managing-mailchimp

name	managing-mailchimp
description	Use when working with Mailchimp — mailchimp email marketing platform management including audience lists, campaigns, automations, templates, and analytics. Covers list health, campaign performance, subscriber engagement, bounce and unsubscribe rates, and A/B test results.
connection_type	mailchimp
preload	false

Mailchimp Management Skill

Monitor and manage Mailchimp email marketing campaigns and audiences.

MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

Always discover audiences and account info before querying campaign data.

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash
MC_API="https://${MAILCHIMP_DC}.api.mailchimp.com/3.0"
AUTH="anystring:${MAILCHIMP_API_KEY}"

echo "=== Account Info ==="
curl -s -u "$AUTH" "$MC_API/" | \
  jq -r '"Name: \(.account_name)\nEmail: \(.email)\nPlan: \(.pricing_plan_type)\nContacts: \(.total_subscribers)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Audiences (Lists) ==="
curl -s -u "$AUTH" "$MC_API/lists?count=20" | \
  jq -r '.lists[] | "\(.name) | ID: \(.id) | Members: \(.stats.member_count) | Unsub Rate: \(.stats.unsubscribe_count)/\(.stats.member_count)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Recent Campaigns ==="
curl -s -u "$AUTH" "$MC_API/campaigns?count=10&sort_field=send_time&sort_dir=DESC" | \
  jq -r '.campaigns[] | "\(.settings.title) | Status: \(.status) | Sent: \(.send_time // "draft")"'

echo ""
echo "=== Automations ==="
curl -s -u "$AUTH" "$MC_API/automations?count=20" | \
  jq -r '.automations[] | "\(.settings.title) | Status: \(.status) | Emails: \(.emails_sent)"'

Phase 1 outputs: Account plan, audiences, campaigns, automations

Phase 2: Analysis

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Campaign Performance (last 10 sent) ==="
curl -s -u "$AUTH" "$MC_API/campaigns?count=10&status=sent&sort_field=send_time&sort_dir=DESC" | \
  jq -r '.campaigns[] | "\(.settings.title) | Opens: \(.report_summary.open_rate*100 | floor)% | Clicks: \(.report_summary.click_rate*100 | floor)% | Unsubs: \(.report_summary.unsubscribed)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Audience Growth (last 30 days) ==="
LIST_ID=$(curl -s -u "$AUTH" "$MC_API/lists?count=1" | jq -r '.lists[0].id')
curl -s -u "$AUTH" "$MC_API/lists/$LIST_ID/growth-history?count=30&sort_field=month&sort_dir=DESC" | \
  jq -r '.history[:5] | .[] | "\(.month): Subs=\(.subscribed) Unsubs=\(.unsubscribed) Cleaned=\(.cleaned)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Bounce Summary ==="
curl -s -u "$AUTH" "$MC_API/lists/$LIST_ID" | \
  jq -r '"Hard Bounces: \(.stats.hard_bounce_count) (\(.stats.hard_bounce_count * 100 / (.stats.member_count + 1) | floor)%)\nSoft Bounces: \(.stats.soft_bounce_count)\nCleaned: \(.stats.cleaned_count)"'

echo ""
echo "=== Top Performing Links ==="
CAMPAIGN_ID=$(curl -s -u "$AUTH" "$MC_API/campaigns?count=1&status=sent&sort_field=send_time&sort_dir=DESC" | jq -r '.campaigns[0].id')
curl -s -u   | \
  jq -r 

Output Format

MAILCHIMP STATUS
================
Account: {name} ({plan})
Total Contacts: {count}
Audiences: {count}
Avg Open Rate: {percent}% | Avg Click Rate: {percent}%
Bounces: {hard} hard, {soft} soft
Automations: {active}/{total} active
Issues: {list_of_warnings}

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"I'll skip discovery and check known resources"	Always run Phase 1 discovery first	Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors
"The user only asked for a quick check"	Follow the full discovery → analysis flow	Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures
"Default configuration is probably fine"	Audit configuration explicitly	Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled
"Metrics aren't needed for this"	Always check relevant metrics when available	API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues
"I don't have access to that"	Try the command and report the actual error	Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative

Common Pitfalls

• Data center prefix: API key suffix determines DC (e.g., us21) — must match in URL
• Rate limits: 10 concurrent connections max — serialize requests
• Audience vs Segment: Audiences are top-level lists; segments are filtered subsets
• Archived campaigns: Archived campaigns don't appear in default queries — add status filter