EasyDNN MailChimp Plus – an Incredibly Powerful DNN CMS Marketing Tool

E-mail marketing remains one of the most efficient and cost-effective methods of advertising and communicating with users. However, the success of e-mail marketing greatly depends on the quality of the tools and methods used to attract subscribers, send newsletters, analyze data and automate all these processes. Our DNN module EasyDNN MailChimp Plus is a multifunctional e-mail marketing solution that can do wonders for the success of your e-mail marketing, followed by your business success. 

Important notice: If you are using an old version of our EasyDNN MailChimp module (versions from 1.0 to 3.9.6), please upgrade to our brand new module – EasyDNN MailChimp Plus. MailChimp has retired old versions of its API, so the old module does not work any longer or it will stop working very soon. EasyDNN MailChimp Plus uses the new API and it will provide you with uninterrupted service.

MailChimp vs. Own SMTP

If you have been involved in e-mail marketing in the past few years, then you are surely familiar with MailChimp. What Facebook is to social networks, MailChimp is to e-mail marketing. MailChimp is the leading global e-mail service provider (ESP). It provides advanced list management, tracking and analytics, campaign creation tools and marketing automation.

Our EasyDNN MailChimp module is an integration of this great e-mail service provider and DNN CMS. E-mails are sent to users via MailChimp, not your own SMTP. Taking into consideration the risks you face if you send newsletters via own SMTP server, we can say that sending newsletters via own STMP server is not a good idea.

Many ISPs limit the sending of a large number of emails, so sending bulk emails is impossible. Spam filters analyze your email by content and infrastructure. The infrastructure of ESPs has a better reputation than the ISPs’ infrastructure, therefore, the probability of your email ending up in the Junk folder is smaller. If you use your own infrastructure to send emails, you risk being blacklisted by all larger ISPs and endangering not only your email campaign but the entire email correspondence between you and your business partners. As a leading ESP with a multitude of great features, reasonable prices and a free plan for beginners, MailChimp is definitely an excellent choice for your ESP.

What Can EasyDNN MailChimp Plus Do?

EasyDNN MailChimp Plus is an advanced integration of MailChimp and DNN CMS, and a complete e-mail marketing solution. The module can be used for various tasks, depending on your needs. You can use all of them or just certain functionalities. Let us present you with the functionalities, one by one.
 

Signup Forms 

Signup forms are forms used for website visitors to enter their e-mail addresses and other optional data in order to subscribe to your newsletter. With the help of the EasyDNN MailChimp module, you can create an unlimited number of forms that you can then add to your website. The number of signup forms you can add to your website is unlimited. The module features several predefined signup form themes that you can additionally style using our StyleWizard module (also included with the module). Of course, you can also create your own themes. 

There are two types of form that you can create. Embedded signup forms are forms that are incorporated in the website; pop-up signup forms are seen by users as pop-up windows. You can see some examples of signup forms here. 

Pop-up Forms

Pop-up signup forms are very effective for converting website visitors into subscribers, since they target visitors according to set conditions. According to statistics, 70% of website visitors do not return to a website once they leave it. You can use pop-up forms to intercept them before they leave and try to convert them into subscribers. Repeated pop-ups can be annoying. However, the EasyDNN MailChimp module features an option where you can provide specific conditions, such as when the forms are shown and to whom. Picture a situation where a visitor wants to leave your website. He/she moves the cursor towards the address bar in the browser and a pop-up form instantly appears. You have surely experienced that. It is one of the features of this module. But not only that, there are many other possibilities. 

The conditions which dictate when forms are shown are: After X seconds, On exit, After scrolling down, After X amount and Click on link. The conditions when the forms are shown are: All visitors, Visitors browsing specific pages, Visitors with a specific URL parameter and Visitors with a specific anchor tag.

You can see examples of pop-up signup forms here.
 

Synchronisation of DNN users with MailChimp Lists

MailChimp organizes subscribers into lists. In addition, lists can have groups where subscribers are sorted according to their interests and preferences. When a user subscribes via a signup form, he/she is added to a specific list and group depending on the module settings. However, DNN sites often also have registered users with various security roles. If you want to add registered users to lists and keep the list updated according to the status of your subscribers, then you can use the EasyDNN MailChimp Plus module to synchronize your DNN users with MailChimp lists and groups. 

Here is an actual example. A user has registered on your site. He/she has been automatically added to the DNN role of registered users. The module has been configured to synchronize users from the registered user role with the MailChimp list of My registered users, so the module adds the user to the My registered user list. The next time you send a newsletter to your subscribers from the My registered user group, this user will receive the newsletter.

This is a simple example, but the module also features types of synchronization that are much more advanced. You can synchronize users from various DNN roles with different MailChimp lists and groups. Synchronization may be automated and take place within assigned time intervals or you can initiate it manually when it is convenient for you (prior to sending out a newsletter, for example). It is possible to synchronize only the new users or all users from the DNN role. If you synchronize all users, the users who are no longer members of groups, or who are inactive, can be removed from lists. It is also possible to synchronize the MailChimp Merge fields (a.k.a Custom fields) with the DNN user profile property fields. MailChimp Merge fields are fields used when you want to expand the basic data (name, surname, e-mail) concerning your subscribers with additional data such as date of birth, location and so on. Such fields can be synchronized with the user profile data in DNN.

When talking about user synchronization, let's also mention the Custom SQL query option. With the help of the SQL query, it is possible to retrieve data from other tables, databases and modules, and synchronize that data with a MailChimp list. An example would be a web shop module on your website. You want to add users who have purchased some type of a product to a certain list or a group. Since the web shop is a separate module with its tables in the database, it is possible to retrieve the buyers with the assistance of the SQL query and add them to the MailChimp list. Using this option requires a somewhat more advanced SQL knowledge.
 

Creating and Sending Newsletters

Creating and sending newsletters is a functionality that can be used within the module or within the MailChimp web interface. If you use the interface for the creation of a newsletter within the module, you can use the following functionalities: selection of a list and a group the newsletter will be sent to, entry of basic campaign data, template selection, newsletter design and adding content, preview, sending a test newsletter, sending at an assigned time or immediately.
 

Automatic Creation and Sending a Newsletter from Articles, Blog Posts, News…

 

Our EasyDNN News module users may also use the fantastic possibility of automatic newsletter generation from published articles, blog posts, events and everything else EasyDNN News is used for. It is possible to fully automate sending and if any new articles have been created, a newsletter will be generated and sent according to the given parameters. The assigned sending frequency may be daily, weekly or monthly. In addition to new articles, older articles may also be included in the newsletter.

If, for some reason, you do not want to use the fully automated solution, you can control the creation of your newsletter. In such case, you have to select the articles you want to send and the time the newsletter is sent. You can read more about it here.

A similar functionality is added to our EasyDNN Simple Forum module making it possible to automatically send newsletters generated from new forum topics.   

Campaign Archives

If you wish to show the newsletter archive on your website, this is yet another functionality this module provides.

We have been using MailChimp for many years as the solution for our e-mail marketing. Speaking from experience, we can say that this was the best marