Switch from Mailchimp to GoHighLevel without losing audiences, tags, or deliverability

Switch from Mailchimp to GoHighLevel fast, keep consent, segmentation, and sending reputation intact. Use this 7 day cutover to avoid missed sends and broken automations.

What you keep

• Contacts, custom fields, tags, groups, interests, map 1 to 1 as tags or fields
• Opt out status, import as Email DND so unsubscribed and cleaned contacts never receive mail
• UTM data and click IDs, capture via hidden fields on forms and checkouts
• Basic deal data, map to Pipelines and Opportunities if you used Mailchimp CRM

What you rebuild

• Automations, rebuild as Workflows with matching triggers, waits, conditions
• Signup forms and landing pages, replace with GoHighLevel Forms, Surveys, Funnels
• Email templates, recreate in the Email Builder, reuse in Campaigns and Workflows
• List logic, replace multiple Audiences with Smart Lists that segment one master list

Before you start

• Authenticate sending domain, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, then warm gradually
• Export by Audience, include tags, groups, interests, fields, status, last engagement
• Export suppressions and bounces, import as Email DND
• Snapshot every active Customer Journey, triggers, delays, splits, emails

The 7 day zero downtime plan

Day 0, inventory and exports

• Export Contacts per Audience with columns for, email, name, phone, status, tags, groups, interests, last open, last click
• Export Unsubscribed and Cleaned lists, keep separate CSVs
• List all live forms and pages, build a redirect and replacement map

Day 1, deliverability foundations

• In GoHighLevel, add your sender domain and DNS records, SPF, DKIM, DMARC
• Connect Google Postmaster Tools, check current domain reputation
• Create seed Smart Lists, recent clickers, recent openers, engaged last 90 days

Day 2, contact model and import

• Create custom fields to hold Mailchimp metadata you intend to keep, for example mc_audience, mc_group, last_campaign
• Decide segmentation rules, convert Audiences and Groups to tags or fields, example tags, audience_newsletter, interest_vip, source_mc
• Import in cohorts, mapped fields and tags, import Unsubscribed and Cleaned as Email DND

Day 3, forms and opt in flow

• Rebuild Mailchimp forms in GoHighLevel Forms, add hidden fields, utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, gclid, wbraid, gbraid
• Implement double opt in, Form submitted triggers Confirm email with a trigger link, on click, tag confirmed and start nurture

Day 4, automation rebuilds

• Rebuild your top 5 Customer Journeys in Workflows, triggers, form submitted, tag added, purchase received, email event opened or clicked
• Replace Goals with “Event happened” checks and Go To steps
• Add compliance logic, set Email DND or remove it based on preference updates

Day 5, pipelines, tasks, and attribution

• If you used Mailchimp CRM and Deals, rebuild Pipelines and Opportunities 1 to 1
• Auto create Opportunities on high intent events, for example demo booked, checkout started
• Send Purchase or Lead events to ad platforms from Workflows, use Facebook CAPI and Google Ads actions

Day 6, templates and warmup

• Rebuild key templates, header, footer, legal, preference links, test merge fields
• Seed sends to recent clickers only, then expand to recent openers, then to 90 day engaged, hold cold contacts

Day 7, cutover and monitoring

• Swap all forms and landing pages to GoHighLevel versions
• Pause Mailchimp Customer Journeys, keep the account for reporting only
• Monitor open, click, bounce, complaint, and block rates for 72 hours, watch Postmaster

Mapping guide, Mailchimp to GoHighLevel

Non negotiable, consolidate to one list, do not recreate multiple Audiences in GoHighLevel.

QA checklist

• DNS passes SPF, DKIM, DMARC alignment, From address uses your authenticated domain
• Unsubscribes and Cleaned are Email DND, test with a real unsubscribed contact
• Double opt in works, trigger link sets confirmed tag, nurture starts
• Workflows match Mailchimp logic, triggers, waits, splits, exits, test end to end
• Email events fire to Workflows, opened and clicked branches work
• Smart Lists match old Audiences and Groups, counts within expected variance
• Warmup pacing, complaint rate under 0.1 percent, no sudden block spikes

Common pitfalls and fixes

• Recreating multiple Audiences, leads to duplicates and consent risk, fix by one master list plus Smart Lists
• Everyone looks unsubscribed, you mapped a suppression CSV to global DND for all channels, set only Email DND
• Merge tags break, rename fields to simple lowercase with underscores, update template bindings
• Open or click branches never trigger, add Email Events filter scoped to the same email and time window, extend waits

FAQ

Can I import groups and interests
Yes. Convert them to tags, example interest_vip, or to a multi select custom field, then segment with Smart Lists.

Do unsubscribed and cleaned contacts stay suppressed
Yes. Import both as Email DND. Test a few records to confirm they are blocked from campaigns.

Can I trigger workflows on open or click events
Yes. Use the Email Events trigger or filters inside a Workflow for Opened or Clicked.

How do I protect deliverability after the move
Authenticate SPF, DKIM, DMARC, warm by engagement cohorts, monitor Google Postmaster, hold cold segments until inbox placement is stable.

What about ecommerce automations like purchase thank you
Rebuild as Workflows with Payment received triggers or webhook based triggers. Send server side Purchase events to Meta and Google for attribution.

Should I keep multiple Audiences like in Mailchimp
No. Use one list, then Smart Lists for segmentation. It reduces duplicates and simplifies consent.