Can I Use Mailchimp for Cold Email?

Cold emailing is a valuable asset for those seeking effective communication strategies. Unlike traditional cold calling methods, which can often come across as intrusive and unwelcome, cold emails provide prospective clients with the freedom to engage with your message at their own convenience.

However, not all cold email campaigns are equal in terms of their impact. The choice of platform can play a pivotal role in determining the success of your first cold email campaign or outreach.

Introducing Mailchimp, a prominent player in the realm of email service providers within the digital market. While commonly associated with email marketing, you may find yourself wondering whether Mailchimp is a suitable choice for conducting cold email campaigns.

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In this article, we will delve into this very question, exploring the capabilities and features of Mailchimp to help you better understand its potential in the realm of cold emailing.

What is Mailchimp?

Mailchimp, at its core, is an all-in-one marketing platform, built to serve businesses of all sizes. From creating email campaigns to mailing lists to designing landing pages, Mailchimp has been used extensively for sending marketing emails to opted-in customers. But can you use Mailchimp for cold emails too? That’s the million-dollar question.

Mailchimp for Cold Emails: The Case

Mailchimp is an outstanding platform for email marketing. That being said, the use of Mailchimp for cold emailing needs a more nuanced examination. It’s specifically designed for sending emails to people who have opted in to receive messages from a business.

This is the primary purpose of the platform, and it excels in this capacity, ensuring that your message gets delivered to the inbox of your ideal customers.

In the world of cold emailing, where your recipients might not have expressly opted in to receive your emails, it’s crucial to understand the distinction.

Sending cold emails using Mailchimp might result in some emails landing in the spam folder instead of the main inbox, potentially missing the prospect’s inbox entirely.

Cold Email Deliverability

A key factor to consider when sending cold emails is the email deliverability. This refers to the ability of your emails to reach your potential customer or email provider’s main inbox rather than being relegated to the spam folder.

With Mailchimp, if your cold emails are deemed as spam, the chances of your email landing in the primary inbox are significantly reduced.

Even with a perfect subject line and an engaging message, if your cold email doesn’t reach the prospect’s inbox, your efforts will be in vain.

The Mailchimp Account and SMTP

When setting up your Mailchimp account, you’ll be asked to verify your email SMTP address. This is a necessary step to ensure that the emails you send are legitimately coming from your business. However, using your own servers and SMTP to send cold emails can be complex and riskier if not properly handled.

This complexity escalates when sending cold emails to multiple prospects. You risk being flagged as spam, which can harm the deliverability of future emails and even the reputation of your domain.

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Alternatives for Cold Emailing

Given these factors, you might want to consider alternatives that are specifically tailored for cold email outreach. A tool designed for cold emails like Mailarrow, our cold email outreach software, is built to keep your audience engaged without the risk of spamming people.

The primary difference between such platforms and Mailchimp is the human-like sending mechanism which significantly reduces the chances of landing in the spam folder.

Mailchimp versus Constant Contact

While discussing alternatives, Constant Contact, another popular email marketing tool, often comes up. Although similar to Mailchimp in many ways, Constant Contact also focuses on marketing emails rather than cold emails.

Therefore, while it could serve as an alternative to Mailchimp for email marketing, it isn’t necessarily the best tool for sending cold emails.

When it comes to email marketing, Mailchimp can be the right tool. However, for cold emailing, it may not be the best fit. This does not take away from its powerful features and tools that make it a leader in the email marketing space.

For cold emails, a solution like Mailarrow, specifically designed for cold email campaigns, could be a better fit. It ensures your first cold email campaign doesn’t just end up in the spam folder, but lands directly into the main inbox folder, increasing your chances of business opportunities.

It’s not the end of the conversation about Mailchimp for cold emails. In the next section, we’ll delve deeper into how to use Mailchimp for cold emails effectively, discuss the specifics of cold email campaigns, and explore some of the challenges that come with it.

