Build MailChimp Visualizations in Tableau Desktop

Tableau is a visual analytics platform transforming the way businesses use data to solve problems. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to MailChimp data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to MailChimp and build visualizations from MailChimp data in Tableau.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server, cloud-to-cloud interface for MailChimp, allowing you to easily build visualizations from live MailChimp data in Tableau without installing connectors. As you build visualizations, Tableau generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to MailChimp, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return MailChimp data.

Configure MailChimp Connectivity for Tableau

Connectivity to MailChimp from Tableau is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with MailChimp data from Tableau, we start by creating and configuring a MailChimp connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "MailChimp" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to MailChimp.

   Set the APIKey to the key you generate in your account settings. To obtain the API Key:

   1. Log into Mailchimp.
   2. Navigate to Account > Extras > API Keys.
   3. Note the value of the API Key.
   
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add MailChimp Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect Cloud through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect Cloud. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to MailChimp data from Tableau.

Visualize Live MailChimp Data in Tableau

To establish a connection from Tableau Desktop to the CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server, follow these steps.

1. In Tableau Desktop, open a new book. Under To a Server, select More, then Microsoft SQL Server.
2. Enter your credentials:
   • Server: enter the Virtual SQL Server endpoint and port separated by a comma: tds.cdata.com,14333
   • Database: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect Cloud data source you want to connect to (for example, MailChimp1).
   • Authentication: select Use a specific username and password.
   • Username: enter your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, [email protected].
   • Password: enter the PAT you previously generated.
   • Require SSL: leave this selected.
   
3. Click Sign In.
4. Select the Database (Connect Cloud connection) you wish to work with and opt for a Live or Extract Connection type.
5. Select the table(s) you wish to visualize. If you select multiple tables, define the relationship between the tables using the appropriate columns.
6. Select the fields to visualize.

Real-Time Access to MailChimp Data from Data Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live MailChimp data from your Tableau workbook. You can create new visualizations, build dashboards, and more. For more information on gaining live access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources from applications like Tableau, refer to our Connect Cloud page.