MailChimp Version 5

MailChimp is a successful email marketing software which makes it very easy to create and send email newsletters as well as to track email marketing campaigns. Having fun with their mascot Freddie when running your email campaigns is the bonus you get when using Mailchimp. I enjoy their detailed and not boring tutorial and promotional videos that keep you engaged with cool voice effects. But most of all I like their Forever Free Plan which is a great way to get started with email marketing if you are on a shoestring budget.

I am not going to go over all the features, but will rather focus on the new features that were introduced in the latest version. I believe these new features set Mailchimp a little apart from other similar email marketing services and seems to have added extra coolness to what they offer. However, these new features also come with some limitations. Additionally, from the customer feedback you realize that some of these new features are not necessarily fit for all user scenarios.

Here are these interesting MailChimp Version 5 features;

Time Warp

“Time Warp” enables you to schedule email campaigns which will be delivered based on your subscriber’s time zone. With this new feature, you have the option to schedule the delivery of your email campaigns at a specific local time. So, if you schedule delivery for 10 am, subscribers on the east coast will receive their messages at 10 am EST, while subscribers on the west coast will receive your email 3 hours later at 10 am PST. This can be achieved automatically since MailChimp now has the capability to geographically locate subscribers using their IP addresses.

This may work as an excellent delivery mechanism for some businesses. However, customer feedback shows that some improvements are needed to make this feature usable for a wider range of email delivery scenarios.

Geo Targeting

This new feature enables segmentation of your subscriber list based on geographic location. When you are preparing you campaign you have the option to enter a zip code or location name and filter the recipients located within a 50, 100, or 150 mile radius of that location. You actually can create this segmentation by collecting address or zip code information during subscription and filtering your list when selecting the recipients during the campaign creation process. In version 5, you don’t need to collect the additional information because MailChimp can automatically detect the geographic location of the subscribers based on their IP addresses.

When evaluating the “TimeWarp” and “Geo Targeting” features, you have to be aware that geolocation based on the IP address may not be 100% accurate. IP addresses are given by internet service providers (ISP) and the ISP of an internet user may not be where that person actually lives. Additionally, people may access their emails from different locations and their IP addresses may change if they travel or when they are on vacation.

You should also take the way MailChimp collects geolocation information of email list subscribers into consideration. Since this information is based on the IP address, your subscriber should in some way interact with the MailChimp service. This happens when a subscriber signs up through the double opt-in process, opens up an email you sent or if they click a link in the email they receive from you. So there will not be any geolocation information for subscribers that are entered or imported manually and if they have never opened the emails you sent them.

Delivery Doctor

Reaching your subscribers by email may be a tough game. There are various parameters that you should pay attention to so your messages are delivered without being blocked by spam filters. MailChimp’s “Delivery Doctor” analyzes your email messages and identifies if you may experience any issues with spam filters. This gives you the opportunity to tweak your message and increase your campaign deliverability. There is no extra charge to use “Delivery Doctor” but it is only available to MailChimp users with paid plans.

Auto-Translation

The other interesting new feature is the automatic translation of your messages. If you select this option while creating your email campaign, your subscribers will automatically receive your message in their own language. This is achieved by keeping track of language preferences of your subscribers and running your message through Google Translate. This is actually a great idea and I believe it is a great chance to improve your connection with subscribers. However, the translation created by Google Translate is not really very accurate. You have to see how your messages are translated into other languages by this service before deciding on using this feature. There is a high possibility that your nicely crafted email campaign may turn into a joke in another language.

Design Genius

This is a very helpful tool for MailChimp users who are not really designers and want to create good-looking email campaigns by themselves. It gives you the option to choose and experiment various layouts, header images and color combinations to design an email which best fits your purpose.

Flickr Integration

Having images and photos in your emails significantly increases the effectiveness of your campaigns. MailChimp offers an image gallery where you can upload and keep your images you want to include in your messages. In Version 5, MailChimp has added the capability to directly connect to your Flickr account and download your photos and images into the MailChimp image gallery. This is really very convenient and the new feature has also received positive feedback from Mailchimp users.

By the way, integration with iStockPhoto, which is an online resource for affordable stock images, is also available. This is also a great option when you need photos and images for your email campaign designs.

I have been using MailChimp for quite sometime now and enjoy it. As a matter of fact, you can sign up for the WiseClicker newsletter and see what I do with this service. Check the sign up form on the right column towards the top of this page. I also would like to find out if you have any comments, especially about the new features I mentioned above in this post.

Disclosure: This post is not sponsored by MailChimp or any other organization. Please be aware that when you visit the MailChimp web site by clicking on links or banners on this web site and sign up for MailChimp’s service, WiseClicker may earn commissions.