Using Mailchimp for Cold Emails: A Closer Look

While Mailchimp is not specifically designed for cold emails, it can still serve as a tool for such an outreach with a thorough understanding of its framework and anti-spam laws.

Exploring Cold Emails with Mailchimp

To use Mailchimp for cold emails effectively, you’ll need to understand how Mailchimp sends out emails. Every Mailchimp account comes with a specific reputation based on the emails you’ve sent in the past, your engagement rates, and whether your emails have been marked as spam.

When sending cold emails, it’s important to keep your reputation intact. After all, if your email account itself is flagged for spamming, your cold email campaigns may suffer, and your emails may fail to reach the main inbox of your prospective clients.

Navigating Anti-spam Laws

While considering cold emails, it’s crucial to understand the legality surrounding them. Cold emails aren’t illegal, but they must adhere to certain guidelines outlined by anti-spam laws.

To ensure compliance, make sure your email includes a clear call to action, opt-out instructions, and truthful information. If your cold email is marked as spam, it could impact your email deliverability across all email campaigns.

Crafting the Cold Email

When it comes to crafting a cold email, it’s all about engaging your audience in a non-intrusive way. It starts with a compelling subject line. Unlike marketing emails, a cold email’s subject line should be personal, relevant, and not salesy.

Remember, the subject line is the first thing your prospective client sees. If it’s not interesting enough, your email might not get opened.

The body of your email should also reflect these characteristics. Rather than trying to sell your product or service outright, aim to initiate a conversation with your prospect. You can do this by focusing on their needs and how your product or service might address them.

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Also, consider personalizing your cold audience and email templates for different segments of your audience. This way, your cold email will resonate more with your prospective clients, increasing the chances of a response.

Cold Emails vs. Cold Calling

Cold emailing can often be more effective than cold calling. It gives your prospective clients the freedom to engage with your message at their leisure, making them more likely to respond positively. On the other hand, cold calling can often feel intrusive and can lead to potential new customers often feeling pressured.

Cold Email Deliverability

One crucial factor that can affect the success of your cold email campaigns is deliverability. For your next email campaign to be effective, it must reach your prospect’s primary inbox. However, with Mailchimp, this may not always be the case.

That’s where cold email software like Mailarrow can be a game-changer. Unlike Mailchimp, Mailarrow is specifically designed to ensure your emails land in the primary inbox, not the spam folder. This can significantly increase your cold email campaign’s success.

Mastering Your Cold Email Campaigns with Mailchimp

If you’re still committed to using Mailchimp for cold emails, we’re here to guide you through optimizing your cold email campaigns and minimizing the risk of landing in the spam folder.

Understanding Your Audience

The success of your cold email campaigns largely depends on your understanding of the audience. Knowing their preferences, needs, and pain points can make your cold emails more targeted and effective.

Craft your emails around the prospect’s requirements to make them feel understood and valued. This personalized touch can lead to more emails delivered to the primary inbox, increasing the chances of a response.

Subject Lines That Stand Out

Subject lines play a significant role in the success of your cold emails. A captivating subject line can increase your open rates and keep your emails from landing in the spam folder. The key is to keep them relevant, interesting, and free from spam triggers that can get your email flagged.

Crafting the Perfect Cold Email

Your cold email should be more than just a sales pitch. It should provide value to your prospective clients and make them want to know more about your business.

Whether it’s sharing industry knowledge, offering solutions to problems, or simply making a personal connection, the more value your email provides, the higher the chances of a response.

Remember to include a clear call to action (CTA). The CTA is crucial to guide your prospective clients towards the next step, whether it’s scheduling a call, visiting a landing page, or simply responding to your email.

Follow Up Emails

A single cold email might not always get you a response. That’s where follow up emails come in. Crafting a timely and respectful follow up email can remind your prospects about your initial message and improve your response rate.

But be careful to not pester your prospects with too many more follow up email top ups; this could lead to your emails being marked as spam.

