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Campaign Monitor Zapier integrationAutomate Campaign Monitor with Zapier.

The Campaign Monitor Zapier integration gives you 8 triggers, 5 actions and 1 search. Every trigger is checked on a timer, the app runs on the free plan, and this page shows what each step costs, what it cannot do and where it breaks.

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Overview

What the Campaign Monitor Zapier integration actually does

Connecting Campaign Monitor to Zapier lets your email engagement start work somewhere else, and lets other tools feed your lists without anyone exporting a CSV. Reader behavior (opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes) becomes a starting point, and subscriber records become something a Zap can add, change or remove for you.

Three results people build first. A segmented follow-up list: New Click Through spots who clicked a campaign, and Add Subscriber drops them on a second list you mail differently. A clean list after bounces: New Bounce or New Bounced Transactional Message hands you the failed address, Find Subscriber checks where it lives, and Unsubscribe takes it off. Receipts and alerts sent through your own templates: Send Smart Transactional Email fires a smart email you already designed in Campaign Monitor whenever another step asks for it.

Now the limits, because they shape everything. None of the 8 triggers is instant: Zapier checks Campaign Monitor at the interval of your plan, so on the free plan a click can wait up to 15 minutes before your Zap sees it. There is no action to build or send a regular campaign, no action to create a list, and nothing that touches clients beyond watching for new ones. For anything outside the menu, the API Request (Beta) action is the escape hatch, and it is a technical one.

If you are weighing tools, the same app on Make has its own page: Campaign Monitor Make integration. The broader trade-offs sit in n8n vs Zapier.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

Seven words come back on every line of this page. Here they are in plain English.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run each time that trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap, like a new subscriber on a list. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for it.
Action
What the Zap does after it starts: the step that adds, updates or sends something in an app on your behalf.
Task
The unit Zapier bills. One task is one action your Zap completes successfully, and your plan counts those.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer and keeps only unseen items. An instant one is pushed by the app the moment it happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when the incoming item meets a condition you set, and stops it otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something already in an app, so the steps after it can reuse what was found.
Cost

What a Campaign Monitor Zap costs you

Campaign Monitor is not a premium app, so it works on the free plan. What you pay for is tasks, and only one thing burns them.

  • Free plan100 tasks a month, unlimited Zaps
  • Free plan stepsOne trigger and one action
  • Premium appNo, available on the free plan
  • Trigger typeAll 8 are polling triggers

The trigger itself never costs a task. Watching for new opens or clicks costs nothing, however often Zapier checks. Each action that succeeds counts as one task, and in a Zap with three actions every one is counted on its own. A failed action is not counted. The free plan stops at two steps: one trigger, one action. Add a filter or Find Subscriber and the Zap becomes a multi-step Zap, which needs a paid plan.

Connect

Connect your Campaign Monitor account

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, go to Apps and click + Add connection. You need a Campaign Monitor account, plus access to any client or list you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch.

  2. 02

    Pick Campaign Monitor

    Type Campaign Monitor in the search box of the dialog, select it, then click Add connection. A new browser tab then opens on the Campaign Monitor side, ready for your login.

  3. 03

    Sign in and grant access

    Log in to Campaign Monitor in that tab and allow Zapier to reach the account. The connection is then saved once and reused by every Campaign Monitor step you add later.

First Zap

Your first Zap: turn a click into a follow-up sequence

GoalWhen someone clicks a campaign, add them to a warm-leads list and send them a smart email you already built.

  1. 01

    Build: choose the trigger

    Create a Zap, pick Campaign Monitor as the trigger app and New Click Through as the event. Select your connection, then the Client Account, then the Campaign to watch.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent click-throughs of that campaign, so you map the next steps on a real reader instead of an empty example.

  3. 03

    Add the reader to a list

    Add a Campaign Monitor action, Add Subscriber. Pick the client, then the warm-leads List ID, and map the email address from the click. If a New Subscriber Zap watches this list, it will fire for each reader added here.

  4. 04

    Send the follow-up

    Add Send Smart Transactional Email, choose the Smart Email ID and map the same address into To. Two actions mean a multi-step Zap: it needs a paid plan and costs two tasks per click.

  5. 05

    Test, then Publish

    Test each action and check Campaign Monitor for the new subscriber and the sent email. Then click Publish to switch the Zap on. Only clicks after that moment count.

Triggers

Campaign Monitor triggers on Zapier

8 events start a Zap when something happens in Campaign Monitor. Zapier checks for them at the interval your plan allows.

1

New Bounce

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when an campaign email to someone bounces (ie. could not be delivered).”

