Automation & marketing
Mailchimp
The well-known email platform we use for newsletters, automations and segmentation.
Mailchimp is one of the best-known email marketing platforms, used for newsletters, automated sequences, audience segmentation and basic landing pages. HDC uses Mailchimp for clients who want a familiar, polished tool with a huge template library and wide integrations, keeping past customers and leads engaged with campaigns and automated flows that turn one-off enquiries into repeat work.
Where it shines
- Familiar, polished interface that non-technical owners pick up quickly
- Large template library and a strong drag-and-drop email builder
- Wide integration ecosystem, connects to almost every popular tool
- Built-in audience segmentation, tagging and basic CRM features
- Solid reporting plus A/B testing on campaigns
- Generous free tier to get a small list started
Trade-offs to weigh
- Pricing is per contact and climbs quickly as the audience grows
- Paying for unsubscribed and inactive contacts unless lists are kept clean
- Advanced automation is weaker and pricier than some specialist tools
What Mailchimp is
Mailchimp is one of the best-known email marketing platforms in the world, and for many small businesses it’s the first email tool they ever hear of. It covers the core jobs of staying in touch with an audience: sending newsletters and campaigns, building automated email sequences, organising contacts into segmented audiences, and reporting on how every send performs. It also offers basic landing pages and simple CRM features on top.
Its strengths are familiarity and polish. The drag-and-drop builder and large template library make professional-looking emails quick to produce, and its huge integration ecosystem means it connects to almost any other tool a business already uses. For an owner who wants to run their own email marketing without a learning curve, that approachability is a genuine advantage.
How HDC uses Mailchimp
We use Mailchimp for clients who want a familiar, self-serve platform to keep their audience warm. In practice that means:
- Newsletters and campaigns, regular updates, seasonal offers and project showcases, sent to the right segment rather than blasted to the whole list.
- Welcome and follow-up automations, new website enquiries drop into a sequence that introduces the business, shares proof and keeps the lead engaged until they’re ready to book.
- Audience segmentation, tagging contacts by service, location or status so every email is relevant, which protects open rates and deliverability.
- Reporting and testing, using Mailchimp’s analytics and A/B testing to learn what subject lines and offers actually move the needle.
We handle the setup, audiences, templates, automations and the connection to the website, then hand over a tool the client can comfortably run themselves.
Why we apply it
Past customers and slow-to-book leads are the cheapest work a business will ever win, but only if someone stays in touch with them. Email remains one of the highest-return marketing channels there is, and Mailchimp makes running it realistic for a small team. A single monthly newsletter and a couple of automations can turn a dormant contact list back into a steady source of repeat enquiries, without ad spend.
It also protects the rest of the marketing investment. Winning a lead and then never following up wastes the effort that brought them in. Mailchimp catches those contacts and keeps the relationship alive.
How Mailchimp fits our stack
Mailchimp is one of the two email platforms we work with, alongside Brevo, and we choose between them based on a client’s list size, sending volume and existing tools. In a typical setup, contacts flow into Mailchimp directly from the website’s forms, built on Astro, often routed through Zapier or Make so they’re tagged and segmented automatically. Google Analytics then measures the traffic and conversions those campaigns drive back to the site, closing the loop on what email is actually contributing.
When Mailchimp isn’t the right tool
We pick the platform to fit the client. Because Mailchimp charges per contact, it can get expensive for a business with a very large list it only mails occasionally, there, Brevo’s send-based pricing usually wins. If a client needs deep, conditional automation or SMS alongside email, a more specialist tool may serve them better. And if they already run another platform happily, we won’t move them without a clear reason. Mailchimp is the right call when an owner wants a familiar, polished tool they can run themselves.
Worked example
A monthly newsletter that brings back old customers
Picture a landscaping company sitting on years of past customers but with no easy way to reach them. We import the list into Mailchimp, tag contacts by the service they used, and set up a monthly newsletter, seasonal tips, recent projects, a timely offer. New website enquiries drop into a welcome automation that introduces the business and shares a few reviews. Segmentation means lawn-care customers hear about lawn care and patio customers hear about patios, so every email feels relevant. The owner writes one update a month; Mailchimp turns a dormant list back into booked work. (Illustrative, every build is scoped to your goals.)
Better together
How Mailchimp fits with the rest of our stack
Brevo
The send-based alternative we also work with
Learn moreZapier
Adds and tags Mailchimp contacts automatically
Learn moreMake
Routes leads into Mailchimp with conditional logic
Learn moreAstro
The site whose forms feed Mailchimp audiences
Learn moreGoogle Analytics
Measures the traffic email campaigns drive
Learn moreMailchimp: your questions answered
What is Mailchimp used for?
Mailchimp is an email marketing platform. Businesses use it to send newsletters and campaigns, build automated email sequences like welcome and follow-up series, manage and segment their audience, run A/B tests, and track how each email performs, all from one familiar dashboard.
Why does HDC use Mailchimp?
Because it's polished, widely trusted and easy for a non-technical owner to pick up, with a huge template library and integrations into almost everything. For clients who want a familiar tool to run newsletters and automations themselves, Mailchimp is often the most comfortable choice, and we set it up so it works hard from day one.
Is Mailchimp better than Brevo?
Neither is simply better, they suit different situations. Mailchimp has a bigger template and integration ecosystem and charges by contact count. Brevo includes SMS and transactional email and charges by emails sent, which is cheaper for large but lightly-mailed lists. We choose based on a client's list size, sending habits and existing tools.
Is Mailchimp free?
Mailchimp has a free tier that suits a small list and basic sending, which is a good way to start. Paid plans are priced per contact and rise as the audience grows, so we keep lists clean and segmented to avoid paying for contacts who never open an email.
Can Mailchimp connect to my website?
Yes. We wire your website forms to Mailchimp so new enquiries are added to the right audience and tagged automatically, often routed through Zapier or Make for extra logic. From there they can drop straight into a welcome automation, so every new contact gets a prompt, professional first email.
Will you manage Mailchimp for me?
We can do either. We'll set up the audiences, templates and automations and hand you a tool that's simple to run, or we can manage the campaigns and flows for you as part of an ongoing arrangement. Most clients start with us building it and then take over the monthly sending.
Want Mailchimp working for your business?
Tell us what you're trying to achieve, we'll show you, honestly, whether it's the right tool and how we'd apply it.
Enquire now