Can you automate email campaigns in Mailchimp?

Automating Email Campaigns in Mailchimp

Mailchimp (owned by Intuit) includes Customer Journeys, a visual automation builder for multi-step email workflows. As of April 2026, basic single-step automations are available on the Free plan, while multi-step Customer Journeys require the Standard plan ($20/month for 500 contacts) or higher.

Customer Journey Builder

The Customer Journey builder provides a visual canvas for designing automated email sequences:

Starting Points (Triggers)

• Signup — When a contact joins an audience via a form or API
• Tag applied — When a tag is added to a contact (manually or via integration)
• Specific date — Based on a date field (birthdays, anniversaries, renewal dates)
• Purchase activity — When a contact makes a purchase (ecommerce integration)
• Cart abandoned — When a shopping cart is left incomplete
• Email activity — When a contact opens, clicks, or does not open a previous email

Journey Actions

• Send email — Deliver a designed email from a template
• Wait — Pause for a specified time period (hours, days, weeks)
• If/Else branching — Split the journey based on conditions (tags, activity, purchase history)
• Update contact — Add/remove tags, update merge fields
• Webhook — Send data to an external URL

Pre-Built Automation Templates

Mailchimp offers pre-built journey templates for common scenarios:

• Welcome series — 3-email sequence introducing new subscribers to the brand
• Abandoned cart — Reminder emails with cart contents and a return link
• Re-engagement — Win-back emails for contacts inactive for 30, 60, or 90 days
• Post-purchase — Thank-you email, review request, and cross-sell recommendations
• Birthday/anniversary — Date-based emails with personalized offers

Setup Steps

1. Navigate to Automations > Customer Journeys in Mailchimp
2. Choose a pre-built template or start from scratch
3. Configure the starting point (trigger) and audience
4. Design the email content using the email builder
5. Add wait steps and branching conditions as needed
6. Review the journey map and activate

Plan Limitations (as of April 2026)