Mailchimp Automation

TL;DR

What it is: You configure and manage Mailchimp for businesses, building automation flows like welcome series, abandoned cart sequences, and customer journeys. You also handle audience segmentation, platform integrations, email template design, and account migrations. Clients range from small businesses setting up email marketing for the first time to established brands needing complex multi-flow automation systems.

What you'll do:

• Build automated email flows (welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, re-engagement)
• Set up audience segments based on behavior, engagement, and purchase data
• Connect Mailchimp to ecommerce platforms, CRMs, and business tools
• Design and customize email templates
• Migrate contacts and workflows from other email platforms

Time to learn: 2-4 months if you practice 5-10 hours per week. Faster if you already have email marketing experience with other platforms.

What you need: Understanding of email marketing principles, logical thinking for workflow design, basic knowledge of email deliverability, and willingness to learn Mailchimp's automation tools and data model.

What This Actually Is

Mailchimp is one of the most widely used email marketing platforms in the world, with over 14 million active accounts. It has evolved from a simple newsletter tool into a full marketing automation platform with audience management, customer journey builders, landing pages, ecommerce integrations, and analytics. Intuit acquired Mailchimp in 2021, and the platform has been expanding its feature set steadily since.

Your role as a Mailchimp automation specialist is to bridge the gap between owning a Mailchimp account and actually using it effectively. Most businesses sign up for Mailchimp, send a few newsletters manually, and never touch the automation features that generate results without daily effort. The opportunity exists because setting up proper automation flows, audience segments, and integrations requires both platform expertise and marketing strategy knowledge that most business owners don't have.

The work spans industries. Ecommerce stores need abandoned cart and post-purchase flows. SaaS companies need onboarding sequences. Coaches and consultants need lead nurturing automations. Nonprofits need donor engagement campaigns. The common thread is businesses that collect email addresses but aren't doing anything systematic with them. Your job is to build the systems that turn those contacts into engaged subscribers and paying customers.

Unlike general email marketing work, automation-focused projects involve designing workflows that run indefinitely once launched. A welcome series you build today could send emails to new subscribers for years without manual intervention. This means the initial setup work is more intensive, but it creates tangible, lasting value for clients.

What You'll Actually Do

Projects typically begin with a discovery conversation where you assess the client's current Mailchimp setup, their business model, and what they want their email marketing to accomplish. Many clients have messy accounts with duplicate contacts, inconsistent tags, and abandoned half-built campaigns. Understanding the starting point determines the scope of work.

Automation flow building is the core deliverable. Mailchimp's Customer Journeys builder lets you create multi-step workflows with triggers, time delays, conditional branches, and actions. A welcome series might trigger when someone subscribes through a form, send an initial email immediately, wait two days, check whether they opened the first email, and branch into different follow-up sequences based on engagement. An abandoned cart flow connects to the client's ecommerce platform and sends reminders featuring the specific products left behind.

Audience segmentation organizes contacts into meaningful groups. You create segments based on engagement levels (active versus inactive subscribers), purchase behavior, geographic location, signup source, and custom data fields. These segments drive both automated flows and manual campaigns. Proper segmentation prevents the single biggest mistake in email marketing: sending the same message to everyone regardless of their relationship with the business.

Integration work connects Mailchimp to the client's broader tool stack. This includes ecommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, CRM systems, scheduling tools, payment processors, and analytics platforms. Some connections use Mailchimp's native integrations, while others require middleware tools like Zapier or Make. Custom integrations occasionally involve working with Mailchimp's API.

Template design ensures emails match the client's brand. You work with Mailchimp's drag-and-drop editor for standard designs or write custom HTML and CSS for more specific requirements. Templates need to render correctly across email clients and devices, which requires testing and attention to the quirks of email rendering.

Account audits and migrations round out the service mix. Audits involve reviewing an existing Mailchimp account for problems like poor list hygiene, broken automations, missing domain authentication, or ineffective segmentation. Migrations involve moving contacts, automations, and templates from another email platform into Mailchimp while preserving subscriber consent records and maintaining deliverability.

