Email deliverability depends heavily on how major inbox service providers evaluate your sending history. When subscribers regularly open, click, and interact with your messages, mail services view your sending domain as a trusted source, especially following recent Gmail sender updates, ensuring your future campaigns reach the main inbox.
Prioritizing Active Engagement
Sending every message to an unsegmented list can quickly dilute your engagement metrics or skew them through hidden bot activity. By using key email segmentation strategies to focus on subscribers who actively interact with your content, you create consistently high engagement rates per send. This positive activity signals to inbox algorithms that your content is expected and valued.
Long-Term Deliverability Wins
Maintaining email list hygiene and segmentation strategy yields several key benefits over time:
Improved Placement: Consistently strong open rates keep your domain off spam filters and inside the main inbox/primary tab.
Relevant Messaging: Segmented lists allow you to deliver tailored content that aligns directly with subscriber interests.
Smarter List Health: Focusing on active cohorts makes it easier to track audience growth and plan effective re-engagement campaigns.
Focusing your initial outreach on engaged subscribers and active list segments create a solid foundation for your overall email strategy, helping your organization build authority and reach every subscriber effectively.
Optimize Your Deliverability with Pure Firefly
Targeted segmentation is just one piece of a high-performing campaign strategy. Pure Firefly helps nonprofits, higher ed institutions, and small businesses optimize email deliverability infrastructure to drive measurable engagement. Reach out to our team today to map out your outreach goals, or ask about our Mailchimp Audit to ensure your messages always hit the primary inbox.
For many marketers, the sheer volume of data generated by email campaigns can be overwhelming. While we know that data-driven decisions are more effective, finding the time to manually sift through reports, compare metrics, and identify patterns often falls to the bottom of a long to-do list. Mailchimp analytics AI is designed to bridge this gap, acting as a powerful assistant for busy marketers who need insights but don’t have time for manual analysis.
What is Mailchimp Analytics AI?
Mailchimp’s Analytics AI is a built-in AI chat feature within the Mailchimp platform created to help you interpret campaign reports and revenue data instantly. Instead of spending hours exporting CSV files or reviewing your campaign analytics, you can simply ask questions and the AI will find answers in your account. The tool reviews your performance over time and can identify concrete next steps to improve your email performance, conversions, and deliverability.
Who Can Use It?
Analytics AI is currently in Beta and its global rollout is already underway! The feature is being released in phases to Admin and Owner users on all paid Mailchimp plans. Because of this gradual rollout, it is already active on many accounts, while others might have a short wait. If you meet the eligibility criteria but don't see it in your dashboard just yet, don't worry—it’s actively on its way to you!
Where to Find It
You can find Mailchimp Analytics AI within your account, with no extra steps to connect it. Here’s how:
That’s it! Once you get to the Analytics AI tab, you’ll see the chat open on your screen and you can begin asking questions.
The Value of Mailchimp Analytics AI
The primary benefit of Mailchimp analytics AI is efficiency. By automating data interpretation, you can:
Save Time: Quickly understand the "why" behind your numbers without manual analysis.
Identify Trends: Effortlessly spot shifts in subscriber engagement or revenue patterns over weeks, months, or even years.
Receive Actionable Advice: Get specific suggestions on how to optimize future campaigns based on historical performance.
While other AI bots can provide analysis, you still need to manually enter your campaign results. Mailchimp Analytics AI lives in your account, and can pull data directly from your campaigns.
10 Prompts to Deepen Your Campaign Analysis
To get the most out of Mailchimp Analytics AI, ask questions that are clear and specific. Define all terms and timelines to see the best results. Here are 10 prompts to try today:
"Summarize the performance of my last 5 email campaigns."
"Which campaign this year had the highest open rate, and why?"
"Compare the click rates of my 10 most recent newsletters."
"What are the top 3 common factors in my best-performing campaigns of this month?"
"Analyze the results of my 5 most recent A/B tests on subject lines."
"How has my subscriber engagement trended over the last quarter?"
"Which day of the week generates the highest order rates for my emails?"
"Which specific URLs generate the highest clicks in my 2026 campaigns?"
