Browse to: https://mailchimp.com

Set Up Your Account

When you sign up for a Mailchimp account, you'll enter your name and email address, and

Mailchimp will send you an activation email. When you receive the activation email, click the

link to activate your account.

The next time you log in to the website, Mailchimp will walk you through the rest of the setup

steps. You'll input profile details, such as your website and physical address, and connect your

social media accounts. If you sell products online, you'll have the option to connect your store to

Mailchimp.

Import New Contacts

There are a few different ways to import contacts to Mailchimp, but a file upload is the most

common method. The file import process has two parts: First, you'll prepare your spreadsheet of

contacts outside of Mailchimp, and save it as a CSV file. Next, you'll use the Mailchimp import

tool to add your contacts to Mailchimp.

Prepare for Import

To prepare your file for import, follow these steps.

1. In a spreadsheet program like Excel or Google Sheets, open your blank worksheet. 2. Create and label a column for Email Address.

Set up Your Audience

Design an Email Campaign

In this article, you'll learn the basics to design a campaign in Mailchimp.

Design an Email Campaign in Mailchimp

Select a Template

When you create a campaign in Mailchimp, you'll choose a template in the Content section of the

Campaign Builder. The template you select will be the foundation of your design.

Depending on your plan, you may not have access to all of the template options. To find out

what features are included in each plan, check out our pricing page.

To select a template, follow these steps.

1. In the Content section of the Campaign Builder, click Design Email.

2. On the Template step, click the template you want to use. You can always go back later to

switch templates.

Choose from Layouts ( Basic), Themes, Saved templates, Campaigns, or Code your own to begin

to design your campaign.

.Basic

Our Basic templates combine blank layouts with the Campaign Builder's drag-and-drop editor,

so you have you full control over the layout of your campaign. Basic templates are available in

regular and full width versions. Full width templates extend the background of each campaign

section across the entire width of the client it's being viewed in.

.

Saved Templates

This tab includes templates you uploaded on the Templates page of your account, and any

campaign designs that you saved as templates for use in future campaigns. Select a template

from Saved Templates, and edit the content and design how you want.

Campaigns

Choose one of your recently sent or draft campaigns as the starting point for a new campaign.

We'll create an exact copy of the campaign's content and design, so you can edit it as needed

without starting over from scratch.

Code Your Own

If you have a custom-coded template, click Code your own to paste in your code, import it from

a ZIP file, or import it from a URL. Include our template language in your code to edit the design

of the campaign with our Campaign Builder.

Before You Start

• Image requirements vary by template. For more information, take a look at the image requirements.

• The Themes templates are predesigned, so some images and content blocks can't be changed. • When you upload an image to the Content Studio, we change the file name to a unique

identifier that can't be duplicated or changed. • The Content Studio supports JPG, JPE, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP image files.

Find Image URLs

Sometimes you need the source URL for an image in your Content Studio. For example, when you want to embed an image or link to a file in a Code Your Own template.

To copy an item URL, follow these steps.

1. Navigate to the Content Studio. 2. In the sidebar, click the tab that contains your file. 3. Click the file you want to work with. 4. Click the drop-down menu next to View Details, and choose Copy URL. We'll save it to your

clipboard.

5. Click X in the upper-right corner. 6. Paste the copied URL into the Code Editor, or wherever you need it.

Insert an Image

The steps to insert images in the Campaign Builder vary slightly, depending on the type of content block you're using.

Insert into an Image Content Block

The Campaign Builder offers a few types of image-based content blocks, including Image, Image Card, Image Group, and Image + Caption. These instructions explain how to use images with any of these types.

To insert an image into an image content block, follow these steps.

1. In the Content section of the Campaign Builder, click Edit Design.

2. On the Design step, click the image content block you want to work with. 3. Click Browse to open the Content Studio.

4. in the sidebar, click the tab that contains your image.

5. Click the image you want to work with.

6. Click Insert.

7. Click Save & Close.

Add Your Content

After you choose a template, you'll move on to the Design step of the Content section. Use content blocks to add and format text, upload images, link to files, and more. All templates show placeholder text and images to help you begin to design your campaign. Depending on the template you choose, you can add, delete, move, and replicate content blocks to create the look and feel you want

Design an Email Campaign in Mailchimp

Drag-and-Drop Content Blocks

Our drag-and-drop editor allows you to duplicate, delete, and rearrange content blocks on the fly. Drag and drop a variety of content blocks into your layout and rearrange them to customize the look and feel of your campaign.

Add Text

The best way to add text to your campaign is to type it directly into the content block editing pane. If you prefer to work outside of the Campaign Builder, copy and paste your content from a simple text editor, like Notepad or TextWrangler.