Skills You Need

Email marketing fundamentals are non-negotiable. Understanding deliverability concepts like domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), sender reputation, and inbox placement directly affects whether the automations you build actually reach people. Knowing the strategic purpose behind different email types, welcome versus nurture versus transactional versus re-engagement, shapes how you design workflows that serve real business goals.

Mailchimp platform expertise means navigating the automation flow builder, audience management tools, campaign builder, reporting dashboard, and integration settings with confidence. The platform has many features, and clients expect you to know which ones solve their specific problems. Surface-level familiarity isn't enough when a client asks why their automation stopped triggering or why contacts aren't syncing from their store.

Automation logic is the technical backbone. You design workflows with branching paths, conditional checks, and timing sequences. What happens if someone subscribes while already being in a re-engagement flow? What if a customer triggers an abandoned cart flow, then purchases before the first reminder sends? Thinking through edge cases and designing flows that handle them gracefully requires systematic reasoning.

Copywriting basics increase your value significantly. While many specialists focus purely on the technical setup, being able to write or improve subject lines, calls to action, and email body copy means you deliver more complete work. You don't need to be a professional copywriter, but understanding what makes email copy effective helps you build automations that produce results.

Data and analytics literacy lets you interpret Mailchimp's reporting, identify what's working, and recommend improvements. Understanding open rates, click rates, conversion rates, unsubscribe rates, and how these metrics relate to business outcomes transforms you from a platform configurator into a strategic partner.

Basic HTML and CSS knowledge is valuable for customizing templates beyond the drag-and-drop editor's capabilities. Not every project requires it, but clients with strict brand guidelines or complex layouts often need template code edited directly.

Getting Started

Create a free Mailchimp account and explore the platform. Mailchimp's free plan gives you access to the core features including the automation flow builder, audience tools, and campaign editor. Use this to learn the interface, experiment with automation logic, and build practice workflows without spending anything.

Complete the Mailchimp Academy certifications. Mailchimp & Co (their partner program) includes free access to Mailchimp Academy, which offers structured courses covering platform fundamentals, automation, segmentation, campaigns, and analytics. The certifications are completable in a few weeks with regular study and provide credentials that demonstrate competency to potential clients.

Build a practice setup that mimics real client work. Create sample automation flows covering the most common use cases: a welcome series, an abandoned cart sequence, a post-purchase follow-up, and a re-engagement campaign. Design audience segments and email templates. This practice work becomes your portfolio and reveals the practical challenges you'll encounter with real clients before you're under pressure.

Take on 2-3 initial projects at reduced rates to build experience and reviews. These early projects teach you things no certification covers: how to scope work when the client's requirements are vague, how to troubleshoot issues with a live account, and how to communicate progress to non-technical business owners. Early client work is where your skills develop fastest.

Join Mailchimp & Co and work toward Partner status. The program is free to join and provides access to the Mailchimp Academy, community resources, and eventually a listing in the Mailchimp Experts Directory. Once you connect 10 or more client accounts on paid plans, you qualify for Partner status, which gets you listed in the directory where businesses actively search for help. The directory listing becomes a passive client acquisition channel.

Income Reality

Market rates for Mailchimp automation work vary by experience, project type, and how you find clients. Hourly rates on freelance platforms range from $30-$50 for newer specialists to $65-$120 for experienced professionals with strong portfolios and certifications. Specialists who find clients through the Mailchimp Experts Directory or referrals typically command higher rates than those competing on open marketplaces.

Project-based pricing is common for setup and migration work. A basic Mailchimp account setup with a few core automation flows might run a few hundred dollars. A comprehensive implementation including multiple automation flows, advanced segmentation, platform integrations, custom templates, and contact migration ranges into several thousand dollars depending on scope and complexity.

