Follow our step-by-step guide to preparing a newsletter in MailChimp
1. Log in and click Create Campaign.
- On the MailChimp Dashboard head to the Campaigns Page - it's the second option in the top menu. Then click Create Campaign. Under Email, select "Regular".
2. Name Your Campaign.
- Give your campaign a name. Note that the subscribers don't see the name of the campaign.
3. Enter the Campaign details. This includes the Campaign name, Subject, Sender name, Sender email, and Language.
- Write a subject that will entice them to open the email. Leave all the other options selected. You want to personalize the To: field, Track Opens and Track Clicks.
- Note that the send-from email needs to be verified first. This is part of the account setup process.
4. Enable Google Analytics Tracking under Settings and Tracking.
- This will track clicks from your campaigns all the way to purchases on your website. Note that it requires Google Analytics on your website.
5. Click Design Your Email.
- You're now given a range of options for designing your email template. You can create your own if you like using the drag and drop editor.
- You may also use an existing template that has the footer and branding setup. Make sure that the footer details are updated and correct.
6. Be sure to follow the company’s branding guidelines.
- The font size and colours should match the website’s.
- For example, if the website uses 16px for paragraphs, use the same font size for your email. If the links have a specific hex code colour, you should use the same code colour for your email.
How to check the font size and hex code colours from the website:
- Right-click on the word you would like to check. Click Inspect.
- The elements of the website will show and you can find the font sizes, header sizes, and hex code colours.
7. Write Your Newsletter
- The Text content block offers a lot of flexibility for your layout. Add written information and links, then apply different font styles and settings as needed. You can even include images throughout your text.
- In your layout, click the Text content block you want to work with. On the Style tab, choose font, size, color, and other preferences you want to apply to the entire content block.
- To use these settings for all Text blocks in your layout, check the box next to Apply to all existing Text blocks.
- Click Save & Close.
- You can send your email immediately, or schedule when you'd like to send it.
- Before you hit "Send," be sure that your newsletter includes a footer with your address and an easy way to unsubscribe from your emails if they don't want to receive them anymore.
- Make sure to exclude contacts who shouldn't receive the email.
- You may need to set up a segment list first to filter out the contact properties who unsubscribed to all emails.