A mailing list is a great and cost-effective way for many brands to distribute news and information about their business. You may be wary about 'spamming' your customers with automated sales emails, however, for those of you who want to sell online, the good news is that it doesn't have to be that way; a few carefully targeted, well-tailored emails to potential customers who have opted in to your mailing list can do the world of good for your overall web traffic and conversions. Today we're going to talk about how you can use Mailchimp to build up a mailing list for yourself, whether you're looking to create an online store, or already have an existing customer base.

Tips

1. Get The Word Out

Once you've created your Mailchimp account, the first thing you'll need to do is to get the word out about your mailing list - if no-one knows of its existence, how will they know to sign up? You can do this in a number of different ways, such as having a 'signup to mailing list' button on your website or ecommerce store, as well as announcing your new mailing list on your blog and social media. You can also add real-life customers to your mailing list by taking down their email address if you have a physical shop, or even while you're out at networking events.

2. Using Mailchimp

If you already have a list of addresses of people who have opted to sign up for your mailing list, you can follow these instructions. Opening up Mailchimp will prompt you to import your list of email addresses after you've taken the time to open up your account. If you're looking to start your mailing list, or expand it, Mailchimp provide a convenient sign-up page for recipients to enter their name and address - they use a double opt-in process by sending a confirmation email and link for the recipient to click, so that the system is never abused.

They also have another nice feature in the 'for your website' dropdown box, that you'll find in your main List view. There will be a code for a sign-up form that you can integrate into your own ecommerce store, making things much simpler.

A support video on working with Signup Forms & Response Emails by MailChimp

3. Build It Up

Once you've got your Mailchimp account up and running, this feature will pretty much take care of itself, leaving you to focus on coming up with great content for your newsletters. You can use this outlet to talk about exciting deals and offers, as well as your thoughts and takes on various goings on in the world. Then you can sit back and find out if your newsletters get your shopping cart more attention.

Sign up to MailChimp and get your free account today.

Useful Resources

MailChimp
Online email marketing solution to manage contacts, send emails and track results.