Is MailChimp the Right Choice for Your Newsletter Needs?

[NooraK]

Paulette mentioned this service recently, and I was intrigued. I have been using iContact, and love the reporting, but don't care too much for the cost. I decided to try it out this month for my newsletter, and thought I'd share my thoughts.

Likes

• It's free - Up to 500 contacts, up to 3000 emails/month is free, which is the same amount of contacts I'm paying for with iContact
• It shows who opened the newsletter, whose email bounced, and how many clicks each link received
• Different unsubscribe options - those who click unsubscribe can actually choose from "no longer interested," "did not signup for list," "inappropriate content," "SPAM," "other," or leave it unspecified
• Hard vs soft bounce - with iContact, an address has to bounce 10 times to be removed fromt he list, regardless of the reason. With MailChimp, if they get back a message that the email address is just plain invalid, they remove it immediately - no wasting credits on an address that doesn't work

Could use improvement (but could be user error)

• Who clicked - I have not been able to figure out who clicked the links
• Editing the newsletter - while I am proficient enough in HTML to be able to make the minor tweaks I want to make in my TT newsletter, it's just that much easier to do it in a WYSIWYG editor
• Having to learn something new

I am still exploring the site and learning how to navigate it. It's not that it's difficult, I'm just used to iContact. I'm working on updating the "Sign up for my Newsletter" code to put on my PWS, and hopefully I can get that to work right.

 

[jterre]

Re: MailChimpThank you for the info!!
I've been trying to decide about using a company! I just signed up for tastytidbits last mth and this will be my first time to send out the newsletter and I was wondering how I was going to be able to tell if I had any lookers!!
Thank you for this bit of info I think I will check them out!

 

[etteluap70PC]

Re: MailChimpI know 1 html code, that's it so yes customizing can be a challenge. The easiest way is when Joy has the "create your own" part of the site updated you can edit and customize much easier. Since I am paying for the service I did not want to also pay for i contact. I really like it so far. My goal this month is to call the people I know are opening it regularly and who I have not spoken to in a while.

 

[NooraK]

Re: MailChimpA-HA!

I went went to TT, took the HTML code from the iContact tab, copied and pasted it into Notepad and saved it as a .html file (delete the *.txt that prefills, and add .html after the name you give the file). I then went to MailChimp, chose "My Templates" next to the big orange "Create Campaign" button. I clicked "import to my templates" and uploaded the html file I just created. I was then able to click "Edit template" and get a WYSIWYG editor of the email!

 

[chefjeanine]

Re: MailChimp Are you speaking English?

I wish I understood. I'm sure it's something I could utilize for my business.

I'm especially interested in your comment about creating a "sign up for my newsletter option".

 

[NooraK]

Re: MailChimp

Are you speaking English?

I wish I understood. I'm sure it's something I could utilize for my business.

I'm especially interested in your comment about creating a "sign up for my newsletter option".

It's a lot easier than it sounds If you want to see the sign up form, you can peek at my PWS: /noorak

I'm not happy how it spaces out, but I haven't figured out how to fix it yet. I may have to contact MailChimp to see if they can offer advice.

 

[Jennifer E]

Re: MailChimpJeanine...I was thinking the exact same thing!

 

[NooraK]

Re: MailChimpGrrr... I played with it some more, and discovered that even though it looks like I could, I can't edit the actual text in the WYSIWYG part.

It can be a bit daunting, but it is doable. And since the service is free, you can't really lose with it. No more keeping track of people who want to unsubsribe, no sending emails in batches because your ISP won't let you send more than x number of emails at a time. And you can even schedule it to go out at a certain time in the future.

 

[etteluap70PC]

Re: MailChimp??? please explain

Grrr... I played with it some more, and discovered that even though it looks like I could, I can't edit the actual text in the WYSIWYG part.

It can be a bit daunting, but it is doable. And since the service is free, you can't really lose with it. No more keeping track of people who want to unsubsribe, no sending emails in batches because your ISP won't let you send more than x number of emails at a time. And you can even schedule it to go out at a certain time in the future.

 

[pampchefsarah]

Re: MailChimpNoora, can you make the changes before saving it in Notepad?

 

[NooraK]

Re: MailChimpWYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get. A "design" view where you edit the text so that it looks just like what you want it to look like when you're done.I'm sure you could make changes before you save in Notepad, but you'd still have to kind of know how to find what you're looking for in the HTML code, which is what I was trying to avoid. I can do it, it's just annoying. Plus, you can edit the HTML code in MailChimp, too. What you can't do (at least currently) is edit the text in TT before you create the HTML code.

 

[toastnthekitchen]

Re: MailChimpHey Noora-

How do you set up the "sign up for my newsletter" on the PWS? Was this soemthing that icontact did for you or something that you can share with us? I am trying to create more of an online buz with my customers. Thanks, for your help.

Julie

 

[NooraK]

Re: MailChimpYou have to have a service like iContact or MailChimp to do that. Both have a section where you can build the box, then you copy and paste the code into your PWS news article.

Check out this thread for more information:

http://www.chefsuccess.com/f30/i-added-icontact-subscribe-my-newsletter-link-my-pws-news-54686/

I did have to set the MailChimp box to a max width of 250 pixels, because otherwise it would run off the side of the article.

 

[Jennifer E]

Re: MailChimpOk, I got all the way to where I SHOULD be able to edit in MailChimp, but it won't let me. I can see my newsletter, but I need to add in my top April sellers name and it won't let me. Any thoughts? I clicked on edit, but all I can do is highlight the area but it won't let me type a name.

 

[NooraK]

Re: MailChimpAre you trying to look at it in the preview mode, or are you actually editing the HTML code of the newsletter? I have not found a way to edit in MailChimp (yet, at least) anywhere else besides the HTML code itself. I've been meaning to call their support, but haven't had time to do so.

To do the editing, go to where you pasted the HTML, and then find the text that you have to change within all the gibberish. It looks a bit overwhelming because of all the code, but all you have to do is look for that text abou the top host, and then change it.

 

[etteluap70PC]

Re: MailChimpthat is what I did too Nancy...

 

[cookingwithdot]

Re: MailChimpI am loving mailchimp! I was able to create a new campaign for the Mother's Day trifle bowl, paste in the pic from PC web site, add my own text and voila! HTML flyer to send to my list. And I was able to edit it in a very friendly view, not HTML code. I just don't know how to explain how to get there! If I do, I will let you know!

 

[etteluap70PC]

Re: MailChimpTIP for those of us who are not html literate...If you have a TTB subscription and want to send them thru mail chimp it is easier to do the "build your own NL" then after you "submit" it click edit. It will look like a word doc with all the font and color options. you then save it (or reset or something...) then download the HTML code and you can cut and paste that with all your editing done!SWEET!