The main objective of every marketer after taking a Mailchimp account would be to send email campaigns. And that is what we will be discussing in this blog. Here you will learn how to use Mailchimp for sending emails. We will also cover the tips and important hacks that you can use for effective email marketing.
Since you are aware of what is Mailchimp and what it does, you will have an idea that Mailchimp is one of the most preferred email marketing platforms for marketers. With its growing database and being one of the highest shareholders in the email marketing application industry, Mailchimp has taken everyone by storm. Whether you have to create a newsletter using Mailchimp or any other type of campaign. You can do it effortlessly with this email Marketing software.
When it comes to sending emails using Mailchimp, the process is very easy. Thanks to the user-friendly interface that Mailchimp provides, any individual can use this application without any hassle. This is suitable for people with all levels of expertise that they carry in using email marketing tools.
Before we show you the steps for using Mailchimp to send an email. You need to have a verified Mailchimp account. If you don’t have one, here are the steps.
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Creating a Mailchimp account
As Mailchimp is a completely online-based platform, you need to visit their website to create an account. Mailchimp offers free and paid plans, based on your requirement you can opt for the desired plan.
When you visit the Mailchimp website, you will find the option to sign up. You need to enter all your personal details like name, email id, and password to register your account. You will get an introductory email from a MailChimp account where you have to verify the ownership of your account.
Verifying your website domain
Mailchimp account needs a domain for performing email marketing tasks. Purchase a domain or if you already have domain admin credentials, you need to proceed with the verification process.
Mailchimp will provide you with details to integrate with your domain. These can be the TXT records or the DNS details which you need to enter on your domain dashboard.
How to use Mailchimp for sending emails?
Mailchimp has many capabilities. Whether you are looking to use Mailchimp for sending individual emails or bulk emails in the form of campaigns. With the number of features that this email tool provides, marketers can easily design and create impacting emails.
Here are some of the steps for creating and sending emails to your audience list.
1. Adding the email list
After successfully verifying your website domain, now it’s time to add the audience list. Ensure that the database that you upload in the audience list is from the genuine source (that you have obtained by yourself). Refrain from taking third-party email lists that you find from the online market. When Mailchimp comes to know that you have purchased a database, it will not allow you to function with the email marketing activities.
The steps to add an email list is easy. You can find the audience section which is also known as the ‘lists’ in the menu. You need to visit the section and add your email database. You can also upload the database via a file in the prescribed format from Mailchimp.
2. Create an email
On the left-hand section of the menu, you will find a pen-shaped icon. This is usually located below the Mailchimp official logo. You need to click that icon for creating an email.
When you click the create button, you will find multiple options such as email, journeys, landing page, multi-channel designs, and so on. You need to click the ‘email’ option.
Depending upon the type of campaign that you want to send to your audience list, you have to select the respective option.
After selecting the type of email campaign that you want to send, you need to click the ‘begin’ button.
When you select the begin button, it will redirect you to the page where you can insert the email contact list, design it, and send the email.
3. Initial email setup
Before sending an email campaign, you need to ensure that you have added your email list in the ‘To’ Section. And have successfully configured the ‘from name’ of the email address which you wish to send to your email list.
Configuring from details
To set your ‘from name’, visit the section that you find in the menu.
Click the ‘add from’ button. You will be redirected to the section where you need to add the name and email address of the from the recipient.
There are chances for the verification process to initiate when you enter the email address.
After verifying it you need to click the ‘save’ button.
Configuring To details (Adding email recipients)
To add the email list for your campaign, find the add recipient option in the ‘To’ menu.
After clicking the ‘add recipients’, you get a list of audience drop-down menus. Here you need to select the audience that you wish to send the email to.
When you select the audience list, Mailchimp provides you options whether you want to send the email campaign for all the subscribers in the audience list or there is a specific group.
Next, you need to find the ‘save’ button to update the campaign details.
4. Adding the content
When the email page builder opens, here you get the space where you can add the email content. Ensure that the email content length is short and speaks to the point. Because if you use lengthy content, there are chances for your audience to skip your email.
After adding the content, you can design by using visual colours and font styles. Depending upon the branding guideline of your business, you need to select the colours that will be relevant for your email.
5. Designing the email content
Mailchimp also provides you with customizable pre-developed templates which are free for use. You can perform all these activities from the ‘Classic builder’ where you can design and customize the email templates based on your industry standards.
Currently, you get two types of email page builders which are known as the ‘new builder’ and ‘classic builder’. Both feature drag and drop functionality so that it will be convenient for you to add the content and design it.
6. Integrating call to action button
The call to action button is very important for any email marketing campaign. After developing the content for your email, ensure that you add the call to action button preferably in the midsection of the email or at the end section.
The call to action button can be customized from the Mailchimp dashboard. Based on the size, and shape, you can easily customize it without any hassle.
7. Adding the subject line
The subject line is one of the most important elements when it comes to effective email marketing. Because that is the only medium in which the audience will decide to open your email or skip it.
You need to visit the subject section from the menu of the email builder. After finding the section, you need to click the ‘add subject’ button.
Later, the add subject button redirects to a new window, you need to enter the subject line that you want for your email campaign. Ensure that you don’t use more than 7 words or 50 characters for a better conversion rate.
You can also review the subject line that you have added. The maximum limit for the subject line that Mailchimp provides is up to 150 characters. You can see the live count of the character when you type the subject line.
8. Test the email campaign and set up tracking
The best thing about using Mailchimp is that you get a dashboard where you can configure the settings and set tracking parameters. Before you send the email campaign to your audience list, you can send it to a personal email id where you can check the responsiveness of the email.
Post that you can configure the tracking settings where you need to visit the settings and tracking section that you find from the menu. You can find the edit button in the settings and tracking sections, and select the type of configuration that you wish to edit.
9. Sending the email campaign
When you have successfully configured all the above details, now it’s time to send the email campaign. You can send the email campaign in two ways. The first method is to send the email immediately or even schedule the email marketing campaign for future promotion.
Based on the type of action that you wish to select, you can send the email campaign at your convenience. Please note that when you initiate the email campaign process, you will not be able to cancel it.
Conclusion
If you look at the above steps, Mailchimp is user-friendly and convenient to use. By now, I assume that you are now aware of how to use Mailchimp for sending emails.
After sending the email campaign, it would be a healthy practice for you to constantly evaluate the performance metrics. You can get all this data from the report section. This allows you to learn more about the email performance and optimization strategies respectively. If you are facing any problems, you can also visit the Mailchimp support Centre for resolution.
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