"How can I improve my click-through rate, based on the top-clicked campaigns of the past 6 months?"
"Summarize revenue generated from my email campaigns over the last month."
You can also insert any other tried-and-true prompts for email marketers. Whatever the prompt, Mailchimp Analytics AI can help you move beyond simple reporting and start making strategic adjustments.
Get the Most Out of Your Analytics with Pure Firefly
Mailchimp Analytics AI is a groundbreaking tool to boost campaign performance for businesses and nonprofits alike. If you’re wondering how to leverage it for your organization, Pure Firefly is here to help! Schedule a one-on-one call with our email marketing experts to get a walkthrough of the tool, or contact us for a complete marketing strategy. Our Mailchimp Audit is a great place to start for a complete overview of your Mailchimp account setup.
Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to drive conversions and build brand loyalty. However, if your Mailchimp open rates are stalling or your monthly bill is climbing, your strategy might be held back by technical debt or disorganized data. A comprehensive Mailchimp Audit can uncovers issues with account configuration and marketing strategy, plus solutions to maximize your email marketing success.
What is a Mailchimp Audit?
A Mailchimp audit is a holistic, in-depth review of your entire account, ranging from high-level campaign strategy to granular technical configurations. Rather than just looking at your latest open rate, an audit examines how your audience is structured, how your emails are being delivered, and whether your designs are truly optimized for today’s mobile-first readers. This makes it a great fit for nonprofits and higher education institutions looking to improve their email marketing results.
Think of it as a wellness check for your email marketing ecosystem. We identify the “red flags” that might be sending your emails to spam and uncover hidden opportunities to save money and boost engagement.
What’s Included in a Pure Firefly Mailchimp Audit?
Our team takes a multi-layered approach to ensure every corner of your account is performing at its peak. Every audit includes:
1. Deliverability & Technical Security
We verify that your domain is fully authenticated and check your DMARC policies to protect your sender reputation. We also run your campaigns through spam checkers to test against common B2B and B2C filters, ensuring your messages actually reach the inbox.
2. Audience Organization & Hygiene
A messy list leads to high costs and low engagement. We analyze your use of Mailchimp tags, groups, and segments to streamline how you target your subscribers. Our team provides recommendations for list consolidation and contact management to lower your Mailchimp bill and improve sender reputation. Each audit report also includes a 45-minute training call covering segmentation, design, and marketing best practices.
3. Design & Accessibility Review
We review your templates for design best practices like mobile responsiveness, skimmability, and clear calls to action (CTAs). We also check for accessibility standards, such as alt text for images and high-contrast color palettes, to ensure your message is readable for all subscribers.
4. Legal Compliance
Email regulations like CAN-SPAM and GDPR are non-negotiable. We ensure your footers, signup forms, and opt-in processes are fully compliant to avoid account blocks or legal issues.
5. Automation Strategy
Are you missing out on “evergreen” engagement? We review your current Mailchimp automations and identify opportunities for automated welcome series, re-engagement campaigns, or date-triggered messages that keep your brand top-of-mind without manual effort.
Who is a Good Candidate for a Mailchimp Audit?
Not sure if you need a professional review? You are an ideal candidate for a Mailchimp audit if:
You’ve noticed a sudden drop in engagement: If your open rates have recently tanked, it may be due to new spam guidelines from major providers like Gmail and Yahoo.
Your monthly bill is higher than expected: Many accounts pay for “ghost” contacts—unsubscribed or disengaged users who are still being counted toward your billing tier.
Your list has grown organically for years without a cleanup: Older lists often contain “spam traps” or invalid addresses that can damage your deliverability.
You are rebranding or launching new services: An audit ensures your account structure can support your new goals and that your design reflects your updated brand.
You feel overwhelmed with your account: If you’re not sure how to effectively categorize your subscribers or move forward with an old account, an expert review can provide the roadmap you need.
Start Optimizing with Pure Firefly
Don’t let technical hurdles or outdated lists stand in the way of your marketing goals. A Mailchimp audit provides the clarity and actionable steps needed to turn your email list back into a high-performing asset. If you’re ready to level up, contact Pure Firefly today to schedule a free intro call. We’ll get your Mailchimp account in good shape.
The Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) is one of the strictest email marketing laws globally, and remaining compliant is a non-negotiable step for any company targeting Canadian subscribers. For U.S.-based email marketing agencies, navigating these rules can be complex. At Pure Firefly, we routinely help Canadian companies improve deliverability and stay compliant with CASL regulations while scaling their email program.
Understanding CASL: The Core Requirements
CASL compliance hinges on three main pillars: Consent, Identification, and Unsubscribe mechanisms. Ignoring these not only risks legal penalties but severely impacts your email deliverability.
CASL Consent: Express vs. Implied
CASL requires express consent for sending commercial electronic messages (CEMs). We assist with ensuring your Mailchimp forms and segmentation reflect these requirements, differentiating between implied consent (e.g., a recent customer) and the mandatory express consent needed for ongoing promotional communications.
Every email must clearly identify the sender and provide contact information. This includes a valid mailing address. Pure Firefly can audit your Mailchimp footers and merge tags to ensure every campaign meets this legal requirement.
Managing Unsubscribes
CASL mandates a functional unsubscribe mechanism that is clear, free, and processed within 10 business days. Mailchimp’s built-in unsubscribe functionality can typically serve this purpose, but you may run into compliance issues if automations are not configured appropriately.
A Mailchimp expert can help you set up robust automation and segmentation practices that satisfy CASL while optimizing your campaigns for results.
Ready to secure your deliverability and attract more leads from Vancouver to Montreal?
Choosing the right AI email marketing tool can feel as overwhelming as staring at a massive coffee shop menu. Everything looks great, but what are the real differences between ChatGPT, Gemini, and NotebookLM? These three tools are some of the most valuable AI options for DIY and nonprofit email marketers. Let’s break down the differences between them!
ChatGPT: The Creative Wordsmith
ChatGPT (by OpenAI) is the tool that started our current AI era. For many, it remains the gold standard for drafting conversational, engaging copy. It’s best for drafting email body copy, quickly generating subject line variations, and chatting through ideas.
ChatGPT also offers custom GPTs, which can be tailored to your specific nonprofit’s mission or your small business’s tone of voice, so you don’t have to re-explain it every time.
Pros:
Warm Writing Style: It often sounds the most “human” and is great at mimicking a specific brand voice.
Easy to Use: The interface is extremely simple, like a text conversation.
Strong Free Version: Free “mini” models are fast and capable for basic drafting.
Cons:
Hallucinations: ChatGPT will sometimes invent facts out of thin air. This is why it’s so important to keep a human in the loop.
Generic Tones: Without a specific prompt, ChatGPT can default to sounding a bit “salesy.”
Google Gemini: The Google Power-User
Gemini is Google’s AI email marketing tool. Its biggest strength is its ability to integrate with other Google Workspace tools and adapt to Gmail updates without manual adjustment. Gemini can easily reference info from Google Docs, Sheets, Meets, or Gmail, which makes it a great time-saver for organizations working with Google Workspace.
Pros:
Real-Time Info: Gemini is excellent at pulling in current events—perfect for adding industry news to your newsletters.
Workspace Sync: If you’re already drafting in Docs, Gemini can be a huge time-saver by updating directly in your document.
Multimodal: Gemini handles images and data analysis very smoothly, allowing for easy wireframe and design creation
Cons:
Safety Filters: Gemini has sensitive safety filters and will refuse to draft content that falls outside of them.
Cold tone: Some users find Gemini’s writing style a bit more “matter-of-fact” than ChatGPT’s creative flair.
NotebookLM: Your Personalized Research Assistant
NotebookLM has a much more specified scope compared to Gemini and ChatGPTl. Instead of searching everything on the internet, NotebookLM will only reference what you give it. This makes it very helpful for staying on-brand. You can upload past newsletters, annual reports, and webpages to NotebookLM, and use them to draft future content. You can also rest assured that the AI will not hallucinate information outside of what’s provided.
Pros:
No Hallucinations: Because NotebookLM has to cite your sources, it’s generally more accurate for niche topics.
Research-Minded: NotebookLM is built to reference, compare, and combine resources you provide. This makes it great at summarizing impact reports!
