How to Send a Mailchimp Newsletter
Mailchimp is an ever-changing animal, however the basics largely remain the same. Let’s do a simple-to-follow walk through of how to send an email out to an already established list in Mailchimp.
Note: You should already have your Mailchimp account setup (ie, confirming your email address, things like that) and your list imported (if I built your website for you, this connection already exists.)
1. Go to Campaigns
Once you’re logged into Mailchimp, look for this navigation bar near the top left and click on Campaigns
2. Choose or Create a Campaign
If you’ve created a campaign in the past, you’ll see it here, in the list to the right side of the page.
Otherwise, look toward the top right of the page for this blue Create button.
We’re creating a new one here, so click Create.
3. Choose Your Campaign Type
Since we want to send an email, we’ll choose that option.
4. Give Your Campaign a Name
Your recipients won’t see this unless they end up on the unsubscribe page, so make it pertinent but something you don’t mind folks seeing.
Next, we’ll set up the campaign’s details.
5. Add Recipients
Click that button, you’ll be presented with a dropdown from which you can choose your audience. An “audience” is the Mailchimp term for your mailing list. They call it this because you can use them for other types of campaigns, such as social blasts, but we aren’t covering that here today.
Click Save
6. Skip the From
Unless you want to change who the email will appear to come from, skip this step.
7. Add a Subject
Click Add Subject
Fill out the two fields. The first is your actual subject line, the second will show up as a preview in some email clients, such as Gmail.
8. Design Your Email
Click Design Email and choose one of the existing templates. You’ll be able to customize it to a degree, but it’s always good to start with one that’s close to what you want to see in the long run.
To choose one, click on it and then click Next
You’ll then see an interface like so:
Let’s review what we’re looking at here.
At the top, there’s the Logo box. Hover over it and you’ll see some additional options:
The grid of squares allows you to grab this part of the template and move it around.
The pencil allows you to edit it. In this case, you’ll get options on the right to upload your image.
Click Replace, then either choose an existing logo file you’ve uploaded, or click Upload to add a new one from your computer.
Once you’ve chosen it, click Insert near the top right.
You can also click the Link button to make the image a link, back to your website perhaps, or the alt to give the image alternative text, which not only helps those who require a screen reader to understand what the image is, but also will show as text for those users who have images turned off.
You can also click the Style and Settings tabs for more customization.
Under Settings, the Constraing image dimensions by 50% for high-resolution displays is particularly useful, especially if you upload your image larger than the space available. This will keep it looking great on high definition / retina screens, which are the used on most phones, tablets and many desktops and laptops these days.
Continue through the various sections, where you can again click the pencil icon to edit, the + in a square button to duplicate or the trash can to delete items, and will have similar options on the right. The options available will depend on whether you are editing text, an image or some other type of item.
9. Additional Options While Designing
Look for this black navigation bar at the top right of the screen:
Here you can get Help, mainly in the form of searching articles. You can also Preview and Test your email, a highly useful feature, or Save as Template, where if you like your email, you can save it as a template and choose it in the beginning of creating your next Campaign Design next time.
Or, you can Save and Exit if you need to wait until later to finish the email.
When you’re all done, click Save and Close at the bottom right of the screen.
You’ll then be taken back to the screen where you customize the subject line, audience, etc. From there, you can schedule or send your email now via the buttons at the top right of the screen.
That’s it!
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