Email Templates

While personalization is key, having a set of own templates can speed up your cold email campaign process. With Mailchimp, you can create and save templates for different segments of your audience. Remember to tailor each template to reflect the interests and needs of the segment it’s designed for.

Overcoming Challenges of Using Mailchimp for Cold Emails

While Mailchimp is a formidable tool for email marketing, it does present unique challenges when used for cold emails. Let’s explore these challenges and discover ways to navigate them.

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Mailchimp and Spam

One significant challenge is Mailchimp’s strict policies against spam. As a platform primarily intended for email marketing, Mailchimp strongly discourages the sending of unsolicited emails. That’s why it’s essential to follow best practices, such as using a verified email SMTP address, avoiding spammy subject lines, and always including an opt-out option, when sending cold emails.

Ensuring Email Deliverability

A common obstacle for many businesses using Mailchimp for cold emails is email deliverability. Since Mailchimp is not specifically designed for cold emails, it may not have the capabilities to bypass spam filters effectively and land in the primary inbox.

To address this, ensure that your email content is relevant, personalized, and free from spammy keywords. Including clear call-to-actions and opt-out instructions to send emails can also help improve deliverability.

Creating an Engaging Cold Email

Creating an engaging cold email that speaks to your audience is not an easy task. It requires understanding your audience’s needs and crafting a message that appeals to them.

When using Mailchimp for cold email campaigns, make use of their audience segmentation tools to tailor your emails to the specific interests and needs of different segments. This will keep your audience engaged and increase your email response rates.

Constant Contact and Follow Ups

Continuous engagement is key to successful cold email campaigns. This means not just sending one email, but having a series of follow-up emails to keep the conversation going. However, it can be challenging to keep track of follow-ups when sending cold emails with Mailchimp.

To manage this, consider using drip email campaigns where follow-up emails are automatically sent based on certain triggers or time intervals. This ensures constant contact without the need for manual follow-ups.

In Conclusion

While Mailchimp presents certain challenges for cold emails, understanding these challenges and employing smart strategies can help you succeed in your cold email outreach.

However, using a tool like Mailarrow, designed specifically for cold email outreach campaigns, can save you time and improve your campaign results significantly.

In the next section, we will delve into the advantages of using Mailarrow over Mailchimp for your cold email campaigns.

FAQs

Before we wrap up this comprehensive guide on using Mailchimp for cold emails, let’s address some of the most frequently asked questions.

Is Mailchimp Good for Cold Emailing?

While Mailchimp is an excellent tool for email marketing, it’s not specifically designed for cold emailing. Its primary purpose is for sending emails to opted-in subscribers, which may present challenges when used for cold email outreach.

Can You Use Mailchimp for Cold Emails?

Yes, you can use Mailchimp for cold emails, but it may not be the best tool for this purpose. You need to be careful about the content of your emails, your subject lines, and ensuring that you send newsletters that comply with anti-spam laws to prevent your emails from being marked as spam.

Is Cold Emailing Illegal?

No, cold emailing is not illegal. However, it’s important to follow the regulations outlined in anti-spam laws, such as including an unsubscribe link in your emails and not making false or misleading claims in your email content.

Can You Send Mailchimp to Non Subscribers?

Yes, you can technically send emails to non-subscribers using Mailchimp, but this is against their terms of service. Mailchimp is designed for permission-based email marketing, which means sending emails to people who have opted in to receive them.

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What Are the Disadvantages of Mailchimp?

While Mailchimp is a robust tool for email marketing, it may not be ideal for cold emailing due to strict anti-spam policies, challenges with email deliverability to the primary inbox, and limitations in follow-up functionality for cold email campaigns.

Serge Shlykov is the founder of Mailarrow. Rotterdam Business School graduate and a long-time software engineer he has been running his own agency and SaaS business before realizing how many people are struggling with cold email outreach. This made him create Mailarrow, the cold email outreach software that helps you build great relationships at scale. Find him on Twitter and LinkedIn