ChimpMatic connects Contact Form 7 to Campaign Monitor, so every form submission can land on the right Campaign Monitor list. You paste one API key, pick a list per form, and map your fields. The whole Campaign Monitor integration takes about five minutes to set up.
What the Campaign Monitor integration needs
- A WordPress site with Contact Form 7 active
- The latest ChimpMatic Lite, which is free
- A Campaign Monitor account with at least one subscriber list
Before you set up the Campaign Monitor integration
A few Campaign Monitor habits shape how your contacts arrive, so it pays to know them before you turn the Campaign Monitor integration on.
- Lists belong to clients. Campaign Monitor groups lists under clients, even in a single-brand account. So ChimpMatic reads your clients first and then shows every list you can use.
- The list decides the opt-in. Each list is either single opt-in or confirmed opt-in. ChimpMatic follows that setting instead of overriding it.
- One address, one subscriber. When an address is already on the list, Campaign Monitor updates that subscriber. It never creates a second copy.
- Unsubscribes stay unsubscribed. ChimpMatic never forces a resubscribe, so a person who left your list stays off it.
Get your Campaign Monitor API key
- Log in to Campaign Monitor and click your profile image in the top right corner.
- Open Account settings, then click API keys.
- Copy the API key shown there. Use the account key, because ChimpMatic needs to read your clients as well as your lists.
Treat the key like a password. Anyone who has it can manage your subscribers.
Connect Contact Form 7 to Campaign Monitor
- In WordPress, open Contact, Contact Forms and edit your form.
- Click the Chimpmatic tab and choose Campaign Monitor.
- Paste your API key and connect. After that, your lists load automatically.
- Select the list that new subscribers should join, then save the form.
The key field clears once you connect, so the key never sits in the form screen.
Map your form fields
First, point the email field at the subscriber email address. Then map the visitor’s name to the subscriber name. After that, you can map up to four more fields to the custom fields of that list. For example, a company field can fill a “Company” custom field.
Custom fields in Campaign Monitor belong to a single list. So if you switch lists, check your mapping again. Multi-select fields work too, because ChimpMatic sends each chosen option as its own value. The field mapping guide covers the details.
How the Campaign Monitor integration handles opt-in
Campaign Monitor sets the opt-in type on the list itself, and the Campaign Monitor integration respects it.
- Single opt-in lists add the subscriber right away.
- Confirmed opt-in lists email a confirmation link first. The person joins only after they click it.
You can change a list’s type at any time in Campaign Monitor. Also, you can add a required consent checkbox to the form, so that people who leave it unticked never reach your list. Read how double opt-in works for each provider.
Test your Campaign Monitor integration
- Save the form, then submit a test entry with an inbox you can check.
- Next, open the list in Campaign Monitor and look for the new subscriber and the mapped fields.
- If the list uses confirmed opt-in, click the link in the confirmation email and check the status again.
Do this on day one: add a honeypot or CAPTCHA to the form. Otherwise, bots will fill your list with junk addresses.
Other ways to connect Contact Form 7 to Campaign Monitor
Contact Form 7 has no built-in Campaign Monitor module, so every route needs an extra plugin or service. They differ mostly in cost and in where your data travels.
| Method | Cost | Per-form lists | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChimpMatic Lite (this guide) | Free | Yes | Direct form-to-list sync with mapped fields |
| Multi-integration plugins | Free core, paid add-ons | Yes | Sites that connect many form plugins to many services |
| Automation services such as Zapier | Paid, per task | Yes | Multi-step workflows across other apps |
The old “Contact Form 7 Campaign Monitor Extension” plugin is gone. WordPress.org closed it on September 3, 2024 because of a security issue, so remove it if it is still installed. Meanwhile, general plugins such as Advanced Form Integration or Bit Integrations can also send CF7 entries to Campaign Monitor. However, they are built for many services at once. Automation services work as well, but each submission passes through a third party and usually counts against a monthly task limit.
Common problems, and the fixes
- No lists appear after you connect. Check that you pasted the account API key. Also check that at least one client has a list.
- The subscriber appears, but fields are empty. The fields are not mapped to that list’s custom fields, so map them in the Chimpmatic tab.
- Someone never shows up. If the list uses confirmed opt-in, they have not clicked the confirmation link yet. Otherwise, they unsubscribed earlier, and Campaign Monitor keeps them off the list.
FAQ
Does Contact Form 7 work with Campaign Monitor?
Yes, with a connector. Contact Form 7 has no Campaign Monitor module of its own, so ChimpMatic adds the list choice, the field mapping and the consent option for each form.
Can different forms feed different lists?
Yes. You set up the Chimpmatic tab per form, so each form can use its own list, or even another provider.
Does the Campaign Monitor integration retry failed entries?
No. The Campaign Monitor integration sends each entry once and records the result, so a temporary error never creates a duplicate later.
Where does my data go?
The email address, the mapped fields and the list choice go straight from your server to the Campaign Monitor API. See external services for the full disclosure.
Also available: Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo, GetResponse, EmailOctopus and Moosend, or see all integrations.