Mailchimp

Unmasking Real Email Engagement: Mailchimp’s Bot Filtering Explained

Unmasking Real Email Engagement: Mailchimp’s Bot Filtering Explained

/ Mailchimp How-To /

When you look at your email marketing dashboard, a high open or click rate feels like an immediate win. But behind those rising percentages, automated security tools, email provider scans, and privacy protocols are often silently clicking through your links and opening your messages before a human ever touches them.

Mailchimp’s bot filtering feature addresses this exact problem by stripping automated noise out of account reports, giving marketers a clear view of genuine human activity.

Why Fake Traffic Skews Marketing Strategy

Automated security filters analyze incoming emails to protect users from malicious links. When these systems crawl a message, the platform records an open or click.

This creates inflated engagement metrics, making it nearly impossible to evaluate what actually resonates with your audience.

Filtering this traffic alters how you view key metrics:

  • Open Rates: Bot traffic pushes numbers artificially high via background pre-renderers, but filtering reveals actual inbox reads.
  • Click-Through Rates: Security crawls register as false user interest, whereas filtering pinpoints deliberate link clicks.
  • Audience Segmentation: Ghost clicks can accidentally trigger automated workflows; filtering ensures your automation targets real readers

How to Manage Bot Filtering Settings

Because bot filtering is enabled by default across your account, you will want to know where to adjust these preferences to compare your raw metrics against filtered data. To customize these configurations, navigate to your desktop dashboard, click Analytics, and select Analytics settings (or click the green Bot filtering on status indicator). From there, you can use the toggles within the Bot activity section to adjust your global reporting preferences at any time.

The Impact on Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP)

Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) operates by automatically making a copy of incoming emails and downloading tracking pixels in the background. Once MPP pre-fetches and reads the email on Apple’s servers, it registers as an open, leaving no definitive way to know whether the actual recipient has opened the message or not.

To combat this inflation, Mailchimp’s system isolates and strips these artificial MPP opens from your marketing reports. However, because the filter automatically removes the cached pre-fetch data and cannot verify if the real recipient eventually opened the message, your bot-filtered open rates will now skew lower than the actual human open rate.

Moving Beyond Open Rates

Removing bot traffic provides cleaner baseline data, but email strategy shouldn’t rely on open and click metrics alone. Pair filtered engagement reports with downstream metrics—such as form submissions, actual sales, unsubscribe rates, and bounce trends—to build a complete picture of your audience’s behavior.

Uncover Your Real Audience with Pure Firefly

Cleaner data is only as valuable as the strategy behind it. Schedule a call with our team to help interpret your newly filtered analytics, adjust ghost-triggered workflows, or talk through a complete strategy for your small business or nonprofit. If you’re unsure how deeply bot traffic has skewed your historical data, our Mailchimp Audit is a great place to start!

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Building Interactive Mailchimp Emails without Coding

/ Mailchimp How-To, Marketing Strategy /

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.

an email poll with the question "who are you shopping for" and 3 options: Women, Men, and Kids. Each option has an image of a model in fashionable clothing.

  1. Ask your audience a question, like “Who are you shopping for?”
  2. Add 2-4 images, each one reflecting one answer. For example, you may have an image for “Myself,” “My Spouse,” and “My Kids.”
  3. Create a Mailchimp landing page for each option or redirect to a relevant page on your site.
  4. 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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

Pair these methods with email design best practices and you’ll increase both engagement and sales!

Create Interactive Moments with GIFs

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.

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mailchimp's new popup builder

How to Use Mailchimp’s New Popup Builder

/ Mailchimp How-To, Marketing Strategy /

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:

  1. Navigate to “Forms” within Mailchimp and click on “Create popup form”
  2. Choose your incentive (AKA lead magnet), or click on “View all templates”
  3. Click Preview on any templates that interest you. Once you’ve chosen a favorite, hit “Apply.”
  4. 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.

a screenshot of mailchimp's new popup builder with steps on the left, preview at the top, and style on the right

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.

If you’re a less tech-savvy Mailchimp user, you may benefit from a quick training call before you build your first form. Pure Firefly’s Mailchimp experts are here to help!

Connecting a New Mailchimp Popup to Your Website

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. 

