Set up an account with MailChimp Email Marketing that is free for the first 2000 subscribers or 12,000 emails. Create a sign-up form and place that form on your website. Manage your subscriber lists. Add new or existing subscribers to lists, and use list segments and groups to direct your messaging for different types of audiences. Grow your subscriber list by getting subscribers engaged with video, animations, and surveys. Build campaigns and A/B test your campaigns. Identify top subscribers, create landing pages, and set up re-marketing. Use email templates to create newsletters, and interpret the results from your newsletter campaigns to know what works and what does not. Send highly targeted email campaigns that convert into customer engagement. Increase your ‘Reach’ with social media advertising using the MailChimp autoresponder feature.
For information on Email Marketing, click on email-marketing to read more.
MailChimp Dashboard
Log in to MailChimp to display the dashboard fig 1.0. In the dashboard click on lists.
MailChimp Sign Up Form
Next, go to the drop-down next to ‘Stats’ and click on ‘Signup forms’ fig2. Alternatively, you can also go to ‘lists’ in the main menu and select the list you have created for which you want a sign-up form. Next click on ‘Signup forms’ in the list view.
In the signup form, the options available fig3 will be Form Builder, Embedded forms, Subscriber Pop-up, and form integration. Choose the embedded form and the options available are Classic, Condensed, Horizontal, Unstyled, and Advanced.
Choose Classic and select the buttons under the form option to preview your choice. Leave the title blank to be entered later. Copy the code generated fig4. Go to your WordPress site and place the code in your widget box in the sidebar location and title it as ‘Subscribe to Updates’ and hit save. The sign-up form will now be displayed on your website.
MailChimp Email Marketing Campaigns
Campaigns can be any messages such as ads, emails that are shared with your contacts. Connect with your audience using a landing page and drive conversions by creating pages that get more signups and clicks. To set up a campaign, go to your dashboard and click on a campaign and select ‘create campaign’.
In the window that gets displayed fig5 choose ‘landing page’ to collect new contacts and promote blog post content.
Give your campaign a name fig6 eg: ‘Subscribe To Occasional Updates’ and select the email list eg: ‘News Letter’ (create a list if you have not made) and click ‘Begin’.
Next, choose the layout of the landing page from the available templates in the right column fig7. The standard practice is to select a one column e-newsletter template with a logo-image at the top. Upload your logo-image size: 196×168 and edit/ style the blocks: logo-image (1), header(2), body content(3) and email and subscribe template box(4) in the right side edit column.
After designing your landing page ‘save’ and ‘publish’ to get URL eg: https://mailchi.mp/d1ab7e6daab7/e7ucc9v3vl fig8. You can track your campaign by enabling MailChimp or google analytics tracking. Promote the landing page by placing the landing page URL in the content of your social media accounts. The Landing page can also be used to download an ebook by providing a pdf link.
MailChimp List Management
In the dashboard menu bar click on the “Lists” .
In the new window display, click on the tab “Create List” fig9.
Give your list a name. Enter a default reply from address and default from the name fig10. The remind people box show how a user got on your list. You can enter some text with your website URL in this box, so that users may know how they signed up to your list.
Scroll below and fill other particulars in the box. Select the enable double opt-in confirmation fig11 and choose between how you would want notifications sent to you. The double opt-in system with confirmation e-mails can be used to send coupons, links, and other promotions. Finally hit the save button and you have created your first email list in MailChimp.
To manage your list click on ‘List’. Next click on the list you want to manage. Click on the Manage contacts tab fig12 and from the drop-down click on unsubscribe addresses. Enter the email addresses of the subscribers you want to delete and click on Unsubscribe button.
To add a subscriber manually, click on the Add contacts tab fig13 and from the drop-down click on Add a subscriber. Enter the requested information in the form and hit the Subscribe button.
MailChimp Popup
Go to list and click on create. Enter popup in the search to find a display of Thank popup form subscribers, Collect subscribers with a popup form ……. etc.
Click on Grow your list with a Signup form fig14.
Click on Begin in the popup form fig15 which gets displayed. A popup display window opens up.
Design your popup by selecting from options – modal, slide or fixed fig16. The Popup can display on exit, immediately, after 5 seconds, 20 seconds, scroll to the middle of the page and scroll to the bottom of the page. The field labels allow setting up your text font and color, button styles for text, color, background color, and alignment [left, center, right]. Hit publish and the popup form will be added to your site. Next click on return to your site and select View Code.
Copy the JavaScript code fig17 and paste in your site code just before the closing tag or in your homepage (WordPress) and click on update.
Go to Incognito mode and check the display of your popup. fig18. Alternatively the subscriber popup form [refer: fig1 & fig2] can be accessed in the Signup form.
MailChimp Autoresponder
MailChimp email marketing automation enables emails to be sent automatically by putting your email list on autopilot. To begin with select campaigns from the top menu bar and click on create. In the window display, the options available are Email, Ad, Landing Page, Postcard and Signup form. Click on “Email” located to your left fig19.