Audio Overviews: It can turn your documents into a “podcast-style” conversation to help you hear your ideas in a new way.
Cons:
Less Creative: NotebookLM better at summarizing and explaining than it is at writing from scratch, which can make it less effective for drafting copy.
Manual Setup: You have to take the time to upload your documents (PDFs, Docs, etc.) to make it useful.
Which AI tool should you choose?
Ultimately, the choice between ChatGPT, Gemini, and NotebookLM depends on your AI email marketing needs. Choose ChatGPT if you need a creative partner to help you write catchy, conversational emails. Choose Gemini if you want a tool that lives inside (and references) your Google Workspace. Choose NotebookLM if you need simple, factual emails that only draw on the information you give it.
Whichever tool you choose, remember that AI is a starting line, not a finish line. Always give your drafts a human pass and thoroughly test emails for deliverability and dark mode compatibility.
Overwhelmed? Pure Firefly is Here to Help
Writing the email is only half the battle. An experienced expert in your marketing platform is the best way to take your campaigns to the next level. Pure Firefly can help your small business or nonprofit shine with email marketing services for Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Hubspot, and more!
Recent Gmail updates are changing how emails appear, are sorted, and ultimately whether they are seen at all. For anyone relying on email marketing, these changes make one thing clear: deliverability relies on relevance, engagement, and trust.
Let’s break down what’s changing and how marketers can adapt their strategy to stay visible in the inbox.
How Gmail Updates Affect Email Marketing
Gmail continuously refines how it organizes the inbox to improve user experience. This year, Gmail is increasingly prioritizing content that subscribers actually engage with, instead of showing emails in the order they were sent.
This means email marketers must focus less on volume and more on value. Sending fewer, more relevant emails can now outperform frequent blasts that don’t get opened or clicked.
One of the biggest impacts of recent Gmail updates is how engagement signals influence deliverability. Opens, clicks, replies, and consistent interaction help Gmail decide whether your emails make it to the inbox, and how they are sorted once they arrive.
To adapt, email marketers should prioritize:
Sending content aligned with subscriber interests
Removing inactive subscribers regularly
Writing clear subject lines that set expectations
Designing emails that are easy to read on mobile
If you’re unsure how engaged your list really is, our guide to list health and engagement on thePure Firefly blog is a great place to start.
Promotional and Transactional Emails Are Treated Differently
Gmail is also becoming stricter about how emails are categorized. Promotional messages are evaluated based on relevance and interaction, while transactional emails are expected to stay focused on their core purpose.
Mixing marketing content into confirmations or receipts can hurt placement and reduce trust. Keep all messages clear and intentional to support long-term deliverability.
Need help structuring campaigns correctly? Contact Pure Firefly’s email experts for a close look at your email strategy.
List Hygiene Matters More Than Ever
Gmail has made it easier for users to review and manage subscriptions. As a result, brands that continue emailing disengaged contacts risk higher unsubscribe rates and weaker performance.
A healthy list supports better email marketing results and protects your sender reputation. Regular cleanup isn’t optional anymore—it’s essential. Consider using a list cleaner like Zerobounce and monitor your email bounces closely.
Pure Firefly can Help You Prepare for the Future of the Inbox
These Gmail updates reflect a broader trend: inboxes are getting smarter, and generic email strategies are getting filtered out. Brands that succeed must respect subscriber preferences and focus on meaningful communication.
If your team needs help adjusting your strategy, improving deliverability, or navigating changes in email marketing, we’re here to help. Our team has 10+ years of experience in marketing, spanning platforms like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Hubspot and more.
Contact us to get expert support and ensure your emails are ready for the modern inbox.
Using AI in nonprofit email campaigns can transform how your organization connects with supporters. AI can save time and improve engagement, but it’s not foolproof. A few simple do’s and don’ts can help you make the most of this technology and avoid its pitfalls.
Why Use AI for Email Marketing?
AI can be a powerful lever in your nonprofit email strategy. Especially for small nonprofits lacking a dedicated content team, AI helps reduce the time and cost of an effective email strategy. Even just by generating the first draft of an email, nonprofits can save hours on monthly newsletters or fundraising campaigns.