Starts your Zap each time a campaign email cannot be delivered to someone, so the failed address lands in another tool instead of sitting unnoticed in a report.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
flag addresses in your CRM that a sales rep should correct before the next send.
Watch out
it watches one campaign at a time, chosen after the Client Account, so a new campaign needs its own Zap or an edit.
2

New Click Through

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when someone clicks through an email from one of your Campaigns.”

Catches readers who clicked a link inside one of your campaigns. A click says more about intent than an open does.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
push clickers of a webinar invitation onto a reminder list so they get the next mailing.
Watch out
you choose the Client Account and then a single Campaign, so the Zap ignores clicks in every other campaign.
3

New Client

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a client is added to Campaign Monitor.”

Fires when a client account is added to Campaign Monitor. Agencies that run several brands from one login use it to open the paperwork that follows a new account.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
create an onboarding card in your project tool the moment a new brand gets its own client space.
Watch out
no Campaign Monitor action creates or edits clients, so this trigger only works outward, toward other apps.
4

New List

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a list is added for a client.”

Reports each new list created under a client. Handy when lists multiply and nobody keeps track of which ones exist or who asked for them.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
log every new list in a shared spreadsheet so marketing and sales agree on the audience names.
Watch out
it covers the one Client Account you select, and no action on this app can create a list in return.
5

New Email Open

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when someone opens an email from one of your Campaigns.”

Hands your Zap each reader who opens an email from a chosen campaign. Lighter than a click, but useful when you want a wide net.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
update a lead score in your CRM for anyone who read the product launch announcement.
Watch out
a big send produces many opens, and each one that reaches an action costs a task, so check your monthly count before switching it on.
6

New Subscriber

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new subscriber is added to a list.”

Watches a list and passes on every person newly added to it, so the rest of your stack learns about each new reader without anyone copying addresses by hand.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
copy each new newsletter reader into your CRM as a contact so sales sees who just joined.
Watch out
pick the Client Account before the List ID, otherwise the list menu stays empty of choices.
7

New Bounced Transactional Message

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a transactional message bounces.”

Separate from campaign bounces, this one covers the transactional side: receipts, password resets and other one-to-one messages that could not reach the inbox.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
open a support ticket when an order confirmation bounces, so someone contacts the buyer another way.
Watch out
it only needs a Client Account, so it watches all transactional messages of that client at once.
8

New Unsubscribe

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a someone unsubscribes from a list.”

Reports people who leave a given list. It lets the opt-out travel to the other places where that person still lives.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
mark the contact as do-not-email in your CRM so no rep sends a manual follow-up.
Watch out
the List is required and tied to the client you chose, so each list you want covered needs its own trigger setup.
Actions

Campaign Monitor actions

Campaign Monitor gives you 5 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Send Smart Transactional Email

Action

In Zapier“Sends a smart transactional email.”

Sends one of the smart transactional emails you designed in Campaign Monitor, to one or more recipients, when another app asks for it.

When to use it
send a branded booking confirmation when a reservation tool records a new appointment.
Watch out
Add Recipients to List? is off by default, and turning it on requires the recipients' permission to receive marketing email.
2

Add Subscriber

Action

In Zapier“Create a new subscriber on a list.”

Puts an email address on a list, the most common way to feed Campaign Monitor from forms, shops or event tools.

When to use it
add every webinar registrant to your nurture list.
Watch out
the Resubscribe option decides whether a person who left the list can be brought back, so leave it off unless you have fresh consent.
3

Unsubscribe

Action

In Zapier“Remove a subscriber from a list.”

Takes an address off a specific list, so opt-outs collected elsewhere are respected in your newsletter too.

When to use it
remove a customer from the promo list when they cancel their account in your billing tool.
Watch out
it acts on the List ID you pick only, so a person on three lists needs three steps or three Zaps.
4

Update Subscriber

Action

In Zapier“Update a subscriber on a list.”

Changes the record of someone already on a list, by email address, so the data in Campaign Monitor follows what happens in your other tools.

When to use it
refresh a customer record after a purchase in your shop.
Watch out
Resubscribe and Restart Autoresponders sit in the same step, and turning on the second one restarts the subscription-based autoresponders for that person.
5

API Request (Beta)

Action

In Zapier“This is an advanced action which makes a raw HTTP request that includes this integration's authentication.”

An advanced step that sends a raw HTTP request to Campaign Monitor using your existing connection, for whatever the regular actions do not cover.

When to use it
a developer on your team needs one endpoint the menu lacks.
Watch out
requests only go to domains tied to Campaign Monitor, and Stop on error decides whether a failure halts the Zap or lets it run on.
Searches

Campaign Monitor search

1 search step looks for data that already exists in Campaign Monitor, so a later step can use it.