  1. Navigate to “Automations” and choose “Build from Scratch.”
  2. Create a new journey in the same audience your pop-up is mapped to. 
  3. Choose the starting point “Signs up for email” and click on “Filter who can enter this journey.”
  4. Create the following filter: Signup Source – Was – Popup Form 
  5. Hit “Use segment” and “Save Starting Point.”
  6. 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:

  1. Site Visitors: The total number of people who visited your site during the reporting period.
  2. Unique Impressions: How many individual visitors saw the popup. This filters out multiple views from the same person.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

Review these numbers regularly to identify areas for improvement. Keep an eye on your welcome email’s standard engagement analytics too!

Need Help? Contact Pure Firefly

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!

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Converting Word Docs into Mailchimp Emails

How to Convert a Word Document into a Mailchimp Email

/ Email Basics, Mailchimp How-To /

So, you’ve created an email in a Word document and need to send it through Mailchimp. You’re likely wondering how to transfer the content into a Mailchimp email without losing formatting. While Mailchimp doesn’t allow direct uploads of Word files, you can easily copy your text and images into a Mailchimp email template while keeping it clean and professional – Here’s how!

Why Convert from Word to Mailchimp?

Many new Mailchimp users assume they can upload a Word document and send it as an email directly, but this isn’t the case. Microsoft Word formatting doesn’t translate directly to email HTML. This can cause spacing issues, misaligned text, or other unexpected changes – Even deliverability issues! By properly copying your Word document into Mailchimp’s template builder, you ensure your email looks great on all devices and maintains a consistent style.

Pasting Text into Your Mailchimp Template

To transfer your content seamlessly, start by moving the email’s text into MailChimp. Follow these steps:

  1. Divide your email text into sections. Use subheadings, bulleted lists, images, or signatures for guidance. You can have multiple paragraphs in one section, but make sure each paragraph is no more than 3 lines long.
  2. Add your first text block. Locate the content blocks on the left side of Mailchimp’s template builder. Click on “Paragraph,” hold your mouse down, and drag the block into the preview on the right side of the page.
  3. Copy in your text. Copy the first section of text from your Word document. Paste it into the text block without formatting (use Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows or Cmd+Shift+V on Mac).
  4. Set your formatting. Use the top toolbar to add bullet points, italics, and bold text as needed. If the first section of text is a heading, set it to Heading 1. Set subheadings to Heading 2, and leave all body text set to Paragraph.
  5. Repeat the process. Copy and paste all text from your .doc or .docx, working section-by-section to ensure clean formatting.

Adding Images to Your Mailchimp Email

If you have images in your email draft, you’ll first need to extract them from the Word document. You can follow this guide from Microsoft, or just screenshot each image if you’re in a pinch.

  1. Add Image Blocks: In Mailchimp’s email builder, click “image” on the left side menu. Hold your mouse down and drag the block where you want the image to appear.
  2. Insert Images: Click on the grey box where you’ve dragged an image block. Click “Add” to upload an image from your computer or Mailchimp’s content studio.
  3. Adjust Appearance: Use the left side menu to alter the image size, alignment, borders, and more. Click “Styles” for even more detailed formatting options
  4. Use Layouts: If you want to place images and text side-by-side, try adding a layout block. Click “Layouts” on the left side menu and drag in the block that most matches the appearance you’re looking for.

If you have large images in your email, be sure to optimize your files for proper delivery.

Refining Your Mailchimp Template Styles

Once text and images from your Word doc are in place, you’re ready to customize the email’s design. Click on your email’s grey background to pull up the content block options, then click “Styles” on the leftmost menu – Look for the paint bucket icon.

  • Text Styles: Use the Text Styles menu to determine how each text style appears. For example, you can have 16px black body text and 30px blue headings!
  • Background Color: Choose colors that complement your branding. Body color refers to the area where your text and images appear, while background color refers to the area around your email content (this is usually grey by default).
  • Mobile Styles: Preview and adjust the mobile version to ensure a responsive design. Pay attention to the padding settings, which have a major effect on how images appear for mobile viewers.

For more guidance on mobile style settings, check out this guide from Mailchimp’s help center.

Simplify Your Process with a Template by Pure Firefly

Converting a Word document into a Mailchimp email works, but it can be a lengthy process. For a truly polished and professional look, consider using a custom email template. At Pure Firefly, we design Mailchimp templates that streamline your email creation process and ensure brand consistency across platforms.

