Migrate from Makesbridge to Mailchimp

Makesbridge Subscribers map to Mailchimp Members within a target Audience. We export all standard subscriber fields (first name, last name, email, phone) plus any custom field values. Makesbridge's API only supports individual subscriber retrieval, so for large lists we paginate through get-by-email calls and chunk results into Mailchimp's batch member-add endpoint. Email addresses serve as the dedupe key. Subscribers with hard-bounce or unsubscribed status are imported as suppressed members to preserve list hygiene in Mailchimp.

Makesbridge Lists are named audience groups that can overlap with each other. We map each Makesbridge List to either a dedicated Mailchimp Audience (preferred if lists are largely distinct) or as Tags within a single Mailchimp Audience (preferred if significant subscriber overlap exists). The customer selects the strategy during scoping. Mailchimp's per-Audience pricing makes the Tag approach more cost-effective for heavily overlapping lists.

Makesbridge segment rules are not accessible via API — only the evaluated member set at export time. We export the evaluated subscriber snapshot for each active Segment and create corresponding Tags in Mailchimp. The dynamic rule logic (behavior triggers, field conditions) cannot be transferred; we document each segment's defining criteria in a separate artifact so the customer's admin can recreate the logic in Mailchimp's Segment builder post-migration.

Makesbridge Hot Lists are high-priority subscriber groups surfaced by the lead scoring engine. We export Hot List memberships and create a dedicated Tag in Mailchimp (e.g., hot_list_priority or hot_list_score_9plus) on each qualifying member. Since Mailchimp has no native lead scoring, the Tag approach preserves priority designation for segmentation and targeted campaigns without requiring a custom field.

Makesbridge computes a numeric lead score per subscriber based on behavior and demographic triggers. We export the current score value as a numeric merge field (e.g., MB_SCORE) on each subscriber record. Mailchimp does not automatically update this value post-migration — it becomes a static snapshot at migration time. If ongoing scoring is required, we document the original scoring rules for the customer to implement via Mailchimp automations or a connected scoring tool.

Makesbridge Campaigns (email sends or sequences) map to Mailchimp Campaigns. We export campaign metadata (name, status, dates, subject line) and campaign-level aggregate metrics (open rate, click rate, send count, bounce count). The HTML content of each email is preserved and transferred as campaign body content. Mailchimp's campaign types (regular, automated, plaintext, A/B) are assigned based on the original Makesbridge campaign type; automation-type campaigns are flagged for rebuild documentation.

Makesbridge supports unlimited custom fields per subscriber. We retrieve the full custom field schema via the API and map each field to a Mailchimp merge field. Field type differences require transformation: Makesbridge date fields become Mailchimp date merge fields; Makesbridge dropdown or multi-select fields become Mailchimp radio or checkbox merge fields. Text fields map directly. Mailchimp imposes a 30-character merge field tag limit, so long Makesbridge field names are truncated to the first 30 characters and deduplicated if collisions occur.

Makesbridge email templates and drag-and-drop layouts export as HTML with embedded styles and image URLs. We export template metadata (name, category) and the full HTML body. Mailchimp templates are created using the exported HTML and compatible content blocks. If Makesbridge templates used proprietary block structures, we reconstruct equivalent layouts using Mailchimp's builder or raw HTML upload. Image assets are transferred as hosted URLs or uploaded to Mailchimp's asset library.

Makesbridge forms capture new subscriber records and custom field values. We export form structure (field names, field types, field order) as documentation. Mailchimp signup forms are created manually using Mailchimp's form builder; we provide a field-mapping document that aligns each Makesbridge form field to its Mailchimp form field equivalent. Custom form logic (conditional fields, validation rules) is documented separately for manual recreation.

Makesbridge user accounts (Owner and User roles) can be exported and mapped to Mailchimp account users. We export user email addresses, display names, and role assignments. Mailchimp user provisioning is manual — we provide a provisioning list so the customer's admin creates corresponding Mailchimp users and assigns permissions (Admin, Author, Manager, Viewer) aligned with the original Makesbridge role structure.