Monthly retainers provide the most stable income stream. Ongoing automation optimization, campaign management, A/B testing, new flow development, and performance reporting support retainer arrangements that range from $500-$3,000 per month per client. Building even a small base of retainer clients creates predictable recurring revenue alongside one-time project work.

The Mailchimp & Co Partner Program adds a secondary income layer through commissions. Partners earn a percentage on referred customers who sign up for paid plans and on connected accounts. This isn't a primary income source, but it supplements project revenue as your connected client base grows.

How you position yourself matters. Specialists who frame their work around business outcomes, increasing subscriber engagement, recovering abandoned revenue, or improving customer retention, command more than those who market themselves as platform configurators. Value-based positioning shifts the conversation from hourly rates to results delivered.

Where to Find Work

Freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr have consistent demand for Mailchimp specialists. Searching for "Mailchimp automation," "email marketing setup," or "marketing automation" surfaces current opportunities. Mailchimp is well-known enough that businesses specifically request platform expertise, which narrows competition compared to generic "email marketing" listings.

The Mailchimp Experts Directory is a distinct advantage over other freelance niches. Mailchimp directs businesses looking for help to this directory, creating inbound leads without marketplace competition. Getting listed requires Partner status in the Mailchimp & Co program, but the effort invested in reaching that level pays back through warm client inquiries from businesses already committed to using the platform.

LinkedIn works well for positioning yourself as a Mailchimp automation specialist. Sharing insights about email automation, posting anonymized case studies, and engaging with small business owners builds visibility over time. Many business owners search LinkedIn for specialists when they've decided to invest in their email marketing setup.

Direct outreach to small businesses produces results because so many businesses underutilize Mailchimp. Offering a free audit of their current setup, identifying unused features and broken automations, gives you a natural entry point for paid work. Ecommerce stores, coaches, SaaS companies, and nonprofits are all viable targets.

Partnerships with complementary service providers create reliable referral streams. Web developers, marketing consultants, branding agencies, and business coaches all work with clients who need email marketing help but don't handle it themselves. Building relationships with these professionals generates warm introductions to pre-qualified clients.

Note: Platforms may charge fees or commissions. We don't track specific rates as they change frequently. Check each platform's current pricing before signing up.

Common Challenges

Messy existing accounts are one of the most frequent obstacles. Clients who have been using Mailchimp without a clear strategy often have duplicate contacts, inconsistent tagging, broken automations, and poor list organization. Cleaning up an existing account is time-intensive and difficult to estimate upfront. Learning to spot these issues during discovery and scope the cleanup work accurately prevents undercharging for labor-intensive projects.

Deliverability issues frustrate both you and clients. Emails landing in spam despite well-configured automations often trace back to domain authentication problems, poor sender reputation from previous email practices, or low-quality contact lists. These issues aren't always within your direct control, but clients expect you to diagnose and resolve them. Understanding the root causes helps you provide realistic expectations and actionable fixes.

Scope creep is extremely common with automation work. "Set up a welcome sequence" expands to "also build three more flows, migrate our contacts from another platform, and integrate with our CRM." Clear scoping with explicit deliverables in proposals and contracts is essential for protecting your time and maintaining project profitability.

Platform changes require ongoing adaptation. Mailchimp retired its Classic Automation Builder in mid-2025, forcing migrations to the newer Automation Flows system. Such changes mean setups you built for previous clients may need updating, and the advice you gave last year might not reflect current best practices. Continuous learning isn't optional in this space.

Troubleshooting unpredictability slows down project timelines. When an automation flow stops triggering, sends the wrong content, or doesn't process conditional logic as expected, diagnosis can take anywhere from minutes to hours. API connection drops, data formatting mismatches, and edge cases in conditional logic cause problems that aren't immediately obvious and require methodical testing to isolate.

Client expectations around results timing create tension. Email automation builds value over weeks and months, not days. New clients may expect immediate revenue spikes when the real payoff comes from consistent subscriber engagement compounding over time. Setting expectations during the project kickoff prevents frustration and helps clients understand what success actually looks like.