A search step looks something up before acting on it. You find it at the bottom of the Action event list, under SEARCH, or through the + Add search step button some fields show. Three settings decide what happens when the lookup does not go to plan.

1

Find Subscriber

SearchFind or create

In Zapier“Find a subscriber by email within a given list.”

Checks whether an address sits on a given list and returns that subscriber for the steps that follow. Its find-or-create version, Find or Create Subscriber, is the same search with the creation box ticked, not a separate operation.

When to use it
confirm a buyer is on your customer list before updating them.
Watch out
the email address must match exactly, so a typo or an alias returns nothing.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    Left on its default, a search that finds nobody stops the Zap there and skips the steps that relied on it. Switched on, the Zap carries on empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    Ticking it turns the search into find-or-create: the setting above disappears and the fields needed to create the missing subscriber show up.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out: keep the first match (the default), stop the Zap, or hand every match to the next steps at once.
When it breaks

When a Campaign Monitor Zap breaks

Four situations explain why a Campaign Monitor Zap stays silent or runs wild.

Zapier keeps help articles on common Campaign Monitor problems and on getting started. The cases below are the ones a beginner meets first. For a step-by-step method, see Zapier troubleshooting.

  • Old opens and clicks never arrive

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you publish it. Readers who clicked last month are not picked up, and moving that backlog is a separate job.

  • The Zap keeps restarting itself

    Adding subscribers to the very list that New Subscriber watches makes the Zap fire on its own output again and again, eating tasks fast. Use two different lists.

  • A big import stalls the trigger

    Import thousands of contacts at once and the trigger suddenly returns a huge batch. Zapier's flood protection can then hold it back.

  • Nothing shows up in the List field

    List and Campaign depend on the Client Account. Pick the client first, then come back to the field, and check that your login can see that client.
Need help

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FAQ

Campaign Monitor Zapier integration: FAQ

01Is the Campaign Monitor Zapier integration free?
Yes, as far as Zapier goes. Campaign Monitor is not a premium app, so it works on the free plan, which gives you 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps. The catch is the shape of the Zap: the free plan allows two steps only, one trigger and one action. A Zap that adds a subscriber and then sends a smart email, or one that uses a filter or Find Subscriber, is a multi-step Zap and needs a paid plan. You still need your own Campaign Monitor account on top of that.
02How many tasks does a Campaign Monitor Zap use?
One task per action that succeeds. The trigger is free, and checking Campaign Monitor for new opens or bounces costs nothing however often Zapier looks. If a click leads to Add Subscriber and then Send Smart Transactional Email, that is two tasks per click. An action that fails is not counted. Open and click triggers can produce a lot of runs after a large campaign, so estimate the volume of one send before you build on them.
03Does Campaign Monitor work in real time with Zapier?
No. All 8 Campaign Monitor triggers are polling triggers: Zapier checks the account at a fixed interval and keeps only what it has not seen yet. That interval depends on your plan, 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise. A paid plan also lets you run a check by hand from the editor. None of the triggers shows the lightning bolt that marks an instant trigger.
04What does it take to connect Campaign Monitor to Zapier?
A Campaign Monitor account and a Zapier account. From the Apps page you add a connection, pick Campaign Monitor, sign in in the tab that opens and grant access. If you work for someone else, your login also needs access to the clients and lists the Zap will touch. Once saved, the connection is reused by every Campaign Monitor step, so you only go through it once per account. Expect to choose a Client Account in almost every step afterwards.
05Why is the list menu empty in a Campaign Monitor step?
Because the Client Account has not been chosen yet. Nearly every Campaign Monitor trigger, action and the search ask for a client first, and the List or Campaign field only fills once that is set. Pick the client, come back to the field, and the lists of that client appear. If they still do not, the account you connected probably lacks access to that client, so check it on the Campaign Monitor side.
06What if the Campaign Monitor action you need is missing?
Check the API Request (Beta) action first. It sends a raw HTTP request to Campaign Monitor through your existing connection, so it can reach things the menu does not cover. It is a technical step: you set the method and the URL yourself, and requests can only go to domains tied to Campaign Monitor. If nobody on the team is comfortable with that, a dedicated automation tool may be a better fit.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Campaign Monitor?
It depends on what matters most to you. On Zapier, Campaign Monitor works on the free plan, every trigger is polled at your plan interval and each successful action is one task. The menu holds 8 triggers, 5 actions and 1 search, with API Request (Beta) for the rest. The same app also has a page on Make, and n8n is the third option. Compare which steps each platform exposes for your lists, then weigh volume, budget and who maintains the flows.
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