Along with its ease of use, a key benefit to AI is its data-backed creativity. Depending on the prompt used, copy can be tailored for your audience, including for specific donor segments. AI tools can also reference email marketing data to optimize your campaigns.Tools like Mailchimp’s “Write with AI” draw on years of campaign data to generate content backed by evidence.
With all of its benefits, AI can certainly be a gamechanger. But it isn’t magic – AI needs the appropriate prompt and references to deliver results. Here’s how to make it work for your organization.
Writing an AI Prompt
The quality of an AI’s output depends on a high quality prompt. Here are a few tips to build prompts for nonprofit email campaigns, with examples you can use:
Be specific & contextual: Provide specifications for your email’s content, length, goals, CTAs, and brand voice in order to get the best results.
Example: “Write a 200–300 word fundraising appeal email to lapsed donors (those who haven’t donated in 18 months). Tone: warm, encouraging. Focus on the impact of our free community classes. Include a CTA to donate now.
Include examples: You can paste a past email and ask for a quick re-write, or provide a bullet-point outline and let AI fill in the blanks
Example: Write a 4-part email with the following sections: Intro, problem, solution, CTA). Each section should be no longer than 100 words and must start with a subheading.
Use follow-up prompts: Working with AI is like a conversation. Once the AI responds to your request with a draft, follow up with further prompting to refine the result.
Example: Good start! Condense this email’s length by 30%, make the tone more conversational, and add our tagline “Making waves in wellness.”
Repeat your successes: Before you start a draft of your next email, paste in a few previous campaigns and results. Then, ask the AI to reference what’s working in your next campaign.
Example: Our last 3 emails to monthly donors are pasted below. All of them had open rates around 18%, and the Giving Day email had a very high click rate of 5%. Based on those results, write a draft email in our brand voice that our audience is likely to click on.
Reference industry best practices: AI tools are generators, not dictionaries. Always remind the model to align its language with strategies already shown to boost engagement.
Example: Search for 10 reliable online sources that give a detailed list of data-backed email marketing best practices… Now, use those best practices to create a draft of this email.
If you take all these suggestions into account, you may find that the prompt is longer than expected. This is nothing to panic about! As you continue to use an AI model, it will build a memory of what you’ve already asked. Then, you can always reference a previous prompt again to have the AI generate a similar response.
Refining AI-Generated Content
Once you have an AI draft, you’ll need to give it a quick polish so it’s ready for your supporters. Here are a few suggestions for nonprofits that want to get their email perfect.
Check factual accuracy: AI is known to make assumptions, or even hallucinate false information. Review your content for any false assertions.
Align voice and tone: Overly-promotional language is a common complaint among AI users. Make sure the language reflects your nonprofit’s mission and personality. If you write in a warm, humble tone, tweak phrasing to match that rather than letting the AI sound overly promotional.
Inject human details: Add stories, real names, and quotes manually to give your email a heartfelt, human touch.
Some of these steps must be taken manually in your email marketing software, while others can be done using follow-up prompting with AI. In either case, be sure to give the email a final proofread before it goes out.
When AI Goes Wrong
AI is powerful, but it has risks. Knowing the pitfalls helps you avoid costly mistakes. Here are a few examples we’ve run into, plus tips to address them:
Hallucinations & fabrications: AI sometimes confidently states false facts, names, or data. This is easiest to catch and refine with a human eye.
Tone or messaging drift: Without strong prompts, AI may produce copy that’s salesy, too casual, or off-brand. Follow-up prompting can ensure you won’t alienate your donors.
Deliverability issues: Occasionally, AI can generate text that is likely to trigger spam filters. See our Deliverability Troubleshooting Guide for more tips on how to land in the inbox.
Just like a human coworker, AI can make mistakes. As you automate, keep robust proofreading procedures in place to ensure the quality of generated content. When things go wrong, a human touch is the best tool to fix them.
Generating Subject Lines with AI
Subject lines are a perfect use case for AI because they thrive on variety, brevity, and experimentation. Plus, AI can remember previous subjects you’ve generated in order to provide similar options.
