Mailchimp Connector for SSIS

Read / write MailChimp Campaigns, Lists, Members, Reports and more in without coding.

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Mailchimp data in SSIS without coding. We will use high-performance Mailchimp Connector to easily connect to Mailchimp and then access the data inside SSIS.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

Mailchimp Connector for SSIS is based on ZappySys API Connector Framework which is a part of SSIS PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance SSIS connectors that enable you to integrate data with virtually any data provider supported by SSIS, including SQL Server. SSIS PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few (if you are new to SSIS and SSIS PowerPack, find out more on how to use them).

Video Tutorial - Integrate Mailchimp data in SSIS

This video covers the following topics and more, so please watch carefully. After watching the video, follow the steps outlined in this article:

How to download and install the required PowerPack for Mailchimp integration in SSIS
How to configure the connection for Mailchimp
Features of the ZappySys API Source (Authentication / Query Language / Examples / Driver UI)
How to use the Mailchimp in SSIS

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure the following prerequisites are met:

SSIS designer installed. Sometimes it is referred as BIDS or SSDT (download it from Microsoft).
Basic knowledge of SSIS package development using Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services.
SSIS PowerPack is installed (if you are new to SSIS PowerPack, then get started!).

Read data from Mailchimp in SSIS (Export data)

In this section we will learn how to configure and use Mailchimp Connector in API Source to extract data from Mailchimp.

Begin with opening Visual Studio and Create a New Project.
Select Integration Service Project and in new project window set the appropriate name and location for project. And click OK.

In the new SSIS project screen you will find the following:
- SSIS ToolBox on left side bar
- Solution Explorer and Property Window on right bar
- Control flow, data flow, event Handlers, Package Explorer in tab windows
- Connection Manager Window in the bottom
Note: If you don't see ZappySys SSIS PowerPack Task or Components in SSIS Toolbox, please refer to this help link.
Now, Drag and Drop SSIS Data Flow Task from SSIS Toolbox. Double click on the Data Flow Task to see Data Flow designer.
From the SSIS toolbox drag and API Source (Predefined Templates) on the data flow designer surface, and double click on it to edit it:
Select New Connection to create a new connection:
Use a preinstalled Mailchimp Connector from Popular Connector List or press Search Online radio button to download Mailchimp Connector. Once downloaded simply use it in the configuration:

Mailchimp

Now it's time to configure authentication. Firstly, configure authentication settings in Mailchimp service and then proceed by configuring API Connection Manager. Start by expanding an authentication type:

OAuth

Mailchimp authentication

To get the credentials you need in order to set up your OAuth workflow, you'll first need to register your application with Mailchimp:

Login into your Mailchimp account, click on your Profile Icon, and hit Account & billing:
Navigate to the Registered Apps page in your Mailchimp account:
Click Register An App button:
Fill-in the Register An App form and click Create button:
NOTE: For Redirect URI use Redirect URI (also called "Redirect URL" or "Callback URL") given by your IT administrator or just use https://zappysys.com/oauth, if you don't have one.
After successfully registering your application, you'll see the Client ID and Client Secret, record these values and store them securely:
Record your Mailchimp data center, since we will need it later. The data center is located in your browser's address bar URL. If the URL is https://us21.admin.mailchimp.com/account/api, then your data center is us21.
Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source OAuth authentication configuration.
Proceed by entering the data center into the Data Center field that was recorded in the previous step.
Then enter the Client ID value into the Client ID field that you recorded in the previous step.
Enter the Client Secret value into the Client Secret field that was recorded in the previous step.
Click Generate Token. If proper authentication occurs, you will see a confirmation notice. If you get an error, click Yes on the dialog box and then a large browser window will launch. Then log into your Mailchimp account and approve the use of the application.
Finally, hit the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Mailchimp account.
If the connection test succeeds, select OK.
Done! Now you can use Mailchimp Connector!

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to OAuth [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

Mailchimp

OAuth [OAuth]

https://[$DataCenter$].api.mailchimp.com

Required Parameters
Data Center	Fill-in the parameter...
Client Id	Fill-in the parameter...
Client Secret	Fill-in the parameter...
Default List Id	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

ApiKey Auth

Mailchimp authentication

The simplest way to authenticate a request to the Mailchimp Marketing API is by using an API key (If you require access to Mailchimp on behalf of other Mailchimp users, you'll want to set up OAuth authentication instead)::

Login into your Mailchimp account, click on your Profile Icon, and hit Account & billing:
Navigate to the API keys page in your Mailchimp account:
In the Your API keys section of the page, click Create A Key button:
Give your new key a descriptive name that will remind you which application it's used for:
Copy the API key immediately and store it in a secure location (you won't be able to see or copy the key once you finish generating it):
Record your Mailchimp data center, since we will need it later. The data center is located in your browser's address bar URL. If the URL is https://us21.admin.mailchimp.com/account/api, then your data center is us21.
Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source ApiKey Auth authentication configuration.
Proceed by entering the data center into the Data Center field that was recorded in the previous step.
Then enter the API key into the Api Key field that you copied earlier.
Finally, click the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Mailchimp account.
Done! Now you can use Mailchimp Connector!

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to ApiKey Auth [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

Mailchimp

ApiKey Auth [Http]

https://[$DataCenter$].api.mailchimp.com

Required Parameters
Api Key	Fill-in the parameter...
Default List Id	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
Data Center
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Select the desired endpoint, change/pass the properties values, and click on Preview Data button to make the API call.

API Source - Mailchimp

Read / write MailChimp Campaigns, Lists, Members, Reports and more in without coding.
That's it! We are done! Just in a few clicks we configured the call to Mailchimp using Mailchimp Connector.

You can load the source data into your desired destination using the Upsert Destination , which supports SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and Amazon Redshift. We also offer other destinations such as CSV , Excel , Azure Table , Salesforce , and more . You can check out our SSIS PowerPack Tasks and components for more options. (*loaded in Trash Destination)

Write data to Mailchimp using SSIS (Import data)

In this section we will learn how to configure and use Mailchimp Connector in the API Destination to write data to Mailchimp.

Video tutorial

This video covers following and more so watch carefully. After watching this video follow the steps described in this article.

How to download SSIS PowerPack for Mailchimp integration in SSIS
How to configure connection for Mailchimp
How to write or lookup data to Mailchimp
Features about SSIS API Destination
Using Mailchimp Connector in SSIS

Step-by-step instructions

In upper section we learned how to read data, now in this section we will learn how to configure Mailchimp in the API Source to POST data to the Mailchimp.

Read the data from the source, being any desired source component. In example we will use ZappySys Dummy Data Source component.
From the SSIS Toolbox drag and drop API Destination (Predefined Templates) on the Data Flow Designer surface and connect source component with it, and double click to edit it.
Select New Connection to create a new connection:

API Destination - Mailchimp

Read / write MailChimp Campaigns, Lists, Members, Reports and more in without coding.
Use a preinstalled Mailchimp Connector from Popular Connector List or press Search Online radio button to download Mailchimp Connector. Once downloaded simply use it in the configuration:

Mailchimp

Proceed with selecting the desired Authentication Type. Then select API Base URL (in most cases default one is the right one). Finally, fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed. You may press a link Steps to Configure which will help set certain parameters. More info is available in Authentication section.

OAuth

Mailchimp authentication

To get the credentials you need in order to set up your OAuth workflow, you'll first need to register your application with Mailchimp:

Login into your Mailchimp account, click on your Profile Icon, and hit Account & billing:
Navigate to the Registered Apps page in your Mailchimp account:
Click Register An App button:
Fill-in the Register An App form and click Create button:
NOTE: For Redirect URI use Redirect URI (also called "Redirect URL" or "Callback URL") given by your IT administrator or just use https://zappysys.com/oauth, if you don't have one.
After successfully registering your application, you'll see the Client ID and Client Secret, record these values and store them securely:
Record your Mailchimp data center, since we will need it later. The data center is located in your browser's address bar URL. If the URL is https://us21.admin.mailchimp.com/account/api, then your data center is us21.
Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source OAuth authentication configuration.
Proceed by entering the data center into the Data Center field that was recorded in the previous step.
Then enter the Client ID value into the Client ID field that you recorded in the previous step.
Enter the Client Secret value into the Client Secret field that was recorded in the previous step.
Click Generate Token. If proper authentication occurs, you will see a confirmation notice. If you get an error, click Yes on the dialog box and then a large browser window will launch. Then log into your Mailchimp account and approve the use of the application.
Finally, hit the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Mailchimp account.
If the connection test succeeds, select OK.
Done! Now you can use Mailchimp Connector!

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to OAuth [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

Mailchimp

OAuth [OAuth]

https://[$DataCenter$].api.mailchimp.com

Required Parameters
Data Center	Fill-in the parameter...
Client Id	Fill-in the parameter...
Client Secret	Fill-in the parameter...
Default List Id	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

ApiKey Auth

Mailchimp authentication

Login into your Mailchimp account, click on your Profile Icon, and hit Account & billing:
Navigate to the API keys page in your Mailchimp account:
In the Your API keys section of the page, click Create A Key button:
Give your new key a descriptive name that will remind you which application it's used for:
Copy the API key immediately and store it in a secure location (you won't be able to see or copy the key once you finish generating it):
Record your Mailchimp data center, since we will need it later. The data center is located in your browser's address bar URL. If the URL is https://us21.admin.mailchimp.com/account/api, then your data center is us21.
Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source ApiKey Auth authentication configuration.
Proceed by entering the data center into the Data Center field that was recorded in the previous step.
Then enter the API key into the Api Key field that you copied earlier.
Finally, click the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Mailchimp account.
Done! Now you can use Mailchimp Connector!

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to ApiKey Auth [Http]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Finally, hit OK button:

Mailchimp

ApiKey Auth [Http]

https://[$DataCenter$].api.mailchimp.com

Required Parameters
Api Key	Fill-in the parameter...
Default List Id	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
Data Center
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Select the desired endpoint, change/pass the properties values, and go to the Mappings tab to map the columns.

API Destination - Mailchimp

Read / write MailChimp Campaigns, Lists, Members, Reports and more in without coding.
Finally, map the desired columns:

API Destination - Mailchimp

Read / write MailChimp Campaigns, Lists, Members, Reports and more in without coding.
That's it; we successfully configured the POST API Call. In a few clicks we configured the Mailchimp API call using ZappySys Mailchimp Connector

Load Mailchimp data into SQL Server using Upsert Destination (Insert or Update)

Once you configured the data source, you can load Mailchimp data into SQL Server using Upsert Destination.

Upsert Destination can merge or synchronize source data with the target table. It supports Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and Redshift databases as targets. Upsert Destination also supports very fast bulk upsert operation along with bulk delete.

Upsert operation - a database operation which performs INSERT or UPDATE SQL commands based on record's existence condition in the target table. It inserts records that don't have matching records in the target table or updates them, if they do, by matching them by key columns.

Upsert Destination supports INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations, so it is similar to SQL Server's MERGE command, except it can be used directly in SSIS package.

From the SSIS Toolbox drag-and-drop Upsert Destination component onto the Data Flow designer background.
Connect your SSIS source component to Upsert Destination.
Double-click on Upsert Destination component to open configuration window.
Start by selecting the Action from the list.
Next, select the desired target connection or create one by clicking <New [provider] Connection> menu item from the Target Connection dropdown.
Then select a table from the Target Table list or click New button to create a new table based on the source columns.
Continue by checking Insert and Update options according to your scenario (e.g. if Update option is unchecked, no updates will be made).
Finally, click Map All button to map all columns and then select the Key columns to match the columns on:
Click OK to save the configuration.
Run the package and Mailchimp data will be merged with the target table in SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or Redshift:
Done!

