When someone gives you their email in a DM, Ellipsend can add them to MailerLite and put them in a group a second later. It's one request. New to API requests? Start with Send Contact Info to Your Other Tools With API Requests.
Get Your API Token
In MailerLite, open Integrations, find MailerLite API, and click Generate new token. Name it Ellipsend and copy it. MailerLite only shows it once.
Connect MailerLite to Ellipsend
In Ellipsend, go to Settings → Integrations → HTTP requests and click Add request. Name it Find MailerLite groups, pick Read · GET, and paste https://connect.mailerlite.com/api/groups.
Open Connection and click Add connection:
Connection name: MailerLite
Connection method: API token (Bearer)
Paste your token, and put
https://connect.mailerlite.comunder App addresses.
MailerLite also needs one header on every request. Open Advanced options → Headers, click Add a header, and add Accept with the value application/json.
Open Testing and click Send test request. The response lists every group with its ID. Copy the one you want.
Create the Request
Add a request named Add contact to MailerLite:
Destination: Create · POST,
https://connect.mailerlite.com/api/subscribersConnection: MailerLite, plus the same
AcceptheaderData to send: click Edit as JSON and paste this, with your group ID in place of the placeholder
{"email": "{{ contact.email }}", "fields": {"name": "{{ contact.first_name }}"}, "groups": ["YOUR_GROUP_ID"]}
The parts in double curly braces, like {{ contact.email }}, are variables. When the request runs, Ellipsend swaps each one for that contact's real details, so paste them exactly as they are. To add a different detail, click inside the box where it should go, click Insert variable just above the box, and pick it from the list. More on variables.
Send a test request. 201 means a new subscriber, 200 means an existing one was updated and added to the group.
Sending to More Than One Group?
One request sends to one group. Most people put every DM lead in the same group, so one request is all they need. If some automations should land contacts in a different group, save one request per group. Open Add contact to MailerLite, click More, then Duplicate request. Rename the copy after the group, like Add contact to MailerLite · Meal Plan, swap in that group's ID, and save.
Then pick the matching request in each automation. Your connection is shared, so you only enter your key once.
Add It to Your Automation
In your automation's DM steps, add Ask for Email, then Run API Request with Add contact to MailerLite, then your freebie message. You can run the same request from a saved response under After sending.
Good to Know
MailerLite won't bring back someone who unsubscribed or bounced through this request. That's on purpose, to protect your sending reputation.
{{ contact.first_name }}is the first name on the contact's Instagram or Facebook profile, not an answer they typed.Check the Activity tab if someone doesn't show up. It shows what was sent and MailerLite's reply for every run.