Ah, two of my favourite marketing tools for the business owner or entrepreneur. And together? Well, you’ve got yourself a match made in heaven.

I use MailChimp with so many of my clients. Why? Because you can use the tool for FREE if you have under 2000 subscribers and don’t want to access fancier tools. Sure, you have to pay your way beyond this. But for a business owner just starting out and holding onto those shoestrings tightly, this is a no brainer!

Mailchimp is an email service provider that helps you create effective newsletters and sales emails for your business. With your free plan, you can access templates and simple automations that are going to elevate your business. And the beauty of MailChimp is also that it works seamlessly with third parties like Squarespace.

Alright MailChimpers, let’s dive on in to how to connect your MailChimp account to your Squarespace website and push those sign ups on your site.

Ready to create a simple sales funnel in Squarespace and MailChimp? Yes - let’s go!

Is MailChimp Right for Me?

Before we dive in I want to make sure you’re making the right decision. I’ll level with you now: if your list is near 2000 subscribers, MailChimp might not be the best option for you. You see, with MailChimp you pay per contact on your list. That means every unsubscribed email address or purchaser who lands on your list but isn’t subscribed will count towards your 2000 cap.

Tools like Flodesk might be a better option as they have a flat rate no matter how many contacts end up on that list. Use my affiliate code ‘ELEANOR50’ for an incredible 50% your subscription. Yup, that’s an affiliate link but I only shout about those tools that make me super excited!

If budget is your main concern and you’re in the early stages of getting your email marketing up and running, step this way for how to set up your MailChimp account with Squarespace.

1. Start your Squarespace Account

If you haven’t done so already, that it.

Head on over to mailchimp.com and hit that big old ‘Sign Up Free’ button. Don’t worry, there’s no need to sign up with any credit card details, just type in your deets and away you go. It’s that easy!

2. Connect Squarespace to MailChimp

We need to make sure MailChimp and Squarespace are on good terms and talking to each other. That means heading into MailChimp and connecting your Squarespace site.

How to:

If you can’t see Connect Your Store, click on your Brand Name in the top right corner to open your settings dropdown. Then click Connect > Integrations.
Scroll down until you see Squarespace and click on it.
Type in your website address and select your default Mailing List. Then click Get Code.

Now you’re going to want to copy that code and paste it into Squarespace. So, click the copy button and head over to Squarespace.
In Squarespace, head to Settings > Advanced > Code Injections
Paste in your code and then click Save.
Now, head back to MailChimp and click the Check Connection button to make sure they really are speaking to each other.

3. Create Your Welcome Email

Before you start promoting your email list, you want to make sure you are all set up in MailChimp.

If you really want to convert your audience into subscribers, you’re going to want to create a juicy discount or opt in freebie in exchange for their email address. Stuck for ideas? Check out this list of Opt-in Ideas to Grow Your Email List.

How to:

Head to Automate > Email > ‘Welcome New Subscribers’
Select your Mailing List in the ‘Sends To’ section. Here you can also choose to delay your email although if you are delivering a freebie, I highly recommend having it send out immediately.
Type in your From name, Reply-to email address and a catchy subject line to encourage opens. If you’re including a discount or freebie, mention this in the line to really hook the reader.
Click Edit Content. In the editor you can pick a template and get creative.
Be sure to add in your special discount code or pop a link to download your juicy freebie. For your freebie, add in a link before selecting ‘File’ from the download and uploading the file into MailChimp. This works for buttons and text links.

When you’re happy, click Save and Continue.

Give everything a once over to check you’re happy with it. Then click Start Sending. And away you go!

Note: When you’re ready to send your first email with MailChimp, head to Campaigns > Create and follow the same steps. Instead of delaying your send, you can click Send Later and pick a time and date in the future that you want your campaign to go out.

4. Connect MailChimp to your Newsletter Block

The easiest way to get started with MailChimp and Squarespace is to add in a simple Newsletter Block in your page and connect it to MailChimp.

How to:

In the drag and drop editor on Squarespace, add in a Newsletter Block.
Fill in your form details in the Display tab, like so.

Now click on the Storage tab. Click Connect other services at the bottom.
Click on MailChimp and sign in. Then pick the mailing list you want your audience to sign up to, you know, the one we’ve created that juicy offer for.
You may also wish to check the ‘Require double opt in after subscribing’ button to make sure you subscribers are really keen - and block out those bots!

Check your Verification settings.
Finally, head to Post-Submit. Here you can write a post-submit message like below or you could link to a thank you page to make your process seem extra swish.

Finally, head on over to the Style Editor to match your new contact form to your branding.

How to Create a Pop Up

You can create pop ups in MailChimp and Squarespace. For me, the easiest and most versatile option is to get it set up in Squarespace. Here’s how:

Head to Marketing > Promotional Pop Up.
Toggle on Display Pop-Up.
Then you can pick a layout for your pop up from a set of different templates.

Next is the crucial bit, click Action. From here, choose your goal to be Sign up for a newsletter. Type in your placeholder, button and privacy text.
Now click Storage. Just like you did for the form above, you’ll want to click Connect another service, then MailChimp and follow the instructions to connect the right email list.
Once you’re done, check through the Verification and Post-Submit tabs. Click Save.
In the next tabs you can alter the content, change the display timing, add in an image and then style your new pop-up.

And just like that you’ve successfully set up your MailChimp account, connected it to Squarespace, added in your freebie promotion to your website aaaaand even put up a pop up to really push the sign ups. You’re actually amazing!