Avoid rich-text word-processing programs, like Word or Publisher. They add styling code to the text that can prevent your ability to style content in the Campaign Builder.If you want to copy content from a rich-text editor, website, or email program, click the Paste as plain text icon on the editor toolbar to add your text.

If content has already been added to your campaign and you didn't use the Paste as plain text option, or if content doesn't update when you apply styling to your text, click Clear Styles and try again.

Clear Styles

Use the Clear styles option to remove any conflicting formatting or styles that were brought in when you added content. This only removes the formatting that's been applied to your text and does not remove the text itself.

To clear styles from your content, follow these steps.

1. Click the Text content block you want to edit.

2. In the Content tab, highlight the text you want to change. 3. In the editor toolbar, click Clear Styles.

Edit Styles

Styles and settings for your campaign design can be applied from a few different places. Each section in your email campaign is related to another in a hierarchy so the styles you set in one area of the Campaign Builder may affect other sections.

• The Design Tab Every template is divided into different sections, like the preheader, body, and footer. You can apply styles to these sections on the Design tab in the Campaign Builder. When styles are applied to a section, they are also applied to all content blocks in that section.

• The Style and Settings Tabs If you want one of your content blocks to have different styling from other content blocks in its section, open that content block and set preferences on the Style and Settings tabs

for that content block. Styles you apply here will override the style for the section that content block is in.

• Use the Editor Toolbar Use the editor toolbar in each content block to fine-tune the styling on a line-by-line basis. Changes you make here will override any styles you've set for that content block or section.

Preview and Test Your Email

Different email programs display your HTML email differently, so we recommend you preview and test your campaign content before you send.

In this article, you'll learn how to preview your campaign in Mailchimp's preview mode, and how to send test emails.

Preview and Test Your Email Campaign

Enter Preview Mode

Preview mode gives you an idea of how your campaign will look in your recipients' inboxes on both desktop and mobile.

Preview and Test Your Email Campaign

To enter preview mode from the Email Designer, click the Preview and Test drop-down menu and choose Enter preview mode.

In some campaigns, you can also enter preview mode by clicking the preview image in the Content section of the Campaign Builder.

Send a Test Email

Send a test email to see how a campaign will appear in your inbox, or to share a draft campaign with a colleague.

Preview and Test Your Email Campaign

o send a test email, follow these steps.

1. In the Email Designer, click the Preview and Test drop-down menu, and choose Send a test email.

If you’re working with a regular email campaign, you can also click Send a Test Email link in the Content section of the Campaign Builder.

2. Type the email address you want to send the test to. You also have the option to use the checkboxes to send to other users on your account.

You can include optional instructions and a personal message, then use the checkboxes to select which account users will be notified of new comments.

3. When you're ready, click Send Test.

Recipients can reply to the test email with their feedback. We use an inbound email address to send their feedback directly to your account.

Schedule a Campaign

Schedule or Pause a Regular Email Campaign

o schedule a regular email campaign, follow these steps.

1. After you're done with your campaign's design and settings and it's ready to go, click Schedule.

2. In the Schedule Your Campaign pop-up modal, use the date picker to set the delivery date.

3. Click the Delivery time drop-down menus to choose a time of day.

If you have a Standard or Premium account, you can also choose to send your campaign in batches, use Timewarp, or try Send Time Optimization.

4. Review your settings and click Schedule Campaign to confirm.

After the campaign is scheduled, you'll see the time the campaign is set to send to subscribers on

the Campaigns page.

Additional Scheduling Options

These options are available with Standard and Premium plans.

• Send Time Optimization Send Time Optimization is a paid account feature that looks at your subscribers' click activity history to see when they're most engaged in Mailchimp campaigns. Then, it recommends a send time. Use Send Time Optimization.

• Timewarp Timewarp is a paid account feature that delivers a campaign to your audience based on the recipient's time zone, instead of the time zone in your account settings. Use Timewarp.

• Batch Delivery Batch Delivery is a feature for paid accounts that sends your campaign out in timed batches rather than to your whole audience at once. This helps control traffic to your website and prevents potential strain on your server. Schedule Batch Delivery.

Note

• We finalize your recipient count at the send time for your campaign. Addresses that have been added or removed between scheduling and sending will be adjusted in the final send count.

• Seasonal time changes can be a bit tricky for campaign scheduling. For example, British users on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) may notice that their campaigns send later than expected after the switch to Daylight Saving Time. We recommend you set your account to your local time

zone, rather than an absolute time zone like GMT, so you don't have to worry about scheduled campaigns sending at odd hours.

• If your local time zone isn't listed in Mailchimp, you may need to manually change your account time zone in Account Details when your country or region has seasonal time changes. This will ensure the most accurate send times.