Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign are marketing automation platforms that allow you to send newsletters and campaigns to your customers. Avantio connects with these platforms to make managing your contacts faster and easier.
All emails collected from your website (newsletter subscription forms, exit tools, tourist and owner contact forms, and bookings) are automatically added to the mailing list you choose.
Advantages
Centralize all contacts registered through your website.
Only users who have agreed to receive commercial information or offers and promotions are included.
Facilitates and speeds up the process of sending mass communications to your customers.
Only one list can be connected through this automatic connection.
Information required to establish the connection
If you’re interested in this connection, please contact our customer service team to activate the module (there is an additional cost depending on your contracted web plan).
Once the module is activated, you can add it from VRMS → Web → Marketing tools → Email Marketing.
I. Connection with Mailchimp
You’ll need the API key from your Mailchimp account and the List ID (the ID of the mailing list that will be connected to the forms).
This integration only serves to capture contacts from your website and transfer them to your Mailchimp list. It is NOT an integration with the VRMS or with emails sent through our system.
How to get your API Keys
Go to your Mailchimp account → Account → Extras → API Keys.
From there, you can generate a new key if you don’t already have one.
How to get your List ID
Go to Audience → (select your desired list) → All Contacts → Settings → Audience Name → Audience ID.
In Audience fields, if custom fields are created, it’s very important that they are not marked as required — for example, if these fields don’t exist in the newsletter form, Mailchimp will reject the data as incomplete.
Additional tips
To ensure the quality of registered contacts and prevent spam, you can enable the double opt-in option, which requires a second email confirmation from the registered contact.
For additional verification, you can always review the list of customers in the VRMS, filtering by those who have accepted commercial information on your website.
Simply select “Yes” in the filter “Authorized to receive campaigns” and click Search.
How to enable Double Opt-in in Mailchimp
Double opt-in is a two-step subscription process that ensures your contacts are real and genuinely want to receive your communications.
How it works:
1️⃣ Form: The person fills out the subscription form on your website.
2️⃣ Confirmation: They receive an email with a link and must click it to verify their address.
3️⃣ Subscription: After confirming, they’re automatically added to your Mailchimp list.
Advantage: Prevents fake or spam contacts and guarantees your audience is genuinely interested.
Configuring Double Opt-in in Mailchimp
Log in to your Mailchimp account.
In the top bar, click Audience.
Make sure you’re in the correct list. From the Manage Audience menu, select Settings.
Click Audience name and defaults.
Check the box Enable double opt-in.
Save the changes at the bottom of the page.
✅ Done! Your list now has double opt-in enabled.
Creating an Automated Welcome Email in Mailchimp
This guide explains how to create an automated email in Mailchimp that is sent automatically to every person who subscribes to your website’s newsletter. Once set up, the welcome email will be sent automatically, with no manual intervention required.
Advantages
The automatic confirmation email can become a powerful marketing tool because it allows you to:
Establish a first direct and automated contact with the new subscriber.
Confirm the subscription was successful, avoiding confusion or uncertainty.
Offer an incentive according to your strategy, such as:
A discount via a promo code.
An e-book or other type of resource (guide, file, etc.).
The welcome email is the ideal channel for sharing this information.
Measure your audience’s interest and engagement: Mailchimp shows if the email was opened or clicked, helping you identify which content works best and increase open rates in future campaigns.
To create this automatic email, you must have a paid Mailchimp plan.
Step 1: Create or identify your target audience
The first step is to identify or create the audience that will receive the automatic email.
Go to Audience → Audience Dashboard.
If you already have an audience, select it.
If not, click Create Audience and follow the steps.
If you want to link this email to your website’s newsletter form:
Link the audience to your VRMS account → Web → Email Marketing following this guide.
Important: Have your Mailchimp API Key and List ID ready (the audience ID that will be connected to the forms).
Step 2: Create and activate the automated welcome email
Option 1: AI-generated journey
Go to Automations → Welcome new contacts → Welcome new contacts.
Mailchimp will display an AI-powered flow.
Select the audience to receive the email.
Edit the email name if needed.
Review the start and end points of the journey.
To modify the email, click Edit email in builder.
Mailchimp will suggest an AI-created email. If everything looks good:
Click Replace image to change the suggested image.
Click Turn on to save and activate the email.
💡 Tip: If you prefer to design the email manually, select Edit email in builder to switch to manual creation mode.
Option 2: Manual journey
Go to Automations → Build from Scratch.
Name the automation and select the audience.
Define the Starting point:
Choose Sign up for email (when the user registers via the email form).
Click Add a step → Send email to add the email sending action.
Email setup:
Rename: Assign an internal name.
To & From: Set sender and recipient.
Subject: Write the subject line and preview text.
Schedule: Choose when the email will be sent (e.g., immediately).
Tracking: Optionally connect your Google Analytics account to track performance.
Select a template: Choose your design template.
Customization:
Add your logo, text, and images.
Use the left-hand Mailchimp menu to structure the content.
Send a test email by clicking Send test to verify everything works correctly.
Save the journey with Save and return to journey.
If everything looks fine, click Continue to finish.
Final step: Test functionality
To ensure everything is correctly configured, perform a test:
Subscribe a test email address through your website form.
Verify that the welcome email is sent automatically.
Example of an email
Example of an automated email created by an agency that includes a promotional code:
II. Connection with ActiveCampaign
Where to find the keys to integrate ActiveCampaign
To get the keys required to integrate ActiveCampaign with Avantio, simply go to Settings → Developer.
How to configure lists by language
You’ll first need to create as many lists as the languages available on your website, by accessing the Lists section in ActiveCampaign.
To configure these lists in Avantio, go to VRMS → Web → Marketing Tools → Email Marketing and enter, for each language, the List ID you can find in the ActiveCampaign list URL.