Deploy and schedule SSIS package

After you are done creating SSIS package, most likely, you want to deploy it to SQL Server Catalog and run it periodically. Just follow the instructions in this article:

How to design, debug, deploy, schedule SSIS Package (In SQL Agent and Catalog)

Running SSIS package in Azure Data Factory (ADF)

To use SSIS PowerPack in ADF, you must first prepare Azure-SSIS Integration Runtime. Follow this link for detailed instructions:

Preparing ADF instance to use SSIS PowerPack

Actions supported by Mailchimp Connector

Learn how to perform common Mailchimp actions directly in SSIS with these how-to guides:

Centralized data access via Data Gateway

In some situations, you may need to provide Mailchimp data access to multiple users or services. Configuring the data source on a Data Gateway creates a single, centralized connection point for this purpose.

This configuration provides two primary advantages:

Centralized data access
The data source is configured once on the gateway, eliminating the need to set it up individually on each user's machine or application. This significantly simplifies the management process.
Centralized access control
Since all connections route through the gateway, access can be governed or revoked from a single location for all users.

	Data Gateway	Local ODBC data source
Simple configuration
Installation	Single machine	Per machine
Connectivity	Local and remote	Local only
Connections limit	Limited by License	Unlimited
Central data access
Central access control
More flexible cost

If you need any of these requirements, you will have to create a data source in Data Gateway to connect to Mailchimp, and to create an ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway in SSIS.

Let's not wait and get going!

Creating Mailchimp data source in Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for Mailchimp in Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack.
Search for gateway in Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:
Go to Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:
- Click Add button
- In Login field enter username, e.g., john
- Then enter a Password
- Check Is Administrator checkbox
- Click OK to save
Now we are ready to add a data source:
- Click Add button
- Give Datasource a name (have it handy for later)
- Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
- Finally, click OK
MailchimpDSN

ZappySys API Driver
When the ZappySys API Driver configuration window opens, configure the Data Source the same way you configured it in ODBC Data Sources (64-bit), in the beginning of this article.
Very important step. Now, after creating or modifying the data source make sure you:
- Click the Save button to persist your changes.
- Hit Yes, once asked if you want to restart the Data Gateway service.
This will ensure all changes are properly applied:

Skipping this step may result in the new settings not taking effect and, therefore you will not be able to connect to the data source.

Creating ODBC data source for Data Gateway

In this part we will create ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway from SSIS. To achieve that, let's perform these steps:

Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server:

ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server

If you don't see ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server driver in the list, choose a similar version driver.
Then set a Name of the data source (e.g. Gateway) and the address of the Data Gateway:

GatewayDSN

localhost,5000

Make sure you separate the hostname and port with a comma, e.g. localhost,5000.
Proceed with authentication part:
- Select SQL Server authentication
- In Login ID field enter the user name you used in Data Gateway, e.g., john
- Set Password to the one you configured in Data Gateway
Then set the default database property to MailchimpDSN (the one we used in Data Gateway):

MailchimpDSN
Continue by checking Trust server certificate option:
Once you do that, test the connection:
If connection is successful, everything is good:
Done!

We are ready to move to the final step. Let's do it!

Accessing data in SSIS via Data Gateway

Finally, we are ready to read data from Mailchimp in SSIS via Data Gateway. Follow these final steps:

Go back to SSIS.
From the SSIS toolbox drag and drop ODBC Source on the dataflow designer surface:
Double-click on ODBC Source component to configure it.
Click on New... button, it will open Configure ODBC Connection Manager window. Once it opens, click on New... button to create a new ODBC connection to Mailchimp ODBC data source:
Then choose the data source from the list and click Test Connection button. If the connection test is successful, close the window, and then click OK button to finish the configuration:

GatewayDSN
Read the data the same way we discussed at the beginning of this article.
That's it!

Now you can connect to Mailchimp data in SSIS via the Data Gateway.

If you are asked for authentication details, use Database authentication or SQL Authentication option and enter credentials you used when configuring Data Gateway, e.g. john and your password.