Export to Mailchimp
Export from Sendra and paste into Mailchimp as a custom-coded email, with the unsubscribe link and mailing address Mailchimp needs.
Design in Figma, export with Sendra, paste into Mailchimp as a custom-coded email. Mailchimp sends it exactly as you designed it.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”- Put your images online: turn on Host images online in Sendra, or use your own image URLs. Mailchimp’s zip import wants every file in one folder under 1 MB, so the paste route with online images is the one to use.
- Set your preview text in Properties. Leave Mailchimp’s preview text field empty; it only works with Mailchimp’s own code, and yours is already in the file.
- Custom-coded emails send on Mailchimp’s Standard plan and up. A free account can build and preview one.
What Mailchimp needs in every email
Section titled “What Mailchimp needs in every email”Put an unsubscribe link and a mailing address in the design yourself. Mailchimp requires both, and adds its own footer under your design when either is missing.
Unsubscribe link. Type “Unsubscribe” in your footer, select it, and put this in its Link field: *|UNSUB|*. Give it its own text layer, since Figma’s link box will not accept a tag.
Mailing address. Put *|LIST:ADDRESSLINE|* in your footer text. Mailchimp fills it from your audience settings.
Free account: add *|REWARDS|* to the footer text too. Mailchimp requires its badge on free accounts, and this tag puts it where you choose instead of where Mailchimp chooses.
Note: type the tags exactly as shown. See Merge tags for how Sendra treats them.
Tags you will use most
Section titled “Tags you will use most”| What it does | Tag | Where |
|---|---|---|
| First name | *|FNAME|* |
text |
| Company name | *|LIST:COMPANY|* |
text |
| Mailing address | *|LIST:ADDRESSLINE|* |
text |
| Unsubscribe | *|UNSUB|* |
Link |
| Update preferences | *|UPDATE_PROFILE|* |
Link |
| View in browser | *|ARCHIVE|* |
Link |
A fallback for a missing first name is set in Mailchimp, not in the tag: open your audience’s fields and give the first name field a default value.
Preview text
Section titled “Preview text”Set it in Sendra’s Properties before you export and it travels with the design. Leave Mailchimp’s field empty.
Import the email
Section titled “Import the email”- In Mailchimp, go to Campaigns, then Create. Name it and click Create email.
- Choose Use HTML to code my own, then Paste in Code, then Apply. If Mailchimp asks to continue to the legacy builder, say yes; it is the only builder that takes custom code.
- In Sendra, click Copy HTML. In Mailchimp, paste it into the code area, click Save, then Continue.
- In the campaign’s settings, leave Automatic CSS Inliner off. Sendra’s HTML is already inlined.
To keep it as a template instead, go to Campaigns, then Email templates, then Code your own, and paste the same HTML.
Check it
Section titled “Check it”Open Mailchimp’s preview, and send yourself a test if your plan allows it, then compare it with the test you sent from Sendra. They should match; Mailchimp adds click tracking to your links, which is normal.
Changing it later
Section titled “Changing it later”Keep Figma as the source: change the design, export again, paste again. Mailchimp’s drag and drop builder does not open custom-coded emails.
Dynamic content
Section titled “Dynamic content”Mailchimp fills *|FNAME|* and the rest at send time. Merge tags shows how to use them in text, links and image URLs.