Export Data from Mailchimp for Bento

This guide will help you export all the lists, tags, segments, and custom fields you need from Mailchimp so you can import them into Bento.

Exporting your data is safe and does not affect your live Mailchimp account. You can continue sending emails while you prepare your migration.

Prerequisites

Access to your Mailchimp account

Required permissions to export data

A place to save your exported CSV files

Spreadsheet software to review and clean up CSVs

What You'll Export

Subscribers (Lists/People)
Tags
Segments (Saved Searches/Lists)
Custom Fields
Automations (for mapping later)

Step-by-Step Export Process

Go to Mailchimp and log in with your credentials. Once you are logged in, navigate to the Audience section.

Export Audience (All Statuses)

From your audience screen, click Subscription Status select box and check each of the status options.
Click Export Segment.
Mailchimp will generate a ZIP that contains a CSV for each of those statuses that has a contact assigned to it and email you a link to download it.
The downloaded ZIP will contain similar CSV files to the following:
- subscribers_email*.csv · unsubscribed_email*.csv · non_subscribed_email*.csv · cleaned_email*.csv

If you have more than one audience, repeat this export for each audience.

Export your Contacts to CSV

Export Tags

Tags are included in your audience export CSVs. Review the CSV columns to see all tags in use.

If you use a lot of tags, consider cleaning up or renaming them in Mailchimp before export for easier migration. Because bento segments via Tags you might want to consider cleaning up and evaluating your tags before exporting. Reach out to support via discord if you have questions, or want advice on how to clean up your tags.

Export Segments

In Audience, click Segments.
For each segment, export the contacts using the export option.

Bento segments via Tags so you won't be importing these lits they are for reference and QA purposes only.

Export your Contacts to CSV

Export Custom Fields (Merge Tags)

Custom fields (called Merge Tags in Mailchimp) are included in your audience export CSV. Review the CSV columns to see all custom fields in use.

Export Automations (Optional)

For automations, go to Automations.
There is no direct export, but you can screenshot or document the steps for reference when rebuilding in Bento Flows.

Merge & Clean

Open each of the exported CSV in your spreadsheet tool.
Rename columns to Bento‑friendly names (email, first_name, tags, etc.), ensure they match in each csv file.
Comma‑separate multiple tags (e.g. vip,customer).
Delete any blank or irrelevant columns — Bento ignores missing headers but a tidy sheet is easier to debug.
Save each CSV as a separate file.

Column Map Example

Email	Tags	Remove Tags	First Name	Last Name
[email protected]	customer, mql	lead	Jesse	Hanley

After Exporting

Double-check your CSV files for all required data (contacts, tags, groups, custom fields).
Organize your files and screenshots for easy access during the Bento import process.
If you need to clean up or rename tags/fields, do so in the CSV before importing to Bento.

Troubleshooting

Missing Data?

Make sure you exported from the correct section (Audience, Tags, Groups).
Check your downloads folder for the CSV file.
Open CSVs in a spreadsheet app to review all columns.
Lists over 100k contacts? Mailchimp may split exports into multiple CSVs—download every part and combine before merging statuses.

Export Button Not Visible?

You may need admin permissions to export data.
Try a different browser or clear your cache.
Contact Mailchimp support if you still can't export.

Critical Terminology: Mailchimp → Bento

Before we dive in, let’s align on key concepts. This table is your Rosetta Stone for migrating mental models from Mailchimp to Bento.

Mailchimp Term	Bento Term	What It Actually Means
`Contact`	`Person`	A human with an email address
`Audience`	(none)	Bento has a single `People` table — use tags + segments instead of siloed lists
`Tag`	`Tag`	Labels for categorization — in Bento, tags are first-class and support advanced logic
`Group`	`Tag` or `Segment`	Depending on behavior, use a dynamic Segment or a static Tag in Bento
`Merge Field`	`Field`	Custom data attached to a `Person`, like `first_name`, `plan`, or `last_seen_at`
`Campaign`	`Broadcast`	A one-time email sent to a specific group or segment
`Automation`	`Flow`	If-this-then-that workflows — Bento Flows support triggers, delays, branching, and more
`Goal`	`Event + Flow logic`	Logic conditions inside a Flow that advance a user based on behavior
`Event Tracking`	`Event`	Track pageviews, clicks, custom behavior — all events are first-class in Bento
`Merge Tags`	`Liquid`	Dynamic content via Liquid templating

Bento tracks all clicks and visits automatically — no manual link triggers or extra setup needed.

The Mental Model Shift

Mailchimp: "Here's an audience with Groups and Tags."

Bento: "Here's a person who visited 5 pages, clicked 3 emails, has an LTV of $497, and is currently browsing your pricing page."

Final Thoughts

This migration will take you 2–4 hours of actual work.

Remember:

Take screenshots before changing anything
Test with your own email first
Keep Mailchimp running during transition
Document everything for your future self

If something just doesn't go right, you can always re-import from Mailchimp and try again.
That's why we keep it running until we're sure.

Quick Reference

During Migration:

Check Bento's Dashboard
Monitor deliverability score
Test forms and integrations
Send one test email after changes

Before Canceling Mailchimp:

All Contacts are imported
All automations rebuilt
List is warmed up on Bento
Forms all working
Deliverability metrics stable

Emergency Contacts:

Bento Support: Discord | [email protected]
Status Page: status.bentonow.com
API Docs: docs.bentonow.com

You've got this. And if you don't? That's what support is for. Ship it.