Recently I spoke with MailChimp user and Richmond artist Brian Korte of Brickworkz LLC. Brian started Brickworkz as a way to create custom art and conversation pieces, using LEGO bricks as his medium of choice. The idea came to him in 2004 when two close friends were about to marry. Wanting to do something completely different, Brian looked through his LEGO stash and began designing a portrait of the couple using 10,400 LEGO bricks.

From there, Brian began building for a local gallery and designing custom portraits for families and businesses. In 2006, Brickworkz LLC was formed. Brian spent the next two years taking the show on the road to various LEGO-related events, capturing his completed works online. By 2007, online visitors from countries like Israel, Hong Kong, Ireland, Canada and England were requesting Brickworkz art.

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The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has issued their Final Alert prior to the biggest presidential inauguration EVER. The Committee has been using MailChimp since early November 2008 to send out email updates keeping visitors updated about traffic information, weather alerts and more.  Click on the image to view additional information from the Committee’s Final Alert: timing, getting to the swearing-in ceremony, weather, security (including prohibited items) as well as other important reminders.

Here’s a nice example of a “not-too-late-for-the-holidays” campaign, which you can’t do without the magic of email. Have an online retail store or provide services (massages, hair salon)? Why not send out an email to let your customers know there is still time to purchase a holiday gift certificate?

Kudos to Federica Cavallaro Therapeutic Massage and her agency, Rubic Design, for this beautifully designed email.

Check out this really nice, customized newsletter signup form for Brown’s Brain, “Websites can be easy” newsletter.  All you need to do to customize your own signup form is click on the “Lists” tab in the MailChimp dashboard. Then select the list for which you want to edit/customize your forms, and click “design signup forms & response emails”.

Zip, an online retailer of Corvette restoration parts, is using a bunch of MailChimp features to help boost their business and stay in touch with customers.

When you place an order online, Zip asks you to set up an account. At the start of this process, when you set up your email address and user password, there is a check box where users can opt-in to receive emails with special promotions and information.

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