Contact us today to get started with a template tailored to your needs!

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Mailchimp's 5 new time saving features with pure firefly logo icon

5 New Time-Saving Features from Mailchimp

/ Mailchimp How-To, Product Reviews /

In 2025, Mailchimp has rolled out several new features to make email marketing more efficient and user-friendly. These new features can help you streamline your campaigns and improve engagement, from improvements to the email builder to better automation tools. Here are five Mailchimp updates worth exploring this year.

SMS Shortcodes & A/B Testing

Mailchimp has expanded its SMS marketing capabilities, now allowing users to send messages using shortcodes. These short, memorable numbers help recipients recognize and engage with your texts more easily. Short codes also help with deliverability, ensuring messages reach customers faster.

Additionally, Mailchimp now supports A/B testing for SMS campaigns. This means you can test different messages, timing, or CTAs to see what resonates best with your audience—just like you would with email. If SMS marketing is part of your strategy, these updates offer more ways to refine your approach.

New Builder: Mobile Editor

In 2025, mobile responsiveness plays a huge role in email engagement. Thankfully, Mailchimp has updated its new template builder to improve mobile optimization. No more switching between preview modes—Mailchimp now lets you edit emails in both desktop and mobile views.

Just switch to “mobile” within the New Builder to see what your email will look like on a smartphone. Plus, you can now edit mobile styles block-by-block for more flexible and responsive designs.

Improved Customer Journey Builder

New features from Mailchimp include updates to their automation tools. The latest improvements to the Customer Journey Builder include:

  • The ability to move contacts to another path after an If/Else branch
  • An intuitive drag-and-drop interface
  • The option to pause a single step while the journey is still active

These updates give you more flexibility when crafting automated email sequences, allowing you to easily build relationships with your customers and boost conversions. For help with the updated journey builder, consider contacting a Mailchimp expert like Pure Firefly.

Mailchimp’s New Comparative Reports

Want to see how different audience segments engage with your emails over time? Mailchimp’s new Comparative Reports feature lets you analyze trends across different segments. For example, you can compare click rates across the past 20 campaigns for customers vs. non-customers.

Comparative reporting insights can help you better understand your audience and craft strategic messages.

New Builder: Edit in Sections

New features in the Mailchimp builder now allow you to edit your email in sections. This makes it easier than ever to adjust the header, footer, and body content without having to tweak each element individually. This feature saves time and ensures consistency across your campaigns.

Updated Canva Integration

For those who design their email visuals in Canva, this update is a game-changer. Mailchimp’s improved integration now allows users to switch more seamlessly between platforms, making it faster and easier to pull in branded graphics without exporting and re-importing image files.

Make the Most of Mailchimp with Pure Firefly

With all these updates, now is a great time to optimize your email strategy. If you need help making the most of Mailchimp’s new features, Pure Firefly is here to help. 

Whether you’re setting up a new automation, testing SMS campaigns, or refining your email designs, we can guide you through the process. Check out our blog for more email marketing insights, or contact us for support with your next campaign.

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designing for dark mode in mailchimp

Designing for Dark Mode in Mailchimp’s New Template Builder

/ Mailchimp How-To, Marketing Strategy /

Dark mode in Mailchimp is becoming essential for email marketers as more users adopt dark mode settings on their devices. Ensuring your emails look great in this environment can improve user experience and engagement. Here’s how to design emails that shine, even in the dark.

How Dark Mode Works

Dark mode is an option that allows users to view their interface with a black or dark grey background and white text. Some people use this option to reduce eyestrain when browsing at night, and others simply prefer it.

For email marketers, dark mode can entirely change the appearance of the design. Inbox providers handle dark mode differently:

  • Some invert colors entirely, altering hues and brightness.
  • Others keep the original design but adjust backgrounds and text colors.
  • A few modify only specific elements like links or buttons.

With the wide variety of ways different platforms can convert emails for dark mode, it can be challenging for marketers to ensure their emails still look good for all recipients. Here are some tips to help users optimize their emails for dark mode in Mailchimp’s new builder.

