscribers.
   
6. A confirmation message will pop up where you will need to confirm that the contacts in the list have knowingly opted-in to receiving emails from you. Click on Import to confirm.
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Next, you’ll be able to start mapping out the fields (tags) from the CSV file as custom fields within beehiiv.
   
   
   
   
   
   For additional guidance, please watch this tutorial video.
   
8. When done making your selections, click on the Import button.
   
9. Once completed, you will see how many subscribers were accepted.
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. You can then view the subscribers by navigating to the Audience section of your account.
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. To see the newly imported custom fields, click on an individual subscriber’s name and navigate to the Custom Fields section.
    
    
    

 

---

Content Migration

Migrate your post content

We’ve created an easy-to-use tool* for importing your Mailchimp newsletter content that you can access directly from your beehiiv account.

1. Log into your account and from the left hand panel, go to Settings > Integrations > then click on the Imports tab.
   
2. Under Mailchimp, click on Add Integration.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. This will take you to a Mailchimp authorization page. Log into your Mailchimp account and once you are done, you'll receive a success message.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Back at your beehiiv account, navigate to Settings > Publication > Import Content. Here, you’ll see your Mailchimp account as an option, click on Add integration.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Instantly the integration will be added and you’ll see your connected Mailchimp account.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Verify the information is correct, and then click on the Import button to complete the process. After you’ve imported your content, you can access it anytime in your beehiiv account under Write > Posts.

 

---

Known Limitations*

In our commitment to ensuring a seamless migration process, it's essential to acknowledge specific constraints while transferring content from Mailchimp to beehiiv. Our content importers, although considered advantageous features, typically function effectively for the majority of our customers. Yet, achieving complete accuracy poses challenges due to the dynamic nature of third-party platforms, often subject to changes beyond beehiiv's control.

Efforts to streamline the transition from previous platforms to beehiiv are ongoing. However, it's pertinent to note that our current Mailchimp importer is optimized for Mailchimp version 2022 and later, which may present limitations in some instances.

Use a beehiiv services partner

You always have the option to access our internal services partner to help you and your team with any migration efforts to beehiiv.  

Please fill out this services form for assistance.