MANDRILL n8n INTEGRATION: AUTOMATE MANDRILL WITH N8N

The Send HTML action allows you to compose and dispatch fully customized HTML emails directly through Mandrill's reliable delivery infrastructure. This action is ideal when you need complete control over email content, formatting, and design without relying on pre-built templates.

Key parameters for configuration:

• Credential to connect with: Required dropdown to select your authenticated Mandrill account. Ensure you've set up your API key credentials beforehand.
• Resource: Set to "Message" to indicate you're working with email messages. This is required and pre-selected.
• Operation: Dropdown set to "Send HTML" to specify this particular action. Required field.
• From Email: Text field for the sender's email address. Must be a valid email format, typically including a display name (e.g., "Admin <example@yourdomain.com>"). Required and must match a verified sending domain in Mandrill.
• To Email: Text field for the recipient's email address. Accepts fixed values or dynamic expressions pulled from previous workflow nodes. Required.
• JSON Parameters: Toggle switch to enable or disable sending additional parameters as a JSON object. Off by default.
• Options: Expandable section for adding optional properties like CC, BCC, subject line, HTML content body, tracking settings, and metadata tags.
• Merge Vars: Section for adding merge variables that enable dynamic content personalization within your HTML email body.

Practical use cases:

• Custom order confirmations: Pull order details from your WooCommerce store and inject them into a styled HTML email with product images, prices, and shipping information.
• Personalized reports: Generate weekly analytics summaries with dynamically inserted metrics, charts, and recommendations tailored to each recipient.
• Event-driven notifications: Send real-time alerts with custom formatting when critical events occur—inventory drops, payment failures, or system errors.

This action shines when you need maximum flexibility in email design and content. Since you're building the HTML directly (or dynamically generating it from previous nodes), you're not constrained by template structures. Combine with n8n's HTTP Request node to fetch external data, or use the Code node to programmatically construct sophisticated HTML layouts before passing them to Mandrill.

The Send Template action leverages Mandrill's powerful template system to send professionally designed emails with dynamic content insertion. Instead of building HTML from scratch, you reference a pre-configured template stored in your Mandrill account and pass merge variables to personalize each message.

Key parameters for configuration:

• Credential to connect with: Required dropdown to select your Mandrill account credential for authentication.
• Resource: Set to "Message" to work with email messages. Required.
• Operation: Dropdown set to "Send Template" to use template-based sending. Required.
• Template Name or ID: Text field or dropdown where you specify which Mandrill template to use. Enter the exact template slug or select from the loaded list. If you see "Error fetching options from Mandrill", verify your API key has proper permissions or enter the template name manually.
• From Email: Text field for sender email address with display name support (e.g., "Admin <example@yourdomain.com>"). Required.
• To Email: Text field for recipient email address. Supports expressions for dynamic recipient selection. Required.
• JSON Parameters: Toggle to enable JSON-formatted parameter input for advanced configurations. Off by default.
• Options: Section for additional optional properties like subject line override, tracking configurations, metadata, and scheduling options.
• Merge Vars: Critical section for adding template merge variables. These correspond to the *|VARIABLE_NAME|* placeholders in your Mandrill template and enable personalization at scale.

Practical use cases:

• Welcome email sequences: Trigger a branded welcome template when new users sign up, automatically inserting their first name, account details, and personalized onboarding links.
• Invoice delivery: Send professional invoice templates with dynamically populated line items, totals, due dates, and payment links pulled from your billing system.
• Appointment reminders: Dispatch consistent reminder emails with meeting details, calendar links via Google Calendar integration, and preparation instructions personalized for each attendee.

This action is perfect when you want design consistency across communications while maintaining the flexibility of dynamic content. Your marketing or design team can manage templates directly in Mandrill's interface—adjusting layouts, colors, and copy—without touching your n8n workflows. The merge variables bridge the gap, letting you inject real-time data from any source in your automation chain. Use this approach for any recurring email type where brand consistency matters: receipts, shipping notifications, subscription updates, and more.