Here are a few prompts you can try for your own AI email marketing strategy:
Generate 8 subject lines (5–7 words) for a donor reactivation email focused on community stories.
Suggest 10 subject line variations for a volunteer recruitment campaign. Include one with an emoji and one that asks a question
Our last subject line “Share Your Love” got a 47% open rate. Based on that success, suggest 10 new subjects for the email pasted below.
For the highest chance of success, ask for 10-15 options with varying styles. Specify strategies that you’d like the AI to use, like urgency, curiosity, or numbers. Having variety improves the likelihood that one of your subject lines will resonate strongly with your audience.
Leverage AI to its Full Potential with Pure Firefly
At Pure Firefly, we believe AI should amplify your creativity, not replace it. If you want help refining AI prompts, reviewing output, or building hybrid content workflows, our team is ready to guide you. Contact us today, and we’ll help you magnify your nonprofit’s impact with AI!
As consumer inboxes become more and more crowded, interactive emails have become an essential tool for email marketers. This may sound like a high-tech concept, but email marketing platforms like Mailchimp and Klaviyo provide ample tools that can be leveraged for interactive marketing. Here’s how to start building emails that feel more like a dialogue and less like a billboard, all without any coding knowledge.
What Are Interactive Emails?
Interactive emails are messages your subscribers can engage with directly, right in their inbox. Instead of just reading, they might click a button to vote in a poll, flip through a carousel of products, or activate some kind of automation. These small actions create a sense of participation, which keeps your audience engaged longer.
Why Interactivity Matters for Small Teams
For small businesses, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs, interactive emails help your campaigns feel more human. They help build trust, keep subscribers from tuning out, and encourage repeat engagement. Because platforms like Mailchimp are designed for DIY marketers—not developers—you can test these strategies without hiring any support.
As inboxes continue to evolve, the brands that thrive will be those that build stronger relationships with subscribers, not just those who shout the loudest.
Using Mailchimp’s Tools for Interactivity
Mailchimp is a gold standard tool for DIY marketers. It’s often celebrated for its ease-of-use, and Pro Partners like Pure Firefly make the learning process even smoother. While interactive emails may seem high-tech, it’s actually fairly simple to develop participatory experiences without too much complexity. Simple tools like linked images, merge tags and landing pages can do a lot in Mailchimp. We’ll be sharing 3 simple tips for interactive email design in Mailchimp’s standard email builder.
Run a Poll with Linked Images and Landing Pages
Running an email poll doesn’t require any fancy plugins. Here’s how you can build a stunning poll like the one below, all without using any custom code or add-ons.
Ask your audience a question, like “Who are you shopping for?”
Add 2-4 images, each one reflecting one answer. For example, you may have an image for “Myself,” “My Spouse,” and “My Kids.”
Create a Mailchimp landing page for each option or redirect to a relevant page on your site.
View poll results by comparing the clicks on each image in your campaign’s Click Map.
Pair this method with automated flows and Mailchimp segments for even more connectivity. For example, customers shopping for their kids could get a follow-up email highlighting popular children’s apparel.
Personalized Recommendations
If product sales are your goal, Mailchimp’s product recommendations are a super easy way to reflect customer preferences. While not technically interactive, this still gives that added personal touch to make your subscribers feel heard. There are 2 common methods for adding personalized product recommendations to a Mailchimp emails:
Ecommerce integration: If you integrate Mailchimp with an ecommerce website like Shopify or Woocommerce, you can add a “Product Recommendation” block to an email and display products based on a customer’s view or purchase history.
Dynamic Content: If you can’t integrate with ecommerce, dynamic content is a great solution. Add content block to your campaign, then hit “Visibility” and choose which segment of subscribers should view what content.
GIFs are another basic tool you can use to create an appearance of interactivity. GIFs are short, looping animations you can add to your email anywhere you would add an image. While GIFs do not respond to reader interaction, they can create a dynamic feeling. Here are a few best practices to ensure your GIFs create an interactive experience:
Compress your .gif files to 450kb or below for fast loading and deliverability
Test GIFs across multiple devices for proper rendering
Keep the GIF speed slow and animations minimal – Aim for a light touch of interaction, not a flashing alarm.
