Solomono Instructions E-mail services CONNECTING MAILCHIMP TRANSACTIONAL (MANDRILL)

CONNECTING MAILCHIMP TRANSACTIONAL (MANDRILL)

Important. Mailchimp Transactional was formerly called Mandrill. Both names may appear in the interface and documentation. Maildrill and Maindrill are misspellings.

What You Will Configure

  • A Mailchimp account and access to Mailchimp Transactional.

  • A verified sending domain with DKIM and DMARC.

  • A Mailchimp Transactional API key for Solomono Email Service.

  • A test message to one recipient.

  • Optional: store system messages through Mandrill SMTP.

What You Need

  • An email address you can access.

  • A sender address on your store domain, such as shop@your-domain.com.

  • Access to the domain DNS panel: registrar, hosting provider, or Cloudflare.

  • Administrator access to the Solomono store.

Warning. The API key is also the SMTP password. Never share it in chats or show it in screenshots.

Pricing and Demo Limits

Mailchimp Transactional is a paid add-on for Mailchimp Marketing Standard or Premium. Sending volume is purchased in monthly blocks of 25,000 emails.

Eligible new accounts may use a demo. The current interface allows sending only to addresses on your own domain, up to 25 sent emails per hour, and up to 100 received emails per hour. The official help center also states an overall demo limit of up to 500 sent emails.

Warning. In demo mode, the recipient must be on the same verified domain. For soloqa.online, test with an address such as info@soloqa.online or test@soloqa.online. Messages to Gmail, Meta.ua, mail-tester.com, and other external domains will be rejected by Mailchimp with recipient-domain-mismatch.


 

1. Create a Mailchimp Account

  1. Open https://login.mailchimp.com/signup/.

  2. Enter your Email, Username, and a strong Password.

  3. Click Sign up.

  4. Open the Mailchimp email and confirm your address.

  5. Finish the initial profile setup using accurate company details.

Figure 1. Creating a Mailchimp account

2. Open the Mailchimp Transactional Setup Wizard

  1. In Mailchimp, open Automations → Transactional.

  2. If Mailchimp offers a demo or paid option, select the required option and confirm its terms.

  3. The Transactional page displays a three-step wizard: Create your API key, Confirm your domain, and Authenticate your domain.

Figure 2. Current Mailchimp Transactional setup wizard

Important. The Mandrill name is still used for the SMTP server and in some emails, but initial setup now takes place directly in Mailchimp.

3. Create and Save the API Key

  1. In the first wizard step, click Create API key.

  2. Mailchimp displays the Copy your API key dialog.

  3. Click the copy icon and store the key in a secure location.

  4. Click Done.

Figure 3. The API key is displayed only once

  1. Do not close the dialog until the key is saved. Mailchimp will not display the same value again after the dialog is closed.

Warning. Use the key created by the Mailchimp Transactional wizard. A regular Mailchimp Marketing API key will not work in this integration.

Warning. If the key appears in a screenshot, chat, or public document, revoke it, create a new key, and replace it in both Solomono and SMTP settings.

4. Confirm the Domain by Email

  1. Open the Confirm your domain step.

  2. Enter a working address on the domain the store will use for sending.

  3. For example: info@your-domain.com.

  4. Click Send verification email.

Figure 4. Entering an address to confirm the domain

  1. Open the message with the subject Verify your Transactional domain.

  2. Click Verify Your Domain.

Figure 5. Domain verification email

  1. Return to Mailchimp and confirm that Domain verified appears.

Figure 6. The domain was successfully confirmed

Important. The email address must contain the required domain. If the message does not arrive, check Spam and verify that the address was entered correctly.

5. Authenticate the Domain Through DNS

Email confirmation proves that you can access an address on the domain. DNS records separately allow Mailchimp to sign the store's messages and pass recipient authentication checks.

  1. Open Authenticate your domain and click Start authentication.

  2. If automatic DNS connection is unavailable, Mailchimp shows the records for manual setup.

  3. Open the registrar, hosting provider, or Cloudflare DNS panel in another tab.

  4. Copy every record directly from the Mailchimp dialog.

Figure 7. Actual DKIM and DMARC records in the Mailchimp wizard

Type

Name / Host → Value / Target

CNAME

mte1._domainkey → dkim1.mandrillapp.com

CNAME

mte2._domainkey → dkim2.mandrillapp.com

TXT

_dmarc → v=DMARC1; p=none

TTL

Default value or 3600


 

Important. Mailchimp may display the DKIM name with the full domain. Some DNS providers append the domain automatically; in that case enter only mte1._domainkey and mte2._domainkey. Check the instructions in your DNS panel.

Warning. If a DMARC record already exists, do not create a second one. Do not weaken an existing p=quarantine or p=reject policy without approval from the domain administrator.

