Create a Regular Email Campaign

A campaign is a marketing message that you share through email or ads. In Mailchimp, most users start with a regular email campaign, which is a bulk email sent to many contacts at once. When you create a regular email campaign in Mailchimp, you’ll use a checklist-style Campaign Builder to add recipients, choose your settings, and design your content.

In this article, you'll learn how to create a regular email campaign in Mailchimp.

Before you start

Here are some things to know before you begin this process.

• This article tells you how to create a regular email campaign. To learn how to create other types of campaigns, such as automations or ads, search this Knowledge Base for additional resources.

Create a campaign

To create a regular email campaign, follow these steps.

1. Navigate to the Campaigns page.
2. Click Create Campaign.
   
3. Click Email.
   
4. On the Regular tab, enter a campaign name and click Begin.
   

This will take you to the Campaign Builder, where you’ll choose your settings and design your content.

Setup and design

Our campaign builder is designed to let you work on the different parts of your campaign in the order you choose, and review everything at once before you send.

There are four main things to do before you can send.

• Add your recipients in the To section.
• Add your from name and from email address in the From section.
• Add your subject line in the Subject section.
• Design your email in the Content section.

As each task is completed, a green checkmark will appear next to the corresponding section.

You may also want to review your tracking options and other settings.

Add recipients

To choose your recipients, follow these steps.

1. In the To section, click Add Recipients.
   
2. In the Audience drop-down menu, choose the audience you want to send to.
3. In the Segment drop-down menu, choose All subscribers in audience, Group or new segment, or one of the available saved or pre-built options.
   
4. Optional: Check the Personalize the "To" field box to display the recipient's name instead of their email address. This is more personal and may help you avoid spam filters.
   
   After you check the box, you'll choose a merge tag that corresponds with the data you want to display in the "To" field. For example, if you choose *|FNAME|*, a recipient named Bob will see "To: Bob" instead of "To: bob@example.com." The default options are *|FNAME|*, *|LNAME|*, and *|FNAME|* *|LNAME|*, but you can click Custom to enter an alternate tag or text.
5. Click Save.

Add from name and from email address

To set your from name and from email address, follow these steps.

1. In the From section of the campaign builder, click Add From.
   
2. Enter your from name and email address.
   
   You may be asked to verify the domain in your email address.
3. Click Save.

Add subject

To set your subject line and optional preview text, follow these steps.

1. In the Subject section of the campaign builder, click Add Subject.
   
2. In the Subject field, enter a subject line for your email.
   
3. In the Preview text field, you can enter up to 150 characters that will display next to your subject line in recipients’ inboxes. This field is optional.
   
4. Click Save.

Design email

To design the content for your campaign, follow these steps.

1. In the Content section of the campaign builder, click Design Email.
   
2. Choose a template to start with. Depending on your plan, you may not have access to all of the template options. To find out what features are included in each plan, check out our pricing page.
   
   You’ll see five categories of templates: Layouts, Themes, Saved, Campaigns, and Code your own. To learn more about each, take a look at Types of Templates.
3. In the email designer, input and customize your campaign content.
4. Click the Preview and Test drop-down menu to access powerful testing tools before you send your email.
   
   Learn more about how to preview and test your campaign for web and mobile.
5. After you complete your design, click Save and Continue.

Settings and tracking

When you create a regular email campaign, we go ahead and enable certain tracking options by default. This includes open and click tracking, as well as e-commerce tracking if you have a connected online store.

To edit the tracking options for your campaign, follow these steps.

1. Scroll to the Settings & Tracking section and click Edit.
2. Check the boxes next to the tracking options you want to enable.
3. Click Save.

Other settings

You can also choose to manage subscriber replies with conversations, and auto-convert embedded videos. To learn more, check out these articles.

Set Up and Use Conversations

Add Video to a Campaign

Send campaign

After you’ve completed the To, From, Subject, and Content sections of the Campaign Builder, you should see a green checkmark next to each. That means your regular email is ready to schedule or send.

If you're ready to send the campaign to your subscribers, click Send. Then, in the Prepare for launch modal, click Send Now to confirm your send.

Your campaign is on its way!

Next steps

You’ve sent a regular email campaign in Mailchimp. Nice job! Now you can view your report to watch the data roll in. When you’re ready to create your next email campaign, you may want to try an A/B test to learn more about your contacts’ preferences.

About Email Campaign Reports

Create an A/B Testing Campaign

Troubleshooting

If you’re new to Mailchimp, we’re here to help with the design or delivery of your first email campaign. Take a look at some of these resources, or search this Knowledge Base for other topics you want to learn about.

Troubleshooting Your First Campaign

Resolve the Default Text Content Alert