In my previous job, I always wanted to learn how to make a newsletter in MailChimp. However, my company back home had an email manager and there was no chance for me to learn from her. This is why one of my first initiative at the Host Organization was to modify their internal newsletter to make it more modern. It turned out they had some discussions about it prior to me arrival, so I easily received an approval.
One of the first things you have to decide is whether you start with free account or a paid one. If your audience is less than 2,000 people, free account would suffice. But remember that no technical support is available should you choose to make some economy on it. Free account also means you can’t apply segmetization. If you don’t know what it is, then you may not need this for a time being.
From the very beginning, it’s essential to keep your emails database clean. Different countries have different legislation on personal data protection with European Union and Russia being extremely serious about it. In case at any given time you are not able to prove that all subscribers signed up for your newsletter knowingly, the email company reserves a right to block you which means that you lose all subscribers’ email addresses, all previous campaigns with statistics, and any other information that was automatically gathered and could be used for marketing purposes. How to avoid it? Be patient and grow the audience organically through sign-up form at the website or blog.
Finally, think about any pictures you may use in the newsletter. Most people don’t recommend using photos from Google or other search engine. Just because it’s in the Internet, it’s not free; every image has an owner. Instead, sign up for free photo stocks or make photo content yourself if you feel inclined.
Of course, there are much more tips and details. Feel free to share your experience and share your thoughts, especially if you disagree.
