Our focus this week is on well-known email marketing tool MailChimp. Other E-marketing tools are available and we will be dedicating posts to each of the most popular going forwards, to allow followers of our blogs to compare which of these might best meet their business needs. However, we thought we’d start with MailChimp, as they are currently riding high as the E-marketing tool of choice for Ecommerce businesses…but would MailChimp meet your own business’s needs and what important features are on offer?
Automation
MailChimp allows you to create a series of emails which can be set up and sent out automatically to your subscribers when they meet a certain criteria or schedule i.e. sending to subscribers en masse (or alternatively, targeting specific groups within your subscriber list), at identified timings. As well as proactive communications, reactive communications such as automated acknowledgement emails can be activated when you’d like to either prompt your subscribers to complete a purchase, thank them for their custom (when they do buy from you) – or simply, to send a message when they click through to a specific link. Finally, and most importantly (in terms of automation anyway); all MailChimp communications are tracked, enabling you to check your ‘open’ rates and identify any inactive subscribers.
Email builder
You absolutely don’t need advanced technical skills to design and code newsletters with MailChimp; another of its great benefits. The foundation of your email design is accessible via a selection of pre-designed templates. The simple drag and drop interface of content blocks allows you to easily create, edit and save the layouts you love and which best suit your business brand.
Integrations
MailChimp has several integration options you can take advantage of, and is a particularly feasible tool when it comes to data integration. Of the 53 options currently available, here’s a handful of the most notable:
As far as third party platforms are concerned, there are 250 built-in integrations on offer right now. At the time of writing, Shopify is unfortunately no longer one of these (an important consideration for anyone who is running an Ecommerce site on Shopify) so if that’s you and we have sparked your interest in using MailChimp, we’d recommend linking up Shopify to either Zapier, Automate.io or ShopSync to remedy the issue.
And finally…
MailChimp can be used as a highly effective method of managing basic communications for your business. It can also be bigger and more versatile in meeting your Ecommerce business for email marketing needs too. Keep in mind though that there are a number of equally effective tools out there; just do your research and always take on board recommended and recognised alternatives to weigh up what will work best for your business. It’s also worth setting yourself some homework and making sure you really understand your email marketing goals first, as this will give you some added insight and purpose when evaluating which of the mainstream communications tools are likely to be the most suitable.
If it all seems like too much to take in – or if you still need a helping hand, the team at The Digital Studios are happy to support you with evaluating your existing email marketing strategy and improving campaign performance. Keep an eye out for new posts on the other comms apps and tools available to you or alternatively, if you’re done with reading and prefer some assistance now, you can get in touch with us here.
