How to automate email sequences in Mailchimp

How to Automate Email Sequences in Mailchimp

Mailchimp Customer Journeys replace the older automation feature with a visual workflow builder for creating multi-email sequences. As of April 2026, Customer Journeys are available on Standard ($20/month for 500 contacts) and Premium ($350/month) plans. The Essentials plan ($13/month) supports single-email automations only.

Step 1: Create a Customer Journey

Navigate to Automations > Customer Journeys and click "Create Journey." Choose a starting point:

• Starts from scratch — Build a custom journey
• Pre-built journeys — Templates for welcome series, abandoned cart, birthday, and re-engagement

Name the journey descriptively (for example, "New Subscriber Welcome Series").

Step 2: Set the Entry Trigger

The trigger determines who enters the journey and when. Options include:

• Signs up — Subscriber joins the audience via any source
• Tag is applied — A specific tag is added to the subscriber
• Purchases a product — Ecommerce purchase event (requires store integration)
• Segment match — Subscriber enters a defined segment
• API event — Custom event sent via the Mailchimp API

Step 3: Build the Email Chain

Click the "+" button after the trigger to add journey points:

1. Send email — Design the first email using the drag-and-drop editor or a template
2. Time delay — Add a waiting period before the next email (common delays: 1 day, 3 days, 7 days)
3. Send email — Add the second email in the sequence
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for each email in the series

A typical welcome series contains 3-5 emails spaced 2-3 days apart.

Step 4: Add Conditional Branches (Optional)

Customer Journeys support if/else branching on Standard and Premium plans:

• If subscriber opened previous email — Send a follow-up with more detail
• If subscriber clicked a link — Send product-specific content
• If subscriber has tag — Route to different email tracks

Branches create separate paths, allowing different subscribers to receive different content based on behavior.

Step 5: Activate the Journey

Click "Continue" and then "Turn On" in the top-right corner. Mailchimp processes the journey in real time; new subscribers matching the trigger enter immediately. Existing subscribers do not retroactively enter unless the journey is configured to include them.

Testing

Before activation, send test emails from each journey point to verify content, links, and personalization tags (merge fields). Add a test subscriber with a known email address to walk through the complete journey.

Performance Monitoring

After activation, the journey dashboard shows:

• Subscribers currently at each stage
• Open rates and click rates per email
• Total journey completion rate
• Revenue attributed to the journey (if ecommerce tracking is enabled)

Practical Example: Welcome Series

1. Trigger: Signs up via website form
2. Email 1 (immediately): Welcome message with brand introduction and key resources
3. Delay: 2 days
4. Email 2: Product highlights or most popular content
5. Delay: 3 days
6. Email 3: Social proof (testimonials, case studies) and a call-to-action

Welcome series typically achieve 50-60% open rates on the first email, declining to 30-40% by the third email, according to Mailchimp benchmark data as of early 2026.