In MailChimp v4.2, we’ve added a number of list import options, including Google Docs, Google Contacts and Google Forms. Google Forms is a powerful and free tool that you can use to quickly and easily create a custom signup form that links directly to your MailChimp account.

To begin, you’ll want to head over to Google Docs and login using your Google account information. Then, under the New Document menu, select Form. Go ahead and give your form a name and then include some information as to what the signup form is for or about.

From there, you’ll begin adding fields. By default, the blank form starts out with two “Sample Questions” for you to modify. For this example, we just added a separate field for First Name, Last Name and Email Address, and went ahead and made them all required fields. It’s also important to ensure that you select “Text” for the Question Type.

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MailChimp integrates with a ton of applications, like Batchbook, Magento, Salesforce, Drupal, WordPress, Freshbooks, Paypal, Wufoo and more (there’s an ever-growing at mailchimp.com/extras).

There are so many now, that managing your different integrations can be tough. So we created this new “Integrations Dashboard” under your Account page.

It’s a great birds-eye-view of all the apps you’ve linked to MailChimp, and what their status is. If you’re experiencing any issues sync’ing data with one of them, this is where you can go to diagnose.

In the latest MailChimp upgrade we developed an easy way for you to add a table of contents to your newsletter.

The * | MC:TOC | *  dynamic merge tag works by pulling anything from your email that is formatted as Title text, and displaying it as an ordered list complete with bullet points. Each item in your table of contents is then anchor linked to the corresponding blurb in your email.

To add a table of contents to your email, simply insert * | MC:TOC | * where you’d like the contents listing to appear. In the example screen shots you can see that I added some Title text (“In this edition of The MonkeyWrench”), and then added the merge tag below it.

You can also insert a Table of Contents in either the right or left column of a two-column template and the merge tag will work exactly the same way.

(I’ve used extra spaces between the elements of the merge tag so that it will render correctly for those who subscribe to the RSS-to-Email version of the blog.)

In MailChimp v4.2, you now have the ability to segment your list by ZIP code. When you set up your campaign and choose the list you want to send to, you’ll want to click on the “send to a segment of list” option. Then select Address from the left-most drop down menu and then “is within distance”. (Sorry international chimps, but this feature is currently only available in the US.) Next, a box will appear where you can enter the mile radius you want to send to, and finally, the appropriate ZIP code. The one caveat here is that you need to be collecting address data from your subscribers when they sign up for your list. Click through to learn how.

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We’ve been busy. In addition to all the new MailChimp v4.2 features we just launched, we’ve also been working with the folks at Crowdfavorite to build an awesome new (and totally free!) Google Analytics plugin for WordPress.

In a nutshell, it uses the power of Google Analytics to tell bloggers what kind of an effect they’re having on overall website traffic. We’ve made it super easy to tell if your blog posts (and email campaigns) are driving traffic to your website — it’s all embedded right in your WordPress Dashboard!

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