> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://funnelfox.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Mailchimp integration: email setup
> Connect Mailchimp to FunnelFox to capture leads and sync contacts. Automate email campaigns based on funnel events and purchases.
The Mailchimp integration automatically adds customers to your Mailchimp audience and syncs their marketing status, contact fields, and custom data in real time.
## How it works
The Mailchimp integration keeps your audience updated as users move through your funnels.
When a user interacts with a funnel:
1. **Contact creation**: FunnelFox creates a contact in your selected Mailchimp audience when a user provides their email using the Email Input element.
2. **Marketing subscription**: FunnelFox updates the contact's [marketing status](https://mailchimp.com/en/help/about-your-contacts/) in Mailchimp.
* **Subscribed**: If the user checks the consent checkbox in your funnel. These users are opted in to receive your marketing content.
* **Non-subscribed**: If the user leaves the consent checkbox empty. [Non-subscribed contacts](https://mailchimp.com/help/about-non-subscribed-contacts/) won't receive marketing emails, but they can still receive transactional emails.
3. **Contact details**: FunnelFox sends funnel context and manages tags in Mailchimp so you can segment users and trigger automations based on where they are in your flow. Here's what FunnelFox sends to Mailchimp:
* Email
* Phone (if provided in the funnel)
* Funnel ID
* Profile ID
* Session ID
* Experiment ID (if applicable)
* Project ID
You can connect multiple projects to the same Mailchimp audience and segment users by project ID.
We recommend creating a new audience in Mailchimp for this integration. If you connect to an existing audience, FunnelFox-managed tags may overwrite existing tags when users interact with your funnel.
## Setup
You need an active Mailchimp account to complete this setup. Connect FunnelFox to your account, configure the audience fields, and set up email consent in your funnel.
### 1. Connect Mailchimp
1. Go to the **Audience** page in Mailchimp.
2. Click **More options > Audience settings** at the top right.
3. Copy the **Audience ID**.
4. Go to [Integrations > Mailchimp](https://app.funnelfox.com/integrations/mailchimp) in FunnelFox.
5. Paste your Audience ID into the List ID field and click **Connect Mailchimp**.
6. Log in to your Mailchimp account.
7. Click **Allow** to authorize FunnelFox integration.
You successfully connected FunnelFox to Mailchimp. Proceed with the Mailchimp configuration below.
### 2. Create audience fields
To sync custom contact information from FunnelFox to Mailchimp, create merge fields in Mailchimp:
1. Go back to **Audience settings** in Mailchimp.
2. Click **Edit audience fields**.
3. Click **Create a new field** at the top right.
4. Fill out the field creation page and click **Save**:
* **Field label**: Give the field a description you like, e.g. `FF Funnel ID`.
* **Data type**: Text.
* **Merge tag**: `FF_FUN_ID`.
* **Default merge tag value**: Leave empty.
5. Repeat the field creation process to create five fields with the following merge tags:
* `FF_FUN_ID`
* `FF_PRO_ID`
* `FF_PRJ_ID`
* `FF_EXP_ID`
* `FF_SES_ID`
### 3. Configure email consent
FunnelFox [will automatically update contact's marketing status](/integrations/email-providers/mailchimp#how-it-works) in Mailchimp.
1. Go to the **Parameters** tab of your Email Input in the funnel.
2. Set the **Consent** to **Yes**.
3. Optionally, set the default value of the consent and text.
Your setup is complete. Save and republish the funnel to make changes go live.
## Troubleshooting
If contacts aren't appearing in your Mailchimp audience, check that you're using valid email domains for testing.
Mailchimp rejects emails with fake or invalid domains like `test@example.com` or `user@test.com`. For testing, use emails with real domains like `@gmail.com` or similar.