strategy

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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nonprofit email marketing experts looking at laptop with AI icon and pure firefly logo

Which AI Should Power Your Emails? ChatGPT vs. Gemini vs. NotebookLM

/ Email Basics, Marketing Strategy /

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:

  1. Warm Writing Style: It often sounds the most “human” and is great at mimicking a specific brand voice.
  2. Easy to Use: The interface is extremely simple, like a text conversation.
  3. Strong Free Version: Free “mini” models are fast and capable for basic drafting.

Cons:

  1. Hallucinations: ChatGPT will sometimes invent facts out of thin air. This is why it’s so important to keep a human in the loop.
  2. 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:

  1. Real-Time Info: Gemini is excellent at pulling in current events—perfect for adding industry news to your newsletters.
  2. Workspace Sync: If you’re already drafting in Docs, Gemini can be a huge time-saver by updating directly in your document.
  3. Multimodal: Gemini handles images and data analysis very smoothly, allowing for easy wireframe and design creation

Cons:

  1. Safety Filters: Gemini has sensitive safety filters and will refuse to draft content that falls outside of them.
  2. 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:

  1. No Hallucinations: Because NotebookLM has to cite your sources, it’s generally more accurate for niche topics.
  2. Research-Minded: NotebookLM is built to reference, compare, and combine resources you provide. This makes it great at summarizing impact reports!
  3. Audio Overviews: It can turn your documents into a “podcast-style” conversation to help you hear your ideas in a new way.

Cons:

  1. Less Creative: NotebookLM better at summarizing and explaining than it is at writing from scratch, which can make it less effective for drafting copy.
  2. 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!

Contact Pure Firefly today to level up your email marketing program!

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How Gmail’s Latest Updates Reshape Email Marketing

/ Marketing Strategy /

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.

In this landscape, interactive emails and segmentation are key strategies to outperform your competitors.

Deliverability Now Depends on Engagement

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:

  1. Sending content aligned with subscriber interests
  2. Removing inactive subscribers regularly
  3. Writing clear subject lines that set expectations
  4. 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 the Pure 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.Modern digital art logo for Pure Firefly, showcasing vibrant colors and creative design.

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Do’s & Dont’s: Using AI in Nonprofit Email Campaigns

/ Marketing Strategy /

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:

  1. Be specific & contextual: Provide specifications for your email’s content, length, goals, CTAs, and brand voice in order to get the best results.
    1. 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. 
  2. 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
    1. 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. 
  3. 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.
    1. Example: Good start! Condense this email’s length by 30%, make the tone more conversational, and add our tagline “Making waves in wellness.” 
  4. 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.
    1. 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. 
  5. 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.
    1. 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.

  1. Check factual accuracy: AI is known to make assumptions, or even hallucinate false information. Review your content for any false assertions. 
  2. 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. 
  3. 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:

  1. Hallucinations & fabrications: AI sometimes confidently states false facts, names, or data. This is easiest to catch and refine with a human eye.

  2. 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. 
  3. 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.

For more subject line inspiration, check out our list of 100 high-performing subject lines for nonprofits!

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!

Do’s & Dont’s: Using AI in Nonprofit Email Campaigns Read More »

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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Top 5 New Klaviyo Features for Small Businesses

/ Klaviyo How-To, Marketing Strategy /

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. 

Whether you’re building your first email automations or fine-tuning your segmentation strategy, these deeper analytics make it easier than ever. You can learn more about Marketing Analytics here.

Share Reviews with Potential Customers

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!

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2025 email marketing predictions over a new year themed background

Email Marketing Predictions for 2025

/ Marketing Strategy, Uncategorized /

The landscape of email marketing in 2025 is evolving rapidly, with new trends shaping how brands engage with their audiences. As we look ahead, understanding these shifts can help marketers stay competitive and drive better results. Here are our top predictions for email marketing in 2025.

Automated Emails are In

In 2025, automated email campaigns will continue to dominate. With tools like Mailchimp’s Customer Journeys, businesses can create sequences that adapt to subscriber behavior, boosting engagement and efficiency. Automation frees up time and ensures your messages land at the perfect moment, making it a must-have strategy for marketers looking to scale. 

Need help setting up automations? Schedule a live training session.

Monthly Newsletters are In

As inboxes become more crowded, quality over quantity is the key to standing out. In 2025, expect to see a shift back to monthly newsletters that provide value-packed updates in a single, polished email. These newsletters allow brands to stay top-of-mind without overwhelming subscribers, creating a balance that fosters trust and long-term loyalty. 

Monthly newsletters are also an ideal strategy for small businesses and nonprofits, given their lower cost and time requirements.

AI Generated Images are Out

While AI has revolutionized content creation, AI-generated images are losing favor in email marketing. Subscribers increasingly value authenticity and originality, and overly synthetic visuals can feel impersonal. Additionally, some social media users have expressed concern over AI-generated content flooding popular platforms.

Over time, we may see AI images make a comeback as the tools available improve. For now, though, marketers are leaning on custom graphics and user-generated content to build a genuine connection.

Re-Sending to Nonopeners is Out

Re-sending emails to nonopeners was once a highly effective tactic, but in 2025, it’s falling out of favor. This approach risks higher spam complaints and reduced deliverability, especially as email platforms like Gmail crack down on repetitive messaging. Instead, try tweaking an email’s content before sending it again, so it feels fresh every time.

Start Your 2025 Marketing Strong with Pure Firefly

Ready to take your email marketing to the next level? At Pure Firefly, we specialize in helping small businesses and nonprofits create engaging, data-driven email marketing campaigns and strategies. Whether you’re building automated journeys or crafting standout newsletters, we’re here to help. Contact us today to start your 2025 email marketing strategy with confidence!

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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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