How to Use ZeroBounce as Your Mailchimp Email Checker

Before your next Mailchimp campaign, check your contacts for invalid and risky email addresses that could affect your deliverability. Here’s how to connect ZeroBounce, validate your audience, and give your emails a better chance of reaching the inbox.

You’ve finished that brilliant email, checked the links, and fine-tuned the subject line. But before you hit send, there’s one more question worth asking:

Are those email addresses still valid?

Email addresses become invalid all the time. Someone may have changed jobs, closed an account, or stopped using an address since joining your list. The contact may still be sitting in Mailchimp even though your emails can no longer reach them.

Other addresses may technically be able to receive email but still carry risks for your sender reputation and deliverability.

Using ZeroBounce as your Mailchimp email checker helps you identify invalid and risky contacts before you send. The ZeroBounce Mailchimp integration connects the two platforms so you can validate your audience without having to move spreadsheets back and forth.

Regularly checking your list can help you reduce bounces and give your campaigns a better chance of reaching the inbox. And this isn’t just a ZeroBounce recommendation. Mailchimp also encourages senders to follow good list hygiene.

Doesn’t Mailchimp already check email addresses?

You may be thinking: I’ve used Mailchimp this far. What’s the difference?

It’s true that Mailchimp catches certain problems during import, including malformed addresses and common domain misspellings. 

It can also manage bounced email addresses after you send a campaign. However, Mailchimp explains that it isn’t a contact cleaning service. It’s one of the reasons that Mailchimp and Mailchimp partners are always recommending email hygiene platforms like ZeroBounce and other companies.

Email validation adds an additional safeguard before your email campaigns go out. 

ZeroBounce identifies invalid addresses and other risks, such as disposable emails and known complainers – those contacts associated with spam complaints. There’s an even more detrimental type of email called spam traps. Those are designed to trap spammers, but when legitimate email senders like you send them a message, you could get put on a blacklist. 

Email validation helps you make better sending decisions by identifying invalid and risky contacts before they cause problems.

Since you’re paying for Mailchimp anyways, you might as well ensure that you protect your email ecosystem. It’s a small investment that pays for itself.

How to use the ZeroBounce Mailchimp integration

All you’ll need is a ZeroBounce account to get started. You can validate up to 100 emails for free, with additional credits available for purchase.

 You’ll configure your Mailchimp account to give permission to access the audience you want to check.

1. Connect your accounts. Sign in to ZeroBounce, open Integrations, and select Mailchimp. Click Connect, sign in to Mailchimp, and authorize access.
2. Choose your audience. Select the list you want to validate. The integration imports subscribed contacts; unsubscribed, cleaned, and pending contacts aren’t imported.
3. Start validation. Click Validate. You can follow the progress in ZeroBounce and receive an email notification when processing finishes.
4. Use your results in Mailchimp. Validation results return automatically to the originating integration. Filter your audience using those results and select valid contacts for your campaign.

For screenshots and additional settings, see the Mailchimp integration setup guide.

Can you check new contacts automatically?

Yes. In the integration’s Real-Time Validation section, turn on auto-validation to check new contacts added individually. You can connect this to all of your forms so that bad email addresses don’t enter the picture.

There’s one key detail to remember: Mailchimp bulk imports don’t trigger this feature. If you import a batch of email addresses, you’ll need to run a separate validation check.

When should you check your Mailchimp list?

Make email validation part of your campaign preparation, especially when you haven’t checked an audience recently. An address that worked last year may no longer accept email.

A good rule of thumb is to clean your list at least once per season. If your list grows quickly, you send frequently, or you haven’t cleaned it in a while, you may want to check it more often.

Also review whether subscribers still expect to hear from you. A valid email address doesn’t tell you whether someone remains interested, and Mailchimp recommends reconfirming stale audiences. For older or inactive contacts, consider a re-engagement campaign before deciding whether to keep them on your list.

Check your audience before your next send

The integration is free to connect, and email validation uses ZeroBounce credits. Connect ZeroBounce to Mailchimp to get things started and give your list a boost before your next campaign.