10 Ways to Automate Mailchimp with Zapier to Improve Your Business Operations, Fast

In today's business world, automation is the name of the game. It almost seems as if companies are in a race to create the best, most effective technology and AI to help improve as many things as possible. We live in the Internet of Things and there is a never-ending list of "things" that you can use to help automate your business, which you'll find in the way of apps and tools like Zapier and Mailchimp.

Zapier is a unique automation tool—its entire job is to create automations to make other apps easier to use. As it stands, the tool currently integrates with more than three thousand apps and software tools that companies like yours use every single day. It's growing rapidly on the popularity list and as more people hear about all that it can do, it becomes all the more popular.

It's no wonder, really. Zapier has thousands upon thousands of pre-built automations that you can set up for all the tools that you use, including Mailchimp. Using the simple "if, then" rules, you can create all kinds of triggered actions, known as "Zaps", that will take care of tasks that you used to have to handle on your own. What's not to love?

For Mailchimp users, it's really a dream come true. Whether you use Mailchimp for its email marketing or as an all-in-one marketing solution, you can find hundreds of Zaps that already exist between this app and several of the other tools you use. Some will prove to be more fruitful than others, which is why exploration is key in your quest for automation. You have to go and see what's out there so that you can decide what's right for you.

So, what's out there for Mailchimp and Zapier when it comes to automating and improving your business?

Anything and everything you want.

Want to launch a new Mailchimp campaign and then have it automatically shared to Facebook? Done. Thinking about creating an email blast trigger that ties into your spreadsheet of marketing topics and campaigns? You can do that, too. We'd be here for days trying to explain all of them, so in this article, we'll cover 10 of the most popular integrations to help you get started. Whether you use them as-is, as inspiration, or even just to learn more about your automation options, below are some of the best ways to use Zaps to automate Mailchimp.

(Speaking of automation options, stay tuned after the list to see how our virtual receptionists here at Smith.ai can help streamline more of your daily tasks so you're getting more done in less time and improving your business every step of the way.)

1. Subscribe new leads from Facebook Lead Ads directly to Mailchimp  

Mailchimp will import all of your new Facebook Lead Ads leads and get them started on the mailing list right away with this integration. You will find that there are several different ways to Zap between Facebook and Mailchimp, but connecting leads makes the lead intake process that much easier. As with all Zaps, you can even tweak this one or create your own custom design inspired by it, allowing you to improve your lead generation and intake in ways that work best for your business.

2. Create or import subscribers from your Typeform responses    

Typeform is a popular tool for form fills and surveys, new user signups, and other similar uses. Companies like this tool because it's easy to customize and easy to use, and when you integrate it through Zapier, you can create a Zap that turns that Typeform entry into a Mailchimp subscriber contact and adds them to the appropriate mailing lists. You can even tweak the integration to add extra steps or create your own new iteration entirely, but the ready-to-go solution is quite effective.

3. Save new subscribers to Google Sheets      

Perhaps you're looking for some basic automations—that's totally acceptable, too. In fact, being able to automate things like saving your new Mailchimp subscribers right to your Google Sheets databases is pretty helpful. You'll save a ton of time on data transfer and data entry and could even free up more time for generating new leads. You can also update existing sheets/subscribers with new information after it's been updated in the Mailchimp database. Whatever you want to do, these two work great together.

4. Create or update HubSpot CRM contacts from Mailchimp lists    

Your CRM is your hub—it's where you get everything done and keep everything organized. With HubSpot and Zapier, you can integrate Mailchimp so that every subscriber is added to your CRM contacts or customer database. You can have a Zap that does this every time someone subscribes, or even just every time you update your Mailchimp lists. The information will be imported automatically so you won't even have to think about it, let alone put in the effort.

Bonus: This works with TONS of CRM platforms other than HubSpot, too!

5. Add Google (or other) contacts to Mailchimp lists    

Your Google contacts are a great resource, but only when you cultivate them effectively. So many" contacts" tools go unused, or worse, incorrectly used, and they could be doing so much more for you. With this integration, you can import Google contacts to your Mailchimp subscriber lists, giving you instant data sharing without having to lift a finger once the Zap is set up and in place. You can also send this the other way, creating new Google contacts for your Mailchimp subscribers as they sign up. Either way, it's again saving you a ton of time on data entry and other tedious details.