Tips That Actually Help

Master the standard flows before attempting complex systems. Welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase follow-up, and re-engagement campaigns are what most clients need first. Having well-tested templates for these that you can customize per client saves significant time and reduces errors on every project.

Learn Mailchimp's audience data model thoroughly. Understanding how tags, groups, segments, merge fields, and events interact lets you build sophisticated targeting that uses the full power of the platform. Most competitors stay at the surface level, so deep data knowledge becomes a real differentiator when clients compare specialists.

Scope every project with explicit deliverables. Instead of "set up Mailchimp," define exactly what's included: "build 4 automation flows, create 5 audience segments, design 2 email templates, configure Shopify integration, and provide a documentation walkthrough." This clarity prevents scope disputes, helps clients understand what they're paying for, and protects your margins.

Test every automation path before launching. Send test profiles through each possible branch, verify conditional logic with different data scenarios, and confirm that emails render correctly across devices and email clients. A broken flow that sends the wrong content or triggers at the wrong time damages your credibility and the client's customer experience.

Document everything you build for the client. A simple reference showing what each flow does, what triggers it, what segments it targets, and how it connects to other parts of the system provides lasting value. Clients who understand their setup are more likely to hire you for expansion work because they can see the foundation you built clearly.

Specialize in a vertical once you have foundational skills. Being the Mailchimp specialist for ecommerce stores, or for coaches, or for SaaS companies lets you reuse templates, understand industry-specific metrics, and speak the client's language. Niche expertise justifies higher rates and makes your marketing more targeted.

Learning Timeline Reality

Basic platform navigation comes quickly. Within 1-2 weeks of focused exploration, you can move through the interface, build simple email campaigns, create basic automation flows, and set up audience segments. Mailchimp Academy's certification coursework is completable in 3-6 weeks and provides structured fundamentals.

Intermediate competency develops over 1-3 months with regular practice. This includes building multi-step flows with conditional branching and A/B tests, configuring integrations with ecommerce and CRM platforms, setting up advanced segmentation using behavioral data, and handling common troubleshooting scenarios. At this stage, you can take on straightforward client projects with confidence.

Advanced proficiency, where you're comfortable with complex multi-flow systems, platform migrations, API integrations, sophisticated segmentation strategies, and account-wide audit and optimization projects, generally takes 3-6 months of active client work. These skills develop through solving real problems that push you beyond standard configurations.

If you already have email marketing experience with other platforms, the Mailchimp-specific learning curve is significantly shorter. The marketing strategy knowledge transfers directly. You primarily need to learn Mailchimp's interface, its specific automation builder, and how its data model differs from what you've used before.

Is This For You

This works well if you're comfortable with both technical configuration and marketing strategy. The work sits at the intersection of platform expertise and business understanding. You need to translate vague goals like "we want more engagement" into specific automation workflows with defined triggers, conditions, and content.

Detail orientation matters. Configuring automation triggers, setting conditional logic, mapping data fields, and testing every workflow path requires precision. A single misconfigured condition can send promotional emails to people who just unsubscribed, or fail to trigger an abandoned cart flow entirely. Careful, methodical work prevents problems that damage your client relationships.

Client communication is a substantial part of the work. Discovery calls, requirements gathering, progress updates, and post-launch walkthroughs all require explaining technical concepts to people who don't know what an automation flow is. If you prefer minimal interaction, the client-facing aspects of this work may not suit you.

The work fits well as a side hustle because it's primarily asynchronous. You can build flows, configure integrations, and design templates on your own schedule. Client communication happens through email, recorded walkthroughs, and occasional video calls that can be scheduled around other commitments. The flexibility accommodates other work or responsibilities without requiring constant availability.

Continuous learning is a real requirement, not a suggestion. Mailchimp evolves regularly, introducing new features and retiring old ones. If keeping up with platform changes feels like a burden rather than something you're naturally curious about, the maintenance aspect of this work may wear on you over time.