Next click on Automated fig20.
The options available will be 1)Email your tagged contacts 2)Welcome new subscribers 3)Say “happy birthday” and 4)Share blog updates fig21.
MailChimp Email Marketing Automation
Email your tagged contacts
1)In the Email, your tagged contacts display box fig22 enter the Campaign Name as ‘Email your tagged contacts’ and from the drop down box select the name of the list you wish to target. Click on Begin.
The contacts in the menu need to be tagged. To create a tag select ‘Lists’ from Menu and in the display window click on any of the list eg: newsletter list that you created. In the window display that now appears click on any of the email address which you would like to tag. The popup window shows you details of that particular email address/ person. Next, click on the + icon next to tag and enter the name of the tag in the [create or find a tag] box. The Email your tagged contacts fig23 allow you to edit (1)Schedule, (2)Filter by segment or tag and (3)Post-send action.
The edit “schedule”
The edit “Filter by segment or tag” fig25 allow you to choose the segment or tags
The edit “Post-send Action”
Welcome new subscribers
2)Click on the [Welcome New Subscribers] box fig27. If you are using automation to send your own welcome email then you will have to turn off the MailChimp welcome email that they send out. Otherwise, your subscribers will get two welcome emails.
To turn off the MailChimp welcome email go to Lists in the menu bar. Next, Go to drop-down next to Stats and choose Settings in the List row. Under Settings choose List name & defaults. Go to List name and uncheck the box for [Send a final welcome email] and Save -[List and Campaign Defaults].
Say ‘happy birthday’
3) Click on the [Say Happy Birthday] fig28. Data will be collected by your MailChimp Subscription form only if you have enabled a birthday field in your list. Message to your users on their birthdays will then be possible.
Share blog updates
4) Click on the [Share blog updates] fig29 and select the List from the drop down and click on ‘begin’ and choose the template and design of the auto email.
Under the ‘RSS feed and send timing’ enter your RSS feed URL fig30 eg:[sapcanvas.com/feed] in the box and choose the day and time for feeds to be sent to the List after you have published a post in your blog website.
Click Next and then select your recipient’s fig31. Again go to next and move to set up.
In Campaign info, name your campaign as “Share blog updates” fig32 and other settings can be at default or changed to suit your preferences.
Click Next to choose your templates fig33. Configure your templates with the available themes.
Click next and choose start RSS fig34.
MailChimp Email Marketing: Integration
Many Marketing tools that you use can integrate with MailChimp. For example, Google Analytics integration with MailChimp makes tracking possible. If you happen to sell a product and you want your e-commerce platform like Woo-Commerce to interact, then integration with MailChimp makes that happen. Website Owners are eager on MailChimp–WordPress integrations fig35 and so plugins have been developed to involve a diversity of integrated tasks. If you use a CMS website like WordPress then connect it to MailChimp.
Go to ‘Connected Sites’ page (from the drop-down next to the website name in the main menu bar fig36 or click on ‘Add another site’) and click WordPress.
Enter your website URL in the ‘Enter site URL’ box fig37. In the ‘select list to connect’ drop down choose your list and get the code. Paste this code in the header.php file of your WordPress website before the closing head tag and update. Return to MailChimp and click on check connection to see a confirmation message.
MailChimp Email Marketing: Integration with the Signup form
Use the WPSubscribe Plugin and place the form in the Add Widget After Content Box. Place the API Key in the MailChimp API URL Box fig38.
To get the API Key, go to your Profile name in the dashboard menu and click on Account settings from the dropdown menu. Select the extra menus fig39 and press the API keys.
You have the option to choose an existing API key or create a new one fig40.
MailChimp Email Marketing: Reports
Enable Google Analytics tracking while setting a campaign. If you have not done this, then go to the account name drop-down located at the right top of your dashboard menu and select the account. Sign in to your Google Analytics Account and allow MailChimp access to your GA. You will then be returned back to MailChimp. Choose the campaign on the dashboard menu and click on the campaign name which you have created. Pause the campaign and click on the edit button for tracking. Scroll to the bottom of the page and enable tracking for Google Analytics. Finally, reactivate your campaign.
Click on reports fig41 in your dashboard menu bar. Find out how many users (1) opened (2) unsubscribed (3) commented on your campaign.
The performance data helps to target the right data in order to improve your campaign. The campaign “Reach” shows the total potential reach as how many emails opened plus views on twitter plus views on Facebook. The location section provides information as to where your campaign has been opened and the map highlights the countries giving a further breakdown of the “Reach” both state and province wise
MailChimp is an e-mail marketing tool that provides immense features free for SMB website owners and a premium account for big companies. To keep in touch with online customers paste forms into your website, use templates, widgets (CMS websites), and campaign reports. To build a mailing list offer for free, an E-book, Webinar, a discount, or a tutorial video. MailChimp double opt-in with confirmation email allows for sending discount coupons, links, and any other time-to-time promotions.
