How to automate email campaigns in Mailchimp

How to Automate Email Campaigns in Mailchimp

Mailchimp's Customer Journeys feature provides visual email automation for welcome sequences, drip campaigns, and behavioral triggers.

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Create a Customer Journey

Navigate to Automations > Customer Journeys. Click "Create Journey." Name the journey and select the audience (email list).

Step 2: Set the Entry Trigger

Choose what starts the journey:

• Signs up: New subscriber joins the list
• Tag added: Subscriber receives a specific tag
• Purchase activity: Customer makes a purchase (ecommerce integration)
• Email activity: Subscriber opens or clicks a specific email
• Date-based: Birthday, anniversary, or custom date field
• Manual/API: Added via Mailchimp API or manual trigger

Step 3: Add Email Steps

Add emails in the journey sequence:

1. Click "Add a journey point" > "Send email"
2. Design the email using Mailchimp's editor (drag-and-drop or HTML)
3. Set the subject line and preview text
4. Configure send settings (from name, reply-to)

Step 4: Add Delays and Branches

• Time delay: Wait 1 day, 3 days, 1 week between emails
• If/else branch: Split based on email engagement (opened, clicked, purchased)
• Wait until: Pause until a specific condition is met
• Percentage split: A/B test different paths

Step 5: Activate and Monitor

Click "Turn on" to activate the journey. Monitor in the journey dashboard:

• Active subscribers in each step
• Open rate and click rate per email
• Conversion rate for the journey goal
• Revenue attributed to the journey (ecommerce)

Common Email Automation Examples

Editor's Note: We set up a 5-email welcome series for an ecommerce brand with 12,000 subscribers. Total setup time: 3 hours (copywriting took longer than Mailchimp configuration). The series achieved a 42% open rate and a 3.8% conversion rate, generating $2,100/month in attributed revenue. The cart abandonment automation (2 emails with 10% discount in the second) recovered 8% of abandoned carts within the first 30 days.