How to make Mailchimp quicker and easier (5 minute read)
Even though (or maybe because) I do email marketing for a living, I fell off the wagon with sending my own weekly emails for 3 weeks.
The answer to the age-old question of “how often should you email?” is sometimes simply “when you can manage it”, instead of “every Tuesday morning at 9:12am”. But it’s very important to make time to send them regularly.
After all, that’s why your contacts subscribed in the first place.
And most importantly, email marketing simply can’t work for you if you don’t send any emails…
But there are never enough hours in the day so here are my tips to make it all quicker and easier, gleaned over the course of 14+ years of doing this:
Short and frequent wins the day: Rather than a long monthly emails with lots of sections, try shorter weekly ones with one main purpose and CTA (call to action). Shorter emails are easier for you to put together, and easier for your subscribers to read and act on. It’s highly unlikely that anyone will read a long email anyway, so don’t waste your time writing one. If someone internally is providing you with long content to send out in an email, tell them I said so!
Braindump content: Make a list of 50+ snippets for content that you already have in your head instead of trying to come up with new ideas. You know your stuff. Got existing blogs? Videos? Social posts? Use them. Now you have a weekly starting point without having to think of something new on the hoof. If you have wider business activities going on, factor those in.
Create a realistic schedule: Plan to send emails at a pace that works for you, not just your readers. Shorter emails really helps you implement it
Batch and schedule: Write several emails at once to save time and stay in that headspace. You can always tweak them before sending.
Use AI, but add your voice: If you’re stuck, use ChatGPT to help draft content and ideas, but definitely personalise them - they should really only be a starting point.
Write like you speak (within reason!): Make it natural and quick. ChatGPT can help tidy spelling and grammar. Then read it out loud to make sure it’s natural and makes sense.
Limit images and don’t bother with infographics: Too many images can slow things down or not display properly, especially on Outlook. Generally speaking, images should enhance your email, not contain key info.
Reuse past emails: As great as your emails may or may not be, no one will remember an email that you sent 9 months ago. Send it again.
Use your Brand Kit: Mailchimp has a handy brand kit (under the Content section in your menu) - put in your website url and it will pull off your logo and colours. Then set up the style in your email builder so they’re ready to go.
Build a little suite of sub-templates: Make a little list of the typical email types you send e.g. blog, invitation, round-up, promo etc, and create a little suite of sub-templates that have the layout ready to go - then you can just add the text, images and links without needing to think about the layout again.
Replicate past emails within reason: It’s definitely quicker and easier, but too much replication can cause your emails to start glitching. Best way is to start from a saved sub-template each time.
Skip custom designs: Unless you have really specific design needs, avoid custom-coded designs each time. Stick to templates for flexibility. If your design needs are more than Mailchimp can handle, hybrid “pick n mix” coded templates are a good option.
Ask for help: Really. If something is confusing or a struggle, ask an expert who can show you exactly what to do and how to make it faster.
Review campaign reports: Check what’s working and what’s not—do more of what works, less of what doesn’t.
Test: Use multivariate testing to see the impact of different send times / subject lines / content. It takes a little to set up longer but means your emails will work harder for you and ultimately be more efficient, helping you get more “bang for your buck” once you find what works.
Folders and consistent naming: Use meaningful file names, tags, campaign names and segments, and organise emails and images into folders. This makes everything so much quicker and easier to find.
Do your housekeeping: Keep on top of your account housekeeping, organise things into folders and tidy up your contacts regularly. It takes 5 minutes a month if you do it regularly. It takes hours/days/weeks to sort it out if you let it build up.
Need help?
If you need any help or advice on this or any other topic relating to Mailchimp or email marketing for your own business’s specific needs, get in touch.
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