  1. Save the records and return to Mailchimp.

  2. Click I’ve added these records.

  3. Authentication may take up to 48 hours.

Result. Domain setup is complete when the wizard confirms Authenticate your domain.

Figure 8. Mailchimp Transactional is ready to use

Important. After all 3/3 steps are complete, the demo screen shows usage such as 0 of 500 emails used. The Launch App button opens the advanced Transactional/Mandrill app for activity, logs, and additional settings.


 

6. Enable Email Service in Solomono

  1. Sign in to the store administration panel.

  2. Open Modules → SOLO Modules.

  3. Find EMAIL_SERVICE_ENABLED.

  4. Turn on the blue switch.

Figure 9. Email Service and SMTP modules in Solomono

7. Connect Mailchimp Through the API

  1. Click the gear next to EMAIL_SERVICE_ENABLED or open Settings → Integrations → Email Service.

  2. Click edit in the Email Service row.

  3. Select Mailchimp.

  4. Paste the key created in the first Transactional wizard step into Mailchimp API Key.

  5. Click OK, then click the page-level Save or OK button if one appears.

Figure 10. Mailchimp API Key in Solomono

Important. Paste the key without leading or trailing spaces. Do not enter your Mailchimp account password.

8. Test Email Delivery

  1. Open Send Email to Customers.

  2. Select One customer, not all customers.

  3. Choose a test recipient.

  4. Use a From address on the verified domain.

  5. Add a subject and short message, then send it.

Figure 11. Safe test to one recipient

  1. Check both Inbox and Spam.

  2. In Mailchimp Transactional, click Launch App, then open Outbound → Activity.

Important. During the demo, the recipient must also be on the verified domain. This restriction does not apply to genuine transactional recipients on the paid add-on.

Warning. If Mailchimp Transactional → Outbound → Activity shows Rejected with Reject Reason: recipient-domain-mismatch, Solomono did reach Mailchimp. The demo plan is blocking the external recipient. Test with a recipient on the verified domain or upgrade to a paid plan.


 

Optional: System Email Through SMTP

SMTP is used for automatic store messages such as order confirmations, password resets, and administrator notifications.

9. Enable and Configure SMTP

  1. In Modules → SOLO Modules, find SMTP and turn on its switch.

  2. Click the gear or open Settings → Integrations → SMTP Settings.

  3. Complete the fields as shown below.

Solomono field

Value

SMTP Username

Mailchimp primary contact email; technically any string is accepted

SMTP Password

An active Mailchimp Transactional API key

SMTP Host

smtp.mandrillapp.com

SMTP Port

587

SMTP Security

tls

Certificate verification

Keep its current value; change it only when instructed by support


 

Figure 12. Recommended Mandrill SMTP settings in Solomono

Warning. Alternative secure combination: port 465 with ssl. Do not type ttl instead of tls.

  1. Save the settings.

  2. Repeat the test from section 8 and place a test order.

Common Problems

Problem

What to check

Message rejected as unsigned

Domain is verified; both DKIM records and DMARC show green checks.

Mailchimp settings do not save

EMAIL_SERVICE_ENABLED is on; Mailchimp is selected; the Transactional wizard key is used.

SMTP authentication failed

SMTP password is an active API key, not the Mailchimp account password.

Relay Access Denied

Host is smtp.mandrillapp.com; the port is allowed; the key is active.

Unable to Connect to Host

Try 587/tls or 465/ssl; ask the hosting provider whether outbound SMTP is blocked.

Demo does not send to Gmail, Meta.ua, or mail-tester.com

This is a demo-plan restriction. Use a recipient on the verified domain or upgrade to a paid plan.

Rejected: recipient-domain-mismatch

Mailchimp received the message but rejected the external recipient domain. DNS and API may still be configured correctly.

DNS does not verify

Host names do not duplicate the domain; CNAME proxying is off; allow up to 48 hours.


 

Checklist

□ The Mailchimp account is confirmed.

□ Mailchimp Transactional is enabled.

□ Confirm your domain is complete.

□ Authenticate your domain is complete.

□ An active Mailchimp Transactional API key is stored securely.

□ EMAIL_SERVICE_ENABLED is on.

□ Mailchimp is selected and the API key is saved in Solomono.

□ A test email to one recipient was delivered.

□ If required, the SMTP module is on and tested.

Official Resources

About Mailchimp Transactional: https://mailchimp.com/help/about-transactional-email/

Add Transactional Email: https://mailchimp.com/help/add-or-remove-transactional-email/

Demo limits: https://mailchimp.com/help/transactional-email-demo/

Domain, DKIM, and DMARC: https://mailchimp.com/developer/transactional/docs/authentication-delivery/

SMTP settings: https://mailchimp.com/developer/transactional/docs/smtp-integration/

API keys: https://mailchimp.com/developer/transactional/docs/fundamentals/

Last updated on: 17/06/2026
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