Before we got into the thick of designing New MailChimp, we did a lot of research and studied the ways our customers work. We were reminded that our customers are under tight deadlines, and when they log in to MailChimp, they don’t have a lot of time to put together a campaign. So we looked for ways to increase efficiency and shave time off of the campaign creation process. We eliminated design elements that didn’t serve a purpose, and reorganized the campaign creation part of the app to make sure the information is clear, useful, and only there when you need it. We think it’s going to help speed up your workflow so you can spend less time in our app.

Here’s a peek at New MailChimp’s campaign creation process and campaign dashboard:

When first I started working at MailChimp four years ago, I had never even coded an HTML email. Sure, I’d been involved in web design since the late ’90s, but emails are a different beast altogether. The learning curve was steep, in large part because documentation on the “art” of HTML email was scattered at best. There wasn’t a one-stop spot to get people up to speed.

When it comes to email development, the prevailing attitudes are confusion and frustration. We want to help change that. That’s what drove us to start this project, and now we have an HTML email reference to share with you.

Read More

It’s that time again, folks: we’ve added more templates for this month’s v6.3 release. 21 new templates, to be exact.

Here’s what we’ve got for you:

• Newsletter: 12
• Non-profit: 9

While we’ve added another healthy batch of general-use newsletter templates, I think the big blip on the radar here is the expansion of our non-profit category, with easier-to-use, more stable templates.

Read More

Last month, Aarron showed off 33 new templates that were introduced in the v6.1 release. This month, for v6.2, I’m showing off an additional 42 new templates that are being added to the pre-designed section of the app’s email template library.

Here’s what we’re adding to the library:

• RSS-to-email: 9
• Fitness: 6
• Technology (iPhone & Android Showcase): 12
• Restaurant: 15

Read More

The Equinux team has been hard at work building the latest version of Mail Designer. The thing is, now it works with MailChimp! Mail Designer is a Mac app that lets you author great-looking emails without worrying about HTML, tables (eek!), and other geek-related topics.

Read More