Making Images Work in Dark Mode

Images can present particular challenges when designing for dark mode. Here are some tips to keep them looking great on all devices:

  1. Use transparent backgrounds – To avoid a blocky appearance, use transparent backgrounds for all light-colored graphics.
  2. Add a glow – For black logos or text-based graphics, apply a white glow or stroke to maintain visibility on dark backgrounds.

Optimizing your image sizes is always important too. This can help reduce load times and ensure visual balance on mobile devices.

Choosing Colors for Dark Mode

When choosing colors for dark mode in Mailchimp emails, focus on contrast and flexibility:

  • Avoid Pure Black or White: Instead, use deep greys and soft whites. This can improve visibility once colors are inverted for dark mode.
  • High-Contrast Design: Ensure text, buttons, and backgrounds remain legible by selecting colors with strong contrast ratios.
  • Accessible Links: Use underlines or bold text to make links noticeable without relying solely on color changes.

Because there is so much variation in dark mode rendering across platforms, it is essential to test and adjust colors to ensure they are visually appealing when inverted, lightened, or simply placed on a dark background.

Optimizing Mailchimp Emails for Mobile

Mobile devices are the most common place users enable dark mode, so optimizing your emails for mobile is non-negotiable. Mailchimp has a few options to improve your emails’ mobile display:

  1. Use the mobile styles menu to adjust the way your email renders on mobile devices
  2. Adjust padding settings as needed to ensure proper alignment
  3. Consider setting a unique button, link, and divider color for mobile

Keep in mind that Mailchimp’s multiple-column layouts will stack vertically on mobile – There is no way to alter this setting.

Mailchimp’s Dark Mode Limitations

Mailchimp is a powerful and responsive email marketing tool. However, it does have some limitations when it comes to dark mode. 

Mailchimp does not have a built-in dark mode preview, so users need to rely on test emails to review designs. Additionally, Mailchimp does not allow you to code for specific colors or images to appear in dark mode or light mode – There is only one version of the design, which is then modified by the email inbox itself.

One smaller limitation some users have noticed is the design of Mailchimp’s social media icons. If you use a social media icon block, avoid placing it on a pure white or black background. The icons will not adjust in dark mode, so they can easily become invisible when the background color changes.

Testing Dark Mode in Mailchimp

As with any design changes, testing is essential to make sure dark mode alterations work as intended. In Mailchimp, the best way to test emails for dark mode is to send a test email to multiple inboxes. 

Cover your bases by sending a test email to users on some of the most popular email platforms:

  • Gmail
  • Apple Mail
  • Outlook
  • Yahoo

Open the email in dark mode on mobile and desktop devices, and note any differences you see across platforms!

Refine Your Email Templates with Pure Firefly

Navigating dark mode in Mailchimp can be tricky, but you don’t have to do it alone. Pure Firefly specializes in email designs that work seamlessly across all platforms, including dark mode optimization. Contact us today to elevate your email marketing strategy!

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How to Use Mailchimp’s Segment Builder

/ Mailchimp How-To, Marketing Strategy /

The Mailchimp Segment Builder is an essential tool for targeting the right audience with personalized emails. By creating segments based on subscriber behavior, demographics, or preferences, you can boost engagement and drive results. In this article, we’ll show you how to use this tool to send messages that truly resonate with your audience.

What is a Mailchimp Segment?

In Mailchimp, a segment is defined as a flexible category of contacts, identified using one or more conditions. Sometimes, I like to think of it as a filter. You build a segment by determining what category of contacts you’re looking for (ex. Most engaged subscribers), then defining that category with pre-built conditions (ex. Opened all of the last 5 emails). 

Segments have a few unique qualities that distinguish them from groups and tags:

  • Segments are flexible: The number of contacts in a segment may change over time as new people match the conditions you’ve set. 
  • Segments are specific: Using the segment builder, you can categorize contacts based on super granular details. For example, you can create a segment of contacts with the first name “Greg.” 
  • Segments are logical: Building a segment can sometimes feel like solving a puzzle. Check out this article from Mailchimp for more info on segment builder logic.

 

Why Do I Need Segments for Email Marketing?

 

When many people start doing email marketing, they begin by sending all emails to their entire contact list. This can be a great way to stay top-of-mind, but as you continue to send more emails, you may find your engagement dropping over time. Segments can help you maximize conversions by targeting the right people with the right messages. For example, you can exclude people who already used a coupon from your “Last Chance – Get 20% Off” email!

