How to use Upgrade Links with Mailchimp

Export supporter information

To create Upgrade Links in Mailchimp, you'll first need to gather key details about your recurring supporters.

1. Go to the Exports page in your Dashboard.
2. Select the Templates tab.
3. Click New template.
4. Enter a name for the template, such as “Upgrade Links for Mailchimp.”
5. In the Export type drop-down, select New recurring plans.
6. Go to the File columns tab. Click Clear all, then use the Quick search field to find and add these columns:
   • Supporter First Name
   • Supporter Last Name
   • Supporter Email
   • Recurring Amount Upgrade Link (add this in case you want to create Upgrade Links to increase the donation amount)
   • Recurring Cost Coverage Upgrade Link (add this in case you want to create Upgrade Links to cover processing fees)
   We recommend creating two separate templates: one for the Recurring Amount Upgrade Link and another for the Recurring Cost Coverage Upgrade Link. Although it's possible to combine both types of Upgrade Links into a single template, using separate templates makes it easier to remove empty rows for inactive plans later.
7. Click Save changes.
8. In the Templates tab, click the download icon next to the template that you just created.
9. Choose the date range for the recurring plans you want to upgrade — for example, select the timeframe of your 2024 summer campaign.
10. Click Download, and the information will be saved as a CSV file.
11. Open the file and remove any rows that have no links in either the “Recurring Amount Upgrade Link” or “Recurring Cost Coverage Upgrade Link” column, depending on the type of Upgrade Links you are creating.

With your data reviewed and cleaned, you're ready to import it into Mailchimp.

Create merge tags

The first step to importing your data into Mailchimp is to set up merge tags.

1. In the Mailchimp dashboard, go to Audience from the side menu, and select All contacts.
2. Click Settings and then select Audience fields & *MERGE* tags.
   

3. At the bottom of the page, click Add A Field, and choose Text as the field type.
   

4. Rename this field to make it easier to use in the future.
   • If you are setting up the Recurring Amount Upgrade Link, replace “Untitled” in the “Field label and type column” with a name of your choice, such as “Upgrade Link (Amount)”. In the “Put this tag in your content:” column, replace “MMERGE(x)” with LINKAMOUNT.
   • If you are setting up the Recurring Cost Coverage Upgrade Link, replace “Untitled” in the “Field label and type column” column with a name of your choice, such as “Upgrade Link (Cover Fee)”. In the “Put this tag in your content:” column, replace “MMERGE(x)” with LINKFEE.
   

5. Click Save Changes.

Import contacts

The next step is to upload the CSV file that you exported from the Fundraise Up Dashboard.

1. In Mailchimp, go to Audience > All contacts.
2. Select Add contacts > Import contacts.
   

3. Upload your CSV file and click Continue to organize. Mailchimp will prompt you to select the current audience and then optionally tag your contacts.
   

4. When the Match column labels to contact information page loads, you may encounter errors, which is expected. Match the columns to the corresponding fields in Mailchimp:
   • If Supporter First Name is highlighted in red, click on it and confirm the renaming to First Name (FNAME).
   • If Supporter Last Name is highlighted in red, click on it and confirm the renaming to Last Name (LNAME).
   • If Recurring Amount Upgrade Link is highlighted in red, click on it and select Upgrade Link (Donation Amount) (LINKAMOUNT) from the drop-down menu. Confirm.
   • If Recurring Cost Coverage Upgrade Link is highlighted in red, click on it and select Upgrade Link (Processing Fee) (LINKFEE) from the drop-down menu. Confirm.
     The last two columns may have different names, depending on what you assigned when you created the merge tags.
   

5. Click Continue to subscribe.
6. Mailchimp will prompt you to select the email marketing status. Choose the desired option, click Finalize import, and then click Complete Import.
7. In a short while, your contacts will be imported into Mailchimp.

Create an email campaign

Once your contacts are imported into Mailhimp, you can start building the email campaign that will include Upgrade Links.

1. Click the Create button in the Mailchimp dashboard to start a new email campaign.
2. If prompted, enter a name in the Internal email name field and click Create email.
3. Select your preferred layout for the email.
4. When you customize the email, add a Button type of content.
5. Add a call-to-action text for the button, such as “Increase my recurring donation.”
6. In the Design section of the button editor, make sure Web is selected in the Link to menu.
7. In the Link to menu, enter your merge tag in the URL field:
   • *|LINKAMOUNT|* for the Upgrade Link to increase the donation amount
   • *|LINKFEE|* for the Upgrade Link to cover fees
   

You have now created an email campaign with Upgrade Links.

Test

In Mailchimp's preview mode, you can test your Upgrade Links.

1. In the email campaign editor, click Preview and toggle on Enable live merge tag info.

1. Click your call-to-action button to see the Upgrade page for the supporter.
2. You will be redirected to the donation Upgrade page. Each page is customized for each supporter, with AI-optimized donation amounts.

If you see the Upgrade page, you’ve successfully completed the setup and are now ready to launch your Upgrade Links email campaign.