> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveinspect.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Mailchimp Integration for Home Inspectors
> Connect Mailchimp to Hive Inspect to sync your clients and real estate agents into Mailchimp audiences automatically, with tags, for newsletters and campaigns.
7 min read
In the dashboard: Business Tools → Mailchimp
## What is the Mailchimp integration?
The Mailchimp integration keeps your Hive contacts in sync with your Mailchimp audiences, so you can send newsletters and campaigns to past clients and to the agents who refer you — without exporting spreadsheets.
You choose what to sync:
* **Clients** — homebuyers and sellers you've inspected for
* **Agents** — the buyer's and listing agents you work with
* **Both**, to the same audience or to separate ones
Each contact is added to Mailchimp with their **name, email, phone number, birthday, and tags** (based on the tag sync method you pick). Changes you make in Hive — a new contact, an edited phone number, a tag added — reach Mailchimp **within a few minutes**.
**It only adds and updates.** Nothing is ever removed or archived in your Mailchimp audiences.
***
## Setting up Mailchimp
1. Go to **Business Tools > Mailchimp Integration**
2. In Mailchimp, click your profile avatar (top right) and go to **Account & billing → Extras → API keys**
3. Click **Create A Key**, give it a name (e.g. "Hive Sync"), and generate it
4. **Copy the key immediately** — Mailchimp shows it only once — then click Done
5. Paste the key into Hive and click **Test API key**
If the key is valid you'll see your Mailchimp account name and move straight to Step 2.
Turn on **Sync clients** and/or **Sync agents**. For each group:
* Pick the **Mailchimp audience** the contacts should go to. Both groups can use the same audience or different ones.
* Choose who qualifies. A contact qualifies for a group if it matches **either** rule:
* has held that role on an inspection (client, or buyer's/listing agent), and/or
* carries any of the **tags** you select. Contacts you imported from other software usually carry a tag such as "Clients" or "Agents" — Hive pre-selects any that look right.
* Turn on **Sync existing … now** if you want every qualifying contact synced right away. Leave it off to sync only new and updated contacts from now on.
You can configure each group separately or skip either one entirely.
Hive contact tags become Mailchimp tags. Pick how they should be handled — each option has an ℹ️ in the app with the same details:
| Option | Behavior |
| ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Replace my Mailchimp tags** | Mailchimp tags are always kept in sync with Hive — additions and removals are mirrored. |
| **Add alongside my Mailchimp tags** | Hive tags are added to Mailchimp without removing any existing Mailchimp tags. |
| **Only sync new tags going forward** | Only tags added in Hive after setup will sync; existing Mailchimp tags are left untouched. |
| **Don't sync contact tags** | No tags are synced between Hive and Mailchimp. |
Click **Save**. The integration now shows as **Active**.
> If you turned on either **Sync existing clients/agents now** option, the sync begins after you click Save and may take a little while. The page shows progress and a summary when it finishes.
***
## After setup
The Mailchimp page shows your sync status: how many clients and agents are synced, anything queued, and the last sync time. You can return at any time to:
* change which groups or audiences you sync, or your tag sync method
* run **Sync now** to push every qualifying contact again
* **Reset API key** if you've created a new key in Mailchimp
* **Disconnect** the integration entirely
***
## What gets synced
| In Hive | In Mailchimp |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| First and last name | FNAME / LNAME merge fields |
| Email | The contact's email (their identity in Mailchimp) |
| Phone number | PHONE merge field (formatted to your audience's phone rules) |
| Birthday | BIRTHDAY merge field (month/day — Hive creates this field if your audience doesn't have one) |
| Contact tags | Mailchimp tags, per your tag sync method |
A few details:
* New contacts are added as **subscribed** so they receive your campaigns right away.
* Contacts who have **unsubscribed from your Hive emails** are never subscribed in Mailchimp. If they were already synced, they're marked unsubscribed.
* Existing Mailchimp members keep their current subscription status — the integration never re-subscribes someone who opted out in Mailchimp.
* A contact can be both a client and an agent; it's added to each group's audience.
***
## Frequently asked questions
Not at this time — Mailchimp is the recommended way to do that. Once the integration is set up, your contacts are always current in Mailchimp and you can send campaigns from there.
Yes. When setting up each group, you choose which Mailchimp audience to send them to. Point both at the same audience or use separate ones.
Use either **Add alongside my Mailchimp tags** or **Only sync new tags going forward** to preserve your existing Mailchimp tags. **Replace my Mailchimp tags** will overwrite them with whatever is in Hive. You can also choose **Don't sync contact tags** to keep tags out of the sync entirely.
Both. During setup, turn on **Sync existing clients/agents now** to sync everyone who qualifies. New and updated contacts sync automatically after that. You can also run **Sync now** at any time.
Go back to Mailchimp (**Account & billing → Extras → API keys**), revoke the old key, and create a new one. Then return to Hive and use **Reset API key** on the Mailchimp page to update it. Your sync settings are kept.
Yes. Open **Business Tools > Mailchimp Integration** at any time to update your sync preferences, add or remove client/agent syncing, change your tag sync method, reset your API key, or disconnect entirely.
Absolutely. Turn on **Sync agents**, choose the audience, and turn on **Sync existing agents now**. Your agent contacts will be in Mailchimp within minutes, and every new agent you work with is added automatically.
* Make sure the contact has an email address — Mailchimp identifies contacts by email.
* Check that the contact qualifies for a group you're syncing (an inspection role, or one of the tags you selected).
* Contacts who unsubscribed from your Hive emails, or who previously unsubscribed/bounced in Mailchimp, are not added. Mailchimp doesn't allow re-subscribing them by integration.
* If you changed which tags qualify, run **Sync now** to re-evaluate existing contacts.
Nothing changes in Mailchimp — the integration never removes contacts from your audiences. Remove them in Mailchimp if needed.
Use the in-app chat or reach our support team at **[support@hiveinspect.com](mailto:support@hiveinspect.com)**.
***
## Getting started
1. **Connect** Mailchimp under Business Tools > Mailchimp Integration with an API key
2. **Choose** clients and/or agents and the audience for each
3. **Pick** your tag sync method and click **Save**
4. Turn on **Sync existing … now** for an immediate first sync
5. Send your first newsletter from Mailchimp
**Tip:** Create a dedicated audience in Mailchimp for Hive (or one for clients and one for agents) before you connect, so your synced contacts stay separate from other lists.
**Tip:** If you already use Mailchimp tags to drive automations, pick **Add alongside my Mailchimp tags** so the sync never removes them.
Next step
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