 

Understanding Mailchimp’s Regular Segment Builder Interface

If you’re new to Mailchimp segments, I strongly recommend using the regular segment builder to get started. The regular segment builder has a simple interface and fewer menus to click through compared to the advanced segment builder. 

Here’s how to use the segment builder:

  1. Navigate to your All Contacts page and hit “Create New Segment”
  2. Regular segment builder will open automatically for free plan users. IIf on a paid plan: Choose “Regular Segment.”
  3. Click on “Select or search a filter” to identify your first condition
  4. Hit “Add filter” to add more than one condition
  5. Toggle between and/or to determine how conditions should be combined
  6. Click “Preview Segment” to view the contacts in your segment
  7. Hit “Save as segment” to give the Segment a title and easily return to it again

screenshot of the regular segment builder with conditions for tags and groups

Mailchimp’s Filter Options

Mailchimp offers a wide variety of filters to define your segment. In the regular segment builder, these include:

  • Tags
  • Groups
  • Contact Details (AKA Audience Fields)
  • Date Added + Signup Source
  • Email, SMS, & Automation Engagement

When you’re getting started with Mailchimp’s filter options, it can be helpful to identify 1-3 segments you may want to target. Then, work backwards to identify which filters will give you the right contacts.

 

When to Use And vs. Or Segments

Some new Mailchimp users have a hard time choosing between “And” and “Or” logic in their segments. “And” logic will pull a smaller category of contacts, only including those that match all of the conditions you define. An “Or” segment will pull a larger number of contacts, including those who match one or more of the conditions. 

When in doubt, trial and error is a great way to choose between the two. Try setting up “Or” logic – Is the segment returning a larger portion of your audience than you’d like? If so, an “And” condition is probably what you need. Over time, you’ll build familiarity with when to use what logic.

In the regular segment builder, all conditions must be either “And” or “Or” – You cannot mix the two. This is different from the advanced segment builder, where you can combine both kinds of logic.

5 Segments You Can Copy

Every business is different, but many email marketing efforts have similar goals in mind. To help your marketing excel, try saving these 5 segments for future use:

  1. Nonsubscribed & Unsubscribed Contacts
    Use this segment to archive non subscribed & unsubscribed contacts every month. This helps keep your Mailchimp bill low! 
  2. Disengaged Contacts
    Target this segment with a re-engagement campaign roughly once a quarter to remove disinterested contacts from your list. 
  3. Highly Engaged Contacts
    Send special offers and additional messages to this list. At least 1 of every 3 emails sent should go to a targeted segment, like your highly engaged contacts. 
  4. New & Moderately Engaged Contacts
    These contacts are a great candidate for less pressing emails, like a midweek reminder during a week-long sale. 
  5. Lapsed Customers
    When customers buy a product and never return, it’s a sign your business can serve them better. Try targeting this segment with special discounts or a feedback survey to see how you can do better. 
  6. Location-Based Segments
    If you have an in-person presence, be sure to send a few targeted emails to contacts in your local area. 

Mailchimp’s Advanced Segment Builder

Once you’re familiar with the regular segment builder, you may want to try building some advanced segments. Advanced segments offer the same options as the regular builder, but with flexibility. For example, a regular segment can filter out people that clicked on a recent email, while advanced segments can target people who clicked on one particular link within that email campaign.

As you build advanced segments, pay close attention to your and/or conditions and the use of negative filters. Because advanced segments allow you to combine and/or conditions, the logic can get harder to follow the more conditions you add. However, the combined logic can help you identify an extremely specific category of contacts.

Contact Pure Firefly for Segmentation Help

Creating well-defined segments can transform your email marketing efforts, but it takes practice to get it just right. If you’re feeling stuck or need guidance, the expert team at Pure Firefly is here to help. From one-on-one training calls, to template designs and complete account audits, we’ll make sure your Mailchimp account is set up for success. 

Contact us today to get started!

 

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Nail Your Holiday Email Marketing: 5 Mailchimp Features

/ Mailchimp How-To, Marketing Strategy /

As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to maximize your emails’ impact. Mailchimp has rolled out some exciting new features to help you craft engaging, professional emails with ease. Whether you’re fine-tuning your newsletter or boosting sales, these updates are perfect for making the most of your holiday email marketing in 2024.

