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Marketing emails using mailchimp

OpenTrack aims to keep its userbase updated with all the latest developments with a monthly newsletter.

We normally send a mass email to a subset of our core users using mailchimp.

Mailchimp tutorials
Mailchimp support

Getting set up

OpenTrack has a shared mailchimp account to which users can be added.

To add a new user, go to user profile | settings | users and click the invite a user button.

If you do not currently have access privileges, ask someone within the OpenTrack team to invite you to the group.

Managing audiences

Mailing prefereneces

OpenTrack users' mailing preferences are currently managed directly in OpenTrack via their OpenTrack user profile.
This is currently specified in the template footer used for all email campaigns in mailchimp.

Importing mailing lists

  • 1) Mailing lists can be downloaded as .csv files from the OpenTrack tools page.
  • 2) Go to the audience dashboard on mailchimp and select the import contacts option from the manage audience dropdown button.
  • 3) Select upload a file and then add in the .csv file from the OpenTrack tools page.
  • 4) Then match the relevant column headers to the presets available in mailchimp (e.g. first name, last name, email address, country).
  • 5) Mailchimp will send you an email confirmation once the import is complete (should only take a few minutes).

Make sure to do this each time before you send an email campaign to keep the audience up to date.

Sending emails

To create a new email, go to the campaigns section and click the create campaign button, then select the design email option.

  • To - Select all users then choose which subset to send the email to using the segment or tag dropdown.
  • From - Just put OpenTrack as the name and info@opentrack.run for the address unless the email requires something specific.
  • Subject - Add a short subject and preview line to describe the email. Mailchimp gives some guidance on this directly on the page.
  • Content - Click the design email button to launch the email builder. You can then start from scratch with a simple column layout, or use on of our saved templates or copy a template from any of our previously sent campaigns.

Some OpenTrack branding and content is already uploaded to mailchimp for use in emails, but more can be added via the content studio.

Best practices

Emailing procedure

  • 1) Import up-to-date contact list from OT tools
  • 2) create and design email campaign
  • 3) send a test email to your personal account to check for issues/errors
  • 4) schedule the email campaign for an optimum time as suggested by mailchimp.

Email design/layout

  • Begin the design with a header banner using the OpenTrack logo, some athletics imagery, and a short intro to what the email is about.
  • Use section headings (red) and section subheadings (black) to segment the content.
  • Add alt text to all images used in the email.
  • Ensure the email footer contains all info relating to updating email preferences, unsubscribing and anything else GDPR related
  • Make use of mailchimp's send time optimization system when scheduling emails in advance.