It can take time to build familiarity with email GIFs. If you need help getting started, reach out to Pure Firefly’s email pros for a quick walkthrough.
Start Small with Help from Pure Firefly
Your email doesn’t need to be a mini-website to feel engaging. Start small, keep it conversational, and add one interactive element at a time. Before long, your subscribers will be clicking, voting, and chatting back—right from their inbox.
If you’d like help bringing these strategies into your own campaigns, get in touch with Pure Firefly or explore our Mailchimp training services to sharpen your marketing skills.
Popup forms are one of the best ways to maximize email signups from your website. This month, Pure Firefly launched a new popup with Mailchimp’s brand new form builder. So far, it’s been a hit! Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you make the most of the new popup tool.
Mailchimp’s New Popup Builder
In 2025, Mailchimp launched a brand new popup builder available on the standard plan and above. While their existing popup forms are still available, this new builder includes a wide range of improvements. The new popup builder features:
Over 80 free templates for various industries
Completely customizable layouts on mobile and desktop
Advanced logic and visibility settings
Detailed analytics like impressions and opt-in rate
With all the improvements, the new builder is worlds ahead of the previous one.
Developing a Lead Magnet Strategy
When you plan to launch a new popup, start by developing your lead magnet. In marketing, the lead magnet is the “lure” that gets new website visitors to sign up. It should be relevant to potential subscribers and ideally lead them towards purchasing or donating later on.
To develop your lead magnet, begin by thinking about what existing supporters enjoy and expect from you. Whether you deliver products, build tech solutions, or serve your community, make sure your lead magnet aligns with those core activities and values.
For businesses, a simple discount code is an easy way to get subscribers in the door. You can also consider providing a free whitepaper, introductory call, or video lesson for those who subscribe.
For non-profit organizations, consider sharing a report, a story from your founder, or a case study that demonstrates why your organization matters.
As an email marketing agency, Pure Firefly made our lead magnet a guide to email automations, which may be useful for our potential customers.
Starting a New Popup in Mailchimp
Mailchimp’s new popup builder is a little more complex than the original. Here’s how to get started:
Navigate to “Forms” within Mailchimp and click on “Create popup form”
Choose your incentive (AKA lead magnet), or click on “View all templates”
Click Preview on any templates that interest you. Once you’ve chosen a favorite, hit “Apply.”
Give the form an internal name you can easily remember, choose your Mailchimp audience, and select email, SMS, or both. Then, hit create form.
Once you create your draft form, you’ll be ready to start designing!
How to Design Your Mailchimp Pop-up
Mailchimp’s new pop-up builder is split into 3 columns.
Steps: On the left side, you can develop the form’s logic. Each Step can be thought of as a new version of the form design, which will show up if a user takes a certain action. For example…
Offer entices website visitors with your lead magnet.
Email capture displays your form fields.
Confirmation grants access to your lead magnet
Preview: The wide center column shows previews of your Mailchimp signup form at every step. Each step will have both a desktop and mobile preview available. You can click on any one of the previews to edit that step and section.
Style: The rightmost column is where you can edit the appearance of your Mailchimp popup. Here you can change colors, fonts, images, and text sizes. It’s split into two main sections:
Typography displays the fonts used throughout your form design.
Colors shows colors used throughout the popup.
To streamline the process, consider setting your default styles as soon as you create the pop-up. That way, you don’t have to change the styles at every step.
Once you’ve created your new popup form, select or add your website URL under “Where should it show?” Click to connect manually or via the Shopify integration.
To connect manually: Mailchimp will ask to confirm the URL and connected audience, then generate a snippet of code. Embed this code on your site to enable the new pop-up.
If you’re using a platform like WordPress, Squarespace, or Wix, look for settings that let you inject code into the header. You can also use a custom code block, which is often available in your site’s page builder.
Be sure to test the popup on both desktop and mobile to confirm it’s appearing correctly.
Setting Up a Welcome Journey
After someone subscribes via your popup, you’ll want to welcome them right away. Mailchimp makes this easy with Customer Journeys.
Navigate to “Automations” and choose “Build from Scratch.”
Create a new journey in the same audience your pop-up is mapped to.