1. Mailchimp’s AI Content Suggestions

Let Mailchimp’s built-in AI take the guesswork out of email creation! This powerful feature can help you generate:

  • Image alt text: Boost accessibility with alt text for all images & graphics.
  • Email copy: Quickly draft holiday promos and announcements.
  • Subject lines: Craft attention-grabbing preheader text

Like any AI tool, we recommend giving the generated content a quick tune-up to correct any errors or awkward phrasing. From our experience as Pro-Partners, this tool is a great way to save time, especially during busy marketing seasons!

2. Re-Send to Non-Openers in Browser

Good news: you can now re-send emails to non-openers directly in your browser, a feature previously only available on mobile. This is a great way to make sure no one misses your top-priority emails.

Pro tip: Use this feature mindfully – Re-sending too much can lead to increased spam reports and lower engagement. Focus on your most critical, time-sensitive campaigns to avoid overwhelming subscribers. For more info on sending schedules, check out our article on send frequency.

3. New Header, Body, and Footer Styling Options

Mailchimp’s new builder makes consistent email design easier than ever. As of 2024, new builder users can now separate their email into header, body, and footer sections. Then, users can set unique styles for each section. This makes it easier than ever to use alternating background colors without going block-by-block or layout-by layout.

If you spend a lot of time in the new template builder, you know this is a holiday game changer!

4. Rounded Corners, Margins and Borders

Add some pizazz to your holiday emails with Mailchimp’s updated styling options. Here are some of our favorite functionalities launched in 2024:

  • Image Rounding: Use the options under “Rounded Corners” to give your images a rounder, more friendly appearance.
  • Borders: Outline any layout or content block to draw attention to it. Choose your style (dotted, solid, etc.) and any color!
  • Margins: Available on text and layout blocks, margins help create an organized appearance for all your content.

 

These features make it easier than ever to add personality & visual appeal to your holiday emails. Give them a try on your own, or book a one-on-one walkthrough.

 

5. Product Recommendations

This feature was actually included in the launch of Mailchimp’s new template builder, and it continues to deliver for e-commerce users! Add the block to your template, choose how many products you want to display, and Mailchimp will pull info directly from your website.

Users can choose to display:

  • Items a subscriber has recently viewed
  • Products left in a subscriber’s cart
  • Top-selling items
  • Newly-added inventory

This smart tool helps feature the most relevant and enticing products, perfect for driving holiday sales.

Need Help with Holiday Email Marketing in 2024?

Pure Firefly’s email marketing experts are here to make your holiday campaigns a success. Book a training call to get hands-on assistance with all things Mailchimp. We also offer campaign strategy, template design, and complete account audits. 

Let’s make this holiday season a success!

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Your Mission in Motion: Storytelling and Email Automations Webinar

/ Marketing Strategy, Workshops & Webinars /

Wondering how and why to create email automations in Mailchimp? Join us for the upcoming webinar, Your Mission in Motion: Storytelling and Email Automations. We’ll teach you how to create impactful, automated email journeys to expand your organization’s reach and increase engagement. Plus, participants will receive up to 20% off Mailchimp’s standard plan!

Register Today

Why Attend?

If you’ve been wondering how to set up email automations or want to explore what Mailchimp Customer Journeys can do for your organization, this webinar is for you. Learn why automations are an essential email marketing strategy, especially for nonprofits. We’ll break things down at a beginner-friendly level. Even if you’re new to Mailchimp, you’ll leave with practical tools to tell your story through email automations.

 

What You’ll Learn:

  1. Create Automated Emails: Get familiar with the basics of email automation using Mailchimp’s Customer Journey Builder.
  2. Tell Your Story: Craft an email sequence that tells your organization’s story and connects emotionally with your supporters.
  3. Fine-tune Your Strategy: Learn the best strategies for email automations, including timing, if/else branches, and more!

 

Webinar Details:

  • Date: October 9th, 2pm – 2:45pm EST
  • Cost: $19.99

You won’t want to miss this Storytelling and Email Automations Webinar. Take your email marketing to the next level and boost engagement with automated emails that showcase your nonprofit’s mission. All registrants will receive a link to review the recording afterward, even if you can’t make it!

Register Now to secure your spot and start automating with ease.

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