94 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
94 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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project: mailerlite-classic-to-new-migration
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type: session-notes
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status: completed
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path: Tech/Sessions
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tags:
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- mailerlite
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- wordpress
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- migration
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- sunnies
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created: 2026-04-29
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updated: 2026-04-29
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---
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# MailerLite Classic to New Migration
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## Outcome
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PBS email infrastructure fully migrated from MailerLite Classic to New
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MailerLite. All active PBS subscribers, forms, automations, and the
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site-wide popup are now running on the New platform. PBS stays within the
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free tier (~120 active subscribers, well under the 500 limit).
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Classic remains active as a shared account with Jenny's writer audience,
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which was tabled for a later decision.
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## What Changed
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- Active PBS subscribers (~120) exported from Classic by group and imported
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into New, group by group, with automations disabled on import to avoid
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retriggering welcome flows.
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- Three freebie forms rebuilt as raw HTML embeds on their respective
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Gutenberg landing pages.
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- Site-wide popup form recreated in New MailerLite.
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- Official MailerLite WordPress plugin reconfigured with the New account
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API key (the "Classic API" field label was misleading legacy wording — same
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plugin works for both platforms).
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- All Classic-side PBS forms and automations deleted to prevent any stale
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embed or cached page from feeding subscribers into the wrong account.
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## Key Learnings
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- **Account topology was the biggest source of confusion.** Classic was a
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shared team account (Jenny + Travis via company email). The migration
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created a New account that was also shared. Logging in via different emails
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kept showing the same data, which initially looked like duplicate accounts
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but was actually one account with multiple users.
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- **Migration brings ghost subscribers.** The Classic to New migration tool
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pulled 496 pre-2023 inactive subscribers into the New account alongside any
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active ones. These had to be cleaned out before importing the active PBS
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list, otherwise the free tier would have been blown immediately.
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- **Subscriber engagement stats do not migrate.** Per-subscriber open/click
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history, signup dates, and group-level performance stats are lost in any
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CSV-based import. For a small list this is acceptable; baseline group stats
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were noted before the move.
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- **The MailerLite WordPress plugin only injects the universal loader
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script.** It does not manage popup forms, triggers, or display rules —
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those live entirely inside the MailerLite account. This explained why the
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popup couldn't be "turned on" from the plugin UI.
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- **The universal loader script lives in the page head as plugin output.**
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Identifying its source took a view-source hunt. Comments and XPath helped
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narrow it down to plugin-injected output rather than WPCode, theme files,
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or Astra customizer.
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- **Form embed approach is now consistent.** All PBS forms (three freebies
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+ popup) use raw HTML embeds rather than plugin shortcodes. This decouples
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form delivery from the plugin and would make a future plugin removal
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painless.
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## Decisions
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- **Keep the MailerLite plugin for now.** It auto-updates the universal
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loader script if MailerLite changes infrastructure. Deactivation is a
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future option since all forms are raw HTML embeds and don't depend on
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plugin shortcodes.
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- **Writer-side audience stays in Classic.** No action taken on the writer
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subscribers or PPWC2024 group. Future split decision deferred.
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- **Verification approach:** monitor subscriber counts in both Classic and
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New for a week. Classic should stay flat (no leak from stale embeds), New
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should grow as new signups come in.
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## Future Work
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- **Custom Sunnie-based popup system.** Replace the MailerLite-controlled
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popup with a self-hosted modal driven by a 3D animated Sunnie character.
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Form submission stays MailerLite (raw HTML embed), but trigger logic,
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frequency capping, and visual presentation move into WPCode under PBS
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control. Architectural goal: control the experience locally rather than
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depending on remote configuration that can't be grepped.
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- **3D Sunnie pipeline experiment.** 2D render exists; image-to-3D model
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conversion to be explored on local hardware, followed by Blender rigging
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and animation. Treated as brand investment rather than feature work —
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Sunnie as a recurring on-site presence beyond just the popup.
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...sent from Jenny & Travis |