For new, and even established, businesses, word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals can only go so far. To take your business to the next level, you need to invest time and money into digital marketing, and that means developing content, using social media and sending promotional emails to capture new business.

For companies that are just launching or that are operating with few resources, developing and managing a solid marketing strategy can be challenging. We recommend finding ways to streamline and automate whenever possible, which is why we advise our clients to integrate MailChimp into their websites.

What is MailChimp?

Mailchimp is a web-based email marketing service that allows you to more easily create and manage marketing campaigns. Essentially, it puts into one place all the tasks you need to execute your marketing strategy.  It enables you to:

• Build and manage mailing lists
• Automate marketing campaigns
• Create newsletters and emails
• Store and manage audience data
• Promote your business across email, social, landing pages and more
• Integrate with other services you are currently using
• Track the success of campaigns

Do you need a tool for email marketing?

Can you send promotions through your personal email address? Yes. Can you use a Facebook page or Twitter handle to do the same? Again, yes. However, specifically when it comes to email, trying to send promotions from a personal address can be time-consuming and deliverability can be impacted. It can also be difficult to navigate privacy and SPAM laws. Your Google or Outlook email just isn’t designed to send emails to a large list of customers or potential customers.

MailChimp, however, allows you to email to an unlimited number of recipients at once. MailChimp will also resend any emails that are bouncing back and provide you with insight why it might be happening. Plus, MailChimp helps you adhere to laws by integrating “unsubscribe” links into every message and then automatically unsubscribing people who ask to be removed from your list.

Can you survive without MailChimp? Yes, but the service makes executing your marketing strategy much easier.

Other benefits of MailChimp

What else do you get when you invest in an email marketing service, like MailChimp?

• A professional, consistent look to outgoing messages. You can build a new template or choose from a library of templates and customize it to match your branding.
• Manage your email lists. MailChimp will track subscribes and unsubscribes automatically. It also enables you to divide your list into groups and send tailored messages to each. For example, you could send an email only to existing customers and one with a different message to people who follow you but haven’t yet purchased.
• Insight on campaigns. MailChimp offers analytics, such as open rates and click throughs, so you can see how your email campaigns are resonating with recipients. That enables you to try new strategies to increase engagement.
• Increased reach. With MailChimp, you can easily install a customized sign-up form on your website and send customers to a sign up from social media or a QR code.

Set up is easy—and its budget-friendly

MailChimp currently offers a free basic version, so you can get started for no cost. Then as your business grows, you can upgrade and add new capabilities as your needs warrant and budget allows.

Integrating MailChimp into your website is relatively quick and easy. You can learn more about how to connect MailChimp to your website here.