It is crucial to learn how to master email marketing as a marketer or business owner. An investment in a great email service provider (ESP) is crucial to making this happen.

Mailchimp is a popular ESP choice for startups. Many businesses have adopted Mailchimp.

But is there a reason it’s so beloved?

Mailchimp was something we were interested in, so we set out to find out more and take it for a spin.

Here’s our Mailchimp review. Let’s get to it!

Mailchimp: What’s it all about?

Two decades ago, Ben Chestnut (now Dan Kurzius) founded a web design company called RocketScience Group. Although their main focus was on large corporate clients, they also started an email marketing service for small businesses.

Mailchimp was originally created to replace the expensive and bulky email software of 2000. Mailchimp is now one of the most popular all-in-one marketing platforms. It allows users to manage their clients and customers and helps them communicate with other interested parties. With their innovative content, smart marketing technology and award-winning support, millions of customers around the world have been able to grow and start their own businesses.

Mailchimp is more than an email marketing tool. Over the years, Mailchimp has created a variety of new functions and channels.

• Marketing CRM
• Social posting digital ads
• Shoppable landing pages
• Websites
• Postcards
• Smart content tools
• Advanced automation

Mailchimp works with most web browsers. Users don’t have to install or download any software. Mailchimp will work properly if you enable pop-ups and cookies.

Mailchimp is a large company with a great reputation. But, it doesn’t rest on its laurels. Mailchimp continues to improve its services in order to make them more user-friendly and more versatile.

What does Mailchimp do? 

Mailchimp is an absolutely free tool that allows you to create, send and manage newsletters. However, it will become more expensive as your subscriber base grows. Let’s first define some terms to understand how Mailchimp works.

• Subscriber – Someone who has agreed to receive email communications from you. If they sign up from a form or buy a product in your online store, this is usually done.

• Mailing list is the area where subscribers’ email addresses are kept. It can be thought of as a group who has opted in to receive emails from you.

• Newsletter – An email that you send to your Mailchimp list as a newsletter. Newsletters can either be automated or campaigns.

Mailchimp allows you to send unlimited newsletters and to unlimited subscribers. This is a great feature because many email providers, such as Hotmail and Gmail, limit the number you can send emails at once (generally around 20 people).

The five steps below will help you get started with Mailchimp.

• #1. Create your account
• #2. Set up your account
• #3. Customize your signup form
• #4. Generate a campaign
• #5. View the campaign reports

Mailchimp is a great way to send emails. It’s possible to create a campaign, or automation. You simply start a new email and give it a design. Then, you send it out with the content you choose.

Mailchimp campaigns are sent at a particular time. Automatas are automatically sent to people based on certain triggers. For example, someone purchases an item in your store and triggers a receipt. Or they sign up for your mailing list and trigger a welcome email. Or fill out an online survey which triggers a bonus.

Mailchimp allows you to create ads on Google, Facebook and Instagram, make your own landing pages or create RSS-to-email campaigns. These automated campaigns are sent each time you publish a new page on your website.

Mailchimp is different.

Mailchimp may have many features that make it more appealing than other alternatives. Some of these features include:

Advanced segmentation

Mailchimp’s advanced segmentation is one of its best features. This allows you to send a specific email at a specific time to specific people. This feature allows marketers to target their subscribers with more precision by using purchase history and website movements.

This is especially useful if you are looking for:

• Send newsletters only to customers who haven’t purchased your product/service yet

• Send out newsletters to people who are interested in a specific content update you have offered

• When you publish a blog post, send out newsletters to those who wish to be notified.

Adverts on social media

Mailchimp allows you to run social media ads directly from your dashboard. You can also run Google retargeting advertisements.

These ads can be targeted at people in your list or you can find similar audiences on social media platforms. This will allow you to increase your reach.

Multivariate testing

Multivariate testing can be very similar to split testing. However, instead of only testing one aspect, you can test multiple (headlines and from names, email content, and times).

You can set the conditions that Mailchimp will use to determine the best version. This is similar to split testing. This feature is great, but you must have a large sample in order to obtain statistically valid results.

This won’t help if you don’t have several thousand subscribers.

Pre-made templates for campaigns and email designers

Mailchimp has a variety of templates that are ready to go for business owners. Simply choose one template, customize it with colors, and add your message.

Mailchimp allows you to drag and drop photos as well as content write-ups, making it easy for you to place them where you want. With the built-in tools, you can edit and resize images.

After you have completed the custom campaign, you can test it on your mobile devices to get an idea of how it might look before you make the actual contribution.

Merge tags

Each subscription that you collect personal data from will be given a unique label. This is known as the merge tag.

If you need to send a thousand emails to one thousand subscribers, merge tags can be very helpful. These emails must be personalized – each subscriber’s name, email address and phone number should be included. It’s easy to use merge tags.

All you need to do is include the correct merge tag in your campaign. Mailchimp will then replace the merge tags with the stored content.

Email distribution according to time zone

Mailchimp can also be used to help you expand your business globally in a matter of seconds. This means that your target audience might be located in different time zones and countries.

You can send your campaign at the time your subscribers are awake using the Timewarp feature. You can create a schedule for when your campaign should be sent out, but in different time zones.

This feature allows you to increase your click-through and open rates.

Comparative data report

You’ll need to collect comparative reports after a certain period to be able to determine how to improve your campaigns. You can quickly analyze the performance of each campaign by comparing them.

It will take you a lot of effort to manually export and combine all the reports. Mailchimp included this amazing feature. Simply search for the campaigns you want to compare and then click on them.

Mailchimp Review

Mailchimp main features

Mailchimp’s features can be accessed by all paying users regardless of how many subscribers they have. Users on the Free plan have access to most of the program’s features.

Here are some highlights:

• Multi-user accounts. Mailchimp supports multi-user accounts.

• Mandrill. This API is transactional and can be used to personalize your E-commerce communications. This API is data-driven so that you can interact with customers and build healthy relationships.

• You can create custom forms. Mailchimp provides easy-to-create sign-up forms to permission-based list email marketing lists. These forms can be integrated with your company’s website or Facebook page.

• Automation. Automation runs campaigns using a set triggers and responses, as mentioned previously. Mailchimp offers a wide range of pre-set scripts that you can use to optimize your campaigns.

• Geolocation. You can segment your subscribers’ geographic locations using the platform.

• Social sharing. Mailchimp allows you to connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Your campaigns will then be posted automatically on these channels. You can then track your performance across different social media sites.

Mailchimp: The pros and cons

Mailchimp is a great service that offers many exclusive features and has attracted quite a few users. There’s always room to improve.

Let’s take a look at the advantages and drawbacks to using Mailchimp in this section:

Mailchimp pros:

• Mailchimp is completely free for beginners. It includes nearly all of its features. Mailchimp is free for up to 2,000 subscribers.

• It’s very easy to use. It is very easy to use their signup forms, templates and automation.

• Mailchimp can connect to integrations, especially E-commerce without the need for Zapier or any other third-party connectivity services.

• Mailchimp has optimized templates that work on mobile devices, so your customers can access the content from any device.

• It comes with a built-in previewer, which allows you to see how your email will look on smartphones, tablets, and PCs before you send it.

Mailchimp pros:

• Mailchimp is not the best option for a business that involves affiliate marketing. Mailchimp will not stop any emails it believes contain blacklisted links. Affiliate marketing is intended to be discreet and based on recommendations and trust.

• Pay-as-you go plans: If you cancel your account or Mailchimp closes you down due to spamming, you won’t get any refunds for credits that you haven’t used.

Customer support review

Mailchimp has a very extensive customer service system. Here are some resources Mailchimp provides to help you.

• Chat live. You can reach them Monday through Friday between 8 AM and 6 PM EST. For urgent issues, you can chat with the support team in English and Spanish.

• Email support. Their support is available 24/7. For the Free plan, however, email support is not available for 30 days.

• Phone support. This support type is available only in the Premium plan.

• Support for social media. Mailchimp actively manages their Facebook page and Twitter accounts. Their customer support team responds to most queries within minutes or hours.

• Searchable knowledge. Mailchimp’s user guides and tutorials have been redesigned recently to be searchable on a variety of devices. You can choose to specify the information type using one of four categories: Quick Answers, Need Help Getting Started? “Glossary,” or “Video Tutorials.”

Review of Add-ons and Integrations

Mailchimp offers hundreds of add-ons and integrations. Mailchimp allows you to filter by category, or search directly by the name of the app. Payments, marketing, loyalty and content are all possible integrations.

Here are some options that might be of interest to you:

• Google Analytics. Conversion tracking can be added to your Google Analytics account. This will allow you to track everything from Mailchimp clicks to the purchases made by your readers.

• Zendesk. Zendesk allows you to track support tickets and manage subscriptions. Mailchimp has two add-ons.

• Integrations with CRM. Mailchimp offers a variety of integration options for popular CRMs like Square, Zapier and LiveChat.

• Eventbrite. Mailchimp Sync allows you to enhance your event management capabilities by using Mailchimp’s built-in tools. You can send invitations to select geographical locations, or personalize and follow up on invitations.

• ClickTale. ClickTale can be used to view subscriber behavior, linking your email to your site. This will allow you to tailor your campaign.

• E-commerce. Mailchimp is compatible with many E-commerce sites, such as Shopify, BigCommerce and Magento.

Mailchimp’s social media integrations are important because of the intricate connection between email marketing, social media and email marketing.

• Organic social sharing. This feature is included in all plans and allows you to post on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

• Social post scheduling. You can plan and manage your posts ahead with the Standard plan. This feature allows you to create and schedule posts up to three months in advance.

Security review

Mailchimp is a trusted platform with millions of users. They take privacy and security very seriously. Mailchimp has message transfer agents (MTAs), which are located in various data centers across the United States. Both physical and electronic safeguards protect these centers. Mailchimp is unlikely to be caught unawares with DDoS mitigation at all its data centers, and even an “in the event of a nuclear attack against the data center” continuity plan.

Mailchimp also has an internal security team that monitors and tests vulnerabilities. Mailchimp offers a variety of resources that can help you understand email security. This includes a downloadable Email Security Guide. The company also supports Google Authenticator (a free, optional add-on) that allows users to use two-factor authentication (2FA), when signing in to Mailchimp.

Mailchimp has a strong anti-spam policy. Mailchimp’s terms of service prohibit users from sending spam emails. Mailchimp also requires that you notify it about your contact list’s origin and include an unsubscribe hyperlink in your email content.

Mailchimp pricing plans

Mailchimp has many pricing options. This can be confusing so make sure you carefully read everything before making a decision. Let’s have a look at the pricing plans for Mailchimp.

Mailchimp has a variety of pricing plans

The Free Plan:

• 2000 contacts
• 10,000 email messages per month
• 7 Marketing channels
• Basic templates
• Marketing CRM
• Custom domains
• Basic segmentation
• Surveys
• Websites

The Essentials Plan: Starting at $9.99/month, includes everything in free, plus:

• Maximum of 50,000 contacts
• Monthly emails up to 500,000
• All email templates
• A/B Testing
• Multi-step automations
• Branding services
• Support available 24/7, award-winning

The Standard plan starts at $14.99/month and includes everything in Essentials plus:

• Maximum of 100,000 contacts
• Monthly emails up to 1.2 Million
• Custom Journey Builder and Branching points (Beta).
• Retargeting ads
• Advanced audience insights
• Templates made to order
• Behavioral targeting

The Premium plan starts at $299/month and includes everything in Standard plus:

• Maximum of 200,000 contacts
• Monthly emails up to 3,000,000
• Advanced segmentation
• Multivariate testing
• Unlimited seats and access based on role
• Access by phone

Mailchimp: Who should it be considered?

Your business’s best marketing asset is your in-house email listing. It’s a great way to keep in touch with people interested in your business. You can reach clients no matter what the rules are for third parties like Google or Facebook.

The best part? The best part? You can build your list anytime, even before you open your business.

Mailchimp is the best choice for businesses that are just starting a mailing list or have less than 2,000 subscribers. You can send up to 12,000 emails each month and Mailchimp will take care of the rest. Mailchimp’s free plan can be used to keep the account within its limits.

Mailchimp can also be used for:

• Owners of websites who wish to create a community

• Shop owners who want to retain current customers and draw in new ones

• Online marketers handling different websites

• Bloggers who want to drive qualified traffic

• Owners who want to expand their client base.

Mailchimp offers additional plans if your business expands faster or larger.

Mailchimp Alternatives

Mailchimp should be your email marketing platform.

Mailchimp is a well-known and large company. Mailchimp is a well-known and respected email marketing platform. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any competitors. Mailchimp has competitors, which could be better suited for your business depending on your circumstances.

Here are three alternatives to Mailchimp you might be interested in and take into consideration:

Mailchimp vs. Avada

The leaders in email marketing are Avada and Mailchimp. Avada provides intuitive email marketing solutions that eliminate the worries of users who are worried about outdated and ineffective emails. Its rapid development and adaptation to market demands and innovations make it easy for users to get rid of all their concerns.

Avada Email Marketing’s viability and ease-of-use allow users to make the most of Avada Email Marketing. You can use the automated email series to get into customers’ contact points or create eye-catching templates. This allows you to create an entirely new vibe for your email marketing. It isn’t pushy and boring, but friendly, relevant and persuasive.

Why choose Mailchimp instead of Avada?

• A free account is available with up to 2000 subscribers

• Analytics tools and E-commerce integrations are what you need

• Newsletter software should be easy to use and quick.

• Native surveys and polls are what you want

• Sending delays and messages that are time-zone-based are what you want

Why choose Avada instead of Mailchimp?

• Five-star dedicated support is what you want

• One-click integration is what you want for email marketing

• Drag and drop editing is what you want

• Advanced segmentation is required to personalize the customer experience

• More pre-made, stunning templates are available for different types of businesses

Mailchimp vs. Constant Contact

Mailchimp as well as Constant Contact can be used together to create unified marketing campaigns. Constant Contact, an email marketing platform that allows you to upload contacts in multiple ways, is powerful. You can send targeted emails that you can personalize using Constant Contact’s marketing automation.

It isn’t as popular as Mailchimp but it has great features like event registration that will drive attendance to your conferences and events.

Why Choose Mailchimp Over Constant Contact?

• You want to quickly and easily experience A/B Testing and Automation

• You need to have excellent deliverability and meaningful statistics

• Start with the Free Plan

Why Choose Constant Contact Vs Mailchimp?

• More customer support options are needed

• You would like to hire someone to create email templates.

• Constant Contact integrates Outlook with Outlook to help you get out of a Microsoft world.

Mailchimp vs. Klaviyo

Mailchimp was founded in 2001. Klaviyo was created in 2012. It uses its youthful energy to inspire change through email marketing.

Klaviyo’s strengths are its flexible automated flows and deep integration with Shopify. These allow you to use data from your Ecommerce site to connect with customers on a unique and profound level.

Why Choose Mailchimp Over Klaviyo?

• You would like to sign up for the Free plan which includes 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 email per month

• You desire a simple, straightforward user experience

• Your budget is low to mid-range.

Why Klaviyo instead of Mailchimp?

• You need dynamic content and more templates

• Shopify integration is what you need

• You need a broad range of support at the free level

The bottom line

Mailchimp is an excellent email service provider that offers everything you need to make email marketing a success for your business. The Free Plan is a great option for those who are just starting out in email marketing.

We hope you have learned a lot from this Mailchimp review. If we missed anything, let us know! We are always available to answer your questions!