Mailchimp changes: the low down
On May 15 Mailchimp announced that they aren’t just an email platform anymore, instead calling themselves an all-in-one marketing platform. 😱 Their new direction aims to give their users a one-stop-shop for marketing themselves - whether they want to send an email, create a Facebook ad, send a postcard and even schedule a social media post … and coming soon, websites! Yes, the largest email service provider wants to take over end-to-end management of all of your marketing needs. They want to compete with the likes of Squarespace, Wix and Shopify (which makes sense after recently breaking ties with Shopify’s native integration). But for now, let’s just focus on their current changes and what it means for you as a Mailchimp account holder. [eltd_highlight background_color="" color="#e2978e"]Mailchimp’s changes will affect all existing account holders, however the most affected will be those on a free plan. [/eltd_highlight] So, we all know that one of the best things about Mailchimp is that free account holders have been able to access most of the same functionality as a paying user. This was what attracted start-ups and those with teeny-weeny marketing budgets to the platform because they could access really powerful tools without paying a cent. Not anymore. Now, as a free account holder, you’ll still have access to some functions, but these will be more limited. The good news is that Mailchimp won’t be taking anything away so whatever you already have set up in your free account will remain as it is… phew! The BIGGEST NEWS that will affect ALL account holders is how Mailchimp classify their total subscriber count for audiences. It used to be that as long as you had less than 2,000 subscribers you wouldn’t have to pay to play. In this instance subscribers were only classified as ‘active’ contacts and you didn’t have to pay for any cleaned, non-subscribed (transactional) or unsubscribed addresses. Now, the limit is still up to 2,000 subscribers, however Mailchimp is now classifying these as active subscribers AND non-subscribers AND unsubscribes. So, your total subscriber count will reach 2,000 contacts much quicker. If you’re already closing in on 2,000 subscribers and think this change will put you over the limit then you have until June 15 either clean out or archive inactive data. [eltd_separator class_name="" type="full-width" position="center" color="#e2978e" border_style="solid" width="" thickness="1" top_margin="" bottom_margin=""] Here’s a quick guide to explaining the different Mailchimp terms: 1. Subscriber – someone who is actively subscribed to your email list. 2. Unsubscribe – someone who has...