Starting with MailChimp #2: List Building and Data Architecture
A look at some key considerations as you get going with email marketing via MailChimp.
Getting setup with an account is only the first step toward unlocking the full potential of email. Once you dig into your dashboard, you’ll quickly realize the screen is rather blank. Regardless of which platform you’re using, the next step will be to import existing contacts and then to create opt-in forms and other acquisition channels for new subscribers to join your list.
Like many other software and services providers, MailChimp (MC) has a welcome series which you are enrolled in if you checked the box during registration. Shortly after creating your account and logging in for the first time, you’ll receive a message in your inbox that looks like the one below. The remainder of this article will be broken into three sections which examine data architecture, importing contact data, and acquiring new subscribers and their data.
Data Architecture
As you begin working with contact data, you’ll want to think in terms of hierarchies.
In most scenarios, the best approach is to capture all of your contacts in a single master list. This allows you to easily track engagement across campaigns and between the contact segments you will later specify. The implementation of a master list/database also makes regulatory compliance with CAN-SPAM and CASL easier. This is especially true in MailChimp because they do not support the use of a global suppression list. This means that if you maintain multiple lists, someone could still get emails from you after opting out of your communications. Unless you manage communications for multiple legal entities, this would constitute a violation of CAN-SPAM and/or CASL. Furthermore, MailChimp’s pricing tiers are based on subscriber count. If you have duplicate entries across multiple lists, you will be counting those contacts twice against your total contact count. If the complexity of your business mandates multiple databases to accommodate such things as custom APIs with external, proprietary data pools and regulatory compliance in multiple countries or regions, you should evaluate other vendors for your email marketing needs before continuing.
The first step in designing a flexible database that supports your business objectives is to identify your business objectives as they relate to email communications. Are you trying to strengthen existing relationships or build new ones? Is there a high amount of turnover in your list? What kind of activities or events would it be important to build communications around? These considerations and your business goals will determine the best data structure for your email lists.
Once you’ve established goals (or had them handed to you), your work begins with outlining the fields you would like to capture from each of your contacts. These will likely fall into several categories such as contact data, product data, and behavioral data. Some standard fields to capture in an opt-in form would be:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Lead Source (this may mirror or be tied to a CRM)
- Lead Status (this may mirror or be tied to a CRM)
- Phone
- Address
- Product Brand
- Product Name
Just as important as capturing the data you’ll want to leverage is streamlining opt-in forms by removing data you won’t use. For instance, asking for Phone Number will decrease your conversions and is only useful if you intend to call them or communicate via SMS.
MC also offers you the ability to capture information via hidden fields. This is useful for keeping track of which landing page or offer a contact was originally attracted by.
In addition to capturing information from your contacts during the opt-in process, MailChimp tracks certain behavioral attributes such as when a contact was enrolled, whether they’ve unsubscribed, the last email they opened, and which emails they’ve opened.
As you add fields to the outline, you’ll also want to consider the format that data should have. MailChimp supports a variety of field types such as text, number, and date as well as some more advanced fields for single and multiple selections via radio buttons, check boxes, or drop downs. MC also supports custom field types for birthday, URL, and even uploaded images.
Importing Contact Data
Perhaps you’ve collected leads in another life before signing up for MailChimp. Fortunately, MC makes it easy to bring those contacts into the fold. To start, simply export a .csv file from your existing database. Now look over the data and ensure the fields reflect the field names in MC and the data is formatted consistently. Then import your .csv file into MC.
While you may have a need to later import contact data as you carry-out various campaigns, it is important that these contacts be added to the master database rather than to a new list. You can flag them with a unique field or field value during import so that you can follow-up with them via customized communications later, without contacting your entire list.
For step-by-step instructions, feel free to visit the MC knowledge base.
Acquiring New Subscribers and Their Data
Now you’ve laid out the fields in your list and imported whatever contact data you already had. What next? Well, if you plan to grow your business, you’ll want a way to capture new contacts. Using MC, the easiest way to do this is with a form.
You’ll probably start with a form hosted on your website. After you create your first list, you’ll be presented with the following screen.
So, assuming you didn’t have previous contacts and are feeling awfully lonely at the moment, you’ll go ahead and create a form. Now, doing so will pull up a screen that describes some of the options for opt-in forms. If you’re planning to plop it down on your website, then the option you want looks like this:
You’ll go ahead and select that option and then build your form on the next screen. The MC form wizard makes this process really simple. If you don’t have the fields you want in the form, just click over to the Form Builder and tweak the settings there. Then come right back to the embedded form wizard. After adjusting it to your liking, you’ll scroll down a bit and grab the HTML code it generates for you.
Like I said, it really couldn’t be easier. If your site host/design package doesn’t allow you to manipulate raw code on the page, MC has a ton of other options for you. Their form builder is extremely user friendly and doesn’t require much technical expertise to leverage effectively.
While we use hosted forms on our site, that doesn’t work in every instance. Below I’ve included a link to subscribe to our emails via a hosted form. This is a great way to drive leads from sites such as Facebook or Twitter to which you cannot simply upload the code for your embedded form.
For more advanced users, MC offers a variety of integrations and API you can use to acquire new subscribers.
Now take a shot at getting your own lists and forms setup and comment below with any hurdles or successes you experience.
Jonathan Escaliér is the Director of Business Development at EmailSorcery.com. In his free time, he enjoys SCUBA diving and hiking with his Aussie, Winston. Subscribe to Email Sorcery Weekly to stay updated and master email, subscribe here.
