By now, you’ve probably heard email lists is where it’s at. And girl, it’s true. Building your email list is so important, but you already knew that that’s why you’re here. You know the importance of the list, you just need a little help building it. Well, I’ve got you! We’re going step-by-step, together, to build your MailChimp automation email series.
Before we get started, let’s define a few things.
HOW AUTOMATION EMAILS WORK
Unlike one-off campaigns, automations are triggered when specific people meet the predefined criteria you set.
There are a number of automation types in Mailchimp. You can set up an automation email for welcoming a new subscriber, for sending happy birthday emails, or for sending an automated email for a post-purchase review. The possibilities are endless.
CONNECT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
Setting up automation campaigns is a powerful, easy way to build your know, like, and trust factor. There are a few ways to stay connected and engage with your audience:
- Introduce yourself. Welcome your new subscribers with a single email—or an email series—to help them get to know you, your brand, or your products.
- Say ‘Happy Birthday’. Let your contacts know that you’re thinking about them on their birthday or anniversary. Create an automation, set it to send annually, and stay connected with your audience.
- Send an educational or onboarding series. Provide new subscribers, students, or customers with the helpful resources they need to get familiar with your business or shop.
HOW TO SETUP MAILCHIMP AUTOMATION EMAILS
Don’t want to read the step-by-step instructions? Jump down to the bottom to get the video tutorial.
Step 1: Click “Create Campaign”
To get started, open up your MailChimp account and click “Create Campaign” located in the top right.
Once the pop-up opens, click “Create an Email”.
In the top navigation of this pop-up window, click on Automated. Once you click on Automated, the information below the nav bar will change, showcasing the different types of Automated Email campaigns you can create.
In the Featured section, you’ll see three different types of automated campaigns that are most common to set up. Since this tutorial is focusing on creating a Welcome Series, we’re going to click on the first box, “Welcome new subscribers”.
Step 2: Identify Your List
Now that you’ve selected the type of automation email campaign, it’s time to name it and identify the list this should it should be assigned to.
Note: the campaign name is an internal reference, your subscribers will not see the name of the campaign.
Step 3: Create a Workflow
Once you get to this point, there are a few different ways to go. Before you start diving in, create an outline of the email series you want to create.
Will this be a single email or will you have multiple? If you’re doing multiple, determine the messaging and time frame between each email.
Clicking the “Add Email” button at the bottom of the screen will allow you to add additional sequences to this workflow.
Clicking the “Edit trigger” button just above the email line item allows you to adjust the deployment of the email. Once you add in additional emails, you can adjust the trigger timing for each new email.
Step 4: Design The Email
Below is an example of the welcome series email I am setting up for Simply Renovating (you know, the crazy weekend warrior stuff my hubs and I do every weekend).
We don’t have a site set up for this yet, but I want to start building my list, so we created a lead magnet with a free digital print.
If you’re looking to do the same, upload your digital file to your media library on your blog or website. Once it’s uploaded, copy the URL link in the Attachment Details pop up.
Hopping back over to MailChimp, paste the copied link as a hyperlink to the button or text you want to link out to the digital file.
After your emails are all set, click “Save and Continue >”.
That’s it! Your Welcome Series is now up and running!
WATCH THE TUTORIAL
Have questions about creating automated emails? Let me know in the comments below!