Choose the starting point “Signs up for email” and click on “Filter who can enter this journey.”
Create the following filter: Signup Source – Was – Popup Form
Hit “Use segment” and “Save Starting Point.”
Click on “Add a journey step” and choose “Send email.”
Building emails in customer journeys is very similar to building standard scheduled campaigns. In the email, thank them for joining and include a clear link to download or view your lead magnet. To start new subscribers off on the right foot, make sure your welcome email follows best practices for email design.
How to Read Your Pop-Up Report
Mailchimp’s reporting tools make it easy to understand how your popup is performing. When you view your popup report, you’ll see several key metrics:
Site Visitors: The total number of people who visited your site during the reporting period.
Unique Impressions: How many individual visitors saw the popup. This filters out multiple views from the same person.
Email Opt-In Rate: The percentage of popup viewers who subscribed with their email. This is a key metric to evaluate how compelling your form and offer are.
SMS Opt-In Rate: If your form includes phone number fields for SMS marketing, this shows the percentage of people who also opted in to receive texts.
If you want help designing a high-converting popup, crafting an automated welcome email, or setting up your Mailchimp account, Pure Firefly is here for you. We offer custom popup designs, done-for-you automation builds, and one-on-one training calls to empower you to manage your own email marketing. Contact us to get started!
Looking for the latest new Klaviyo features to improve your email and SMS marketing? Klaviyo is a powerful marketing platform designed specifically for eCommerce brands. Its latest updates give small businesses even more tools to increase sales and engagement. From advanced analytics to seamless omnichannel marketing, here’s what’s new in Klaviyo.
Klaviyo’s New Marketing Analytics
Klaviyo’s Marketing Analytics add-on takes your data to the next level. This premium feature helps eCommerce brands analyze purchase patterns, track customer cohorts, and optimize automated flows based on customer behavior.
In 2025, social proof is absolutely essential for small business success. By integrating reviews into your marketing emails, you build trust and help potential buyers feel confident in their purchases. Klaviyo makes it easy to showcase customer reviews, with new features like:
Viewing and managing reviews directly in Klaviyo
Easily dropping star ratings and testimonials into your email campaigns
Syncing reviews across Shopify, the Shop app, and other platforms
The new review features from Klaviyo streamline the entire process, so you can spend less time worrying about reviews and more time making sales.
Omnichannel Campaign Builder (in Beta)
Klaviyo’s new Omnichannel Campaign Builder—currently in beta—lets you align your messaging across email, SMS, and other marketing channels. This feature is especially valuable if you:
Need to deliver multi-channel campaigns to clients or higher-ups
Want consistent branding and timing across different platforms
Manage campaigns that involve multiple marketing touchpoints
Need to plan in advance for Black Friday and other major holidays
Klaviyo is actively improving this tool, so keep an eye out for more updates! Pure Firefly predicts a complete public launch is on the horizon for this year.
Boost Conversions with Customer Hub (in Beta)
The Customer Hub is a game-changer for eCommerce brands using Shopify and other platforms. This new feature creates a side menu where customers can log in while shopping, giving them instant access to:
Personalized product recommendations
Order history and tracking
Live support chat
Exclusive offers or loyalty rewards
By keeping shoppers engaged without disrupting their experience, the Customer Hub can help boost conversions and drive repeat purchases. If you haven’t already, be sure to enable this feature in your Klaviyo account!
Backfill Anonymous Shopper Activity
Klaviyo now uses Shopify’s web pixel to track and sync anonymous shopper behavior. This allows you to effectively target potential customers before they log in or make a purchase. When you backfill anonymous shopper activity, you can see:
Products a subscriber viewed before signing up
Customer interactions from previous website visits
Even more possibilities for personalized follow-up emails
As of 2025, this feature is Shopify-specific, but it’s expected to roll out to other eCommerce platforms soon.
Make the Most of New Klaviyo Features with Pure Firefly
Want to implement these new Klaviyo features but don’t know where to start? Pure Firefly specializes in Klaviyo email marketing, automation, and campaign strategy. Whether you need custom templates, advanced segmentation, or expert guidance, we’re here to help. Contact us today and let’s elevate your email marketing!