6. Get Slack notifications when new Mailchimp subscriptions occur    

Maybe you'd like to stay updated on your subscriber base and how frequently people sign up. If that's the case, this is the Zap for you. Zapier loves notifications almost as much as it loves automation so asking it to deliver on an integration like this is a no-brainer. Put this Zap into place and whenever a new subscriber joins your Mailchimp list, you'll be notified directly via Slack. You can even set it up to notify another person or an entire department so that everyone knows what their next steps are.

7. Remove duplicate list members from Mailchimp    

That's right—you can even automate Mailchimp to work with itself. With this integration, you can allow Zapier to scan your Mailchimp subscriber lists and remove any duplicate entries. You could also create a Zap that removes people from one list as they are added to another list by you, your team, or even by user action. Mailchimp integrations aren't just for outside apps. Zapier has a long list of ways you can automate the marketing platform in and of itself to improve your operations in several ways.

8. Add Stripe customers to your Mailchimp lists    

Stripe is quickly becoming one of the most popular payment processing solutions available today. It's simple, straightforward, and affordable for the small business on the rise. Of course, it's more than just a payment processor—it's a total billing and payments solution and it will allow you to integrate your paying customers to your newsletter and marketing lists that you have set up with Mailchimp when you use this Zap integration. Stripe customers could elect to subscribe when they make a payment, allowing this Zap to occur and resulting in the new addition to your subscriber list on Mailchimp, for example.

9. Post your new Mailchimp campaigns on WordPress    

Cross-channel marketing is a must these days. One way to get people's attention is to promote specific marketing campaigns or efforts on blogs and social media. With this integration, you will be able to activate the Zap and then have a WordPress post generated every time that you post a new Mailchimp campaign. You can even generate this Zap to occur with specific campaigns and not others, or to generate a specific type of post based on what campaign is being used, allowing you to have total custom control over your marketing and do it all without the effort, thanks to automation.

10. Add Eventbrite attendees to your Mailchimp lists

If you use Eventbrite to plan and manage events, you'll love this integration. Instead of having to transfer information yourself or worry about people signing up later, you can get it all at once. Get their info from the event, get their permission to send mail, and add them right to the campaign once they check the appropriate boxes. Zapier will do all the heavy lifting and all you have to do is set it up and forget about it. You can even create another Zap that sends these new Mailchimp subscribers a welcome email as soon as they're added, saving you yet another step.

What to know when starting with Mailchimp

Some people don't quite understand how the Mailchimp platform works. The good news is two-fold:

1. It's fairly simple.

2. Mailchimp tells you themselves.

This is a web-based application, not an app. That means it's always compatible because it just needs a browser window, regardless of the device. It works in most browsers so compatibility issues are rare, too. Just make sure that you've got JavaScript, cookies, and pop-ups enabled so that the site works properly for you.

You can set up your audience or contacts exactly as you desire. The app has its own way of generating contacts based on the information that you provide, but you won't have to worry about inputting all the information yourself. You can even segment and organize your contacts with the audience managementfeature, giving you the chance to improve your use of the tool and make sure that the right people are getting the right messages.

Mailchimp has impressive open- and click-tracking resources, giving you powerful data that can help you better target your own marketing efforts. Once you log in, you can see how many people have opened, clicked, or even unsubscribed recently, and you can even customize the dashboard to display exactly what you want to know and nothing more.

You can even go to the Reports section and get detailed info, download and print, or even share your campaign reports for your Mailchimp account. You can also integrate it with your Google Analytics for an even more in-depth reporting tool.

One final note on Mailchimp: it thrives on automation and AI.

The marketing platform is all about next-gen technology and taking advantage of the best resources. Thus, if you're looking for a way to improve your marketing operations, It's a good launching point. You can create drip campaigns for all of your marketing needs and then integrate with Zapier into just about any app or software tool you want.

Speaking of endless options for improvement...

Our team loves the power of automation. We also love being part of what makes the business run better. When you hire our virtual receptionists, we’ll be the face of your brand for so many different needs, including live website chat, answering after-hours calls, and more. Plus, we’ll work with you to come up with the perfect strategy for fielding every need, no matter what you are looking for.

We also love Zapier because it allows anyone and everyone to create smart workflows between their different business software tools. And, Zapier is the reason that Smith.ai integrates with more than 3,000 apps to guarantee that each call, text, and message is logged in the right business software from your CRM to marketing tools, and so much more.

Check out our apps to explore how we connect to Zapier! Learn more about Smith.ai’s Answering Service app on Zapier, and explore Smith.ai’s Website Chat app on Zapier.

Schedule your consultation to discuss how we can revolutionize your daily operations, with after-hours answering, live website chat, and more. You can also reach out to us at (650) 727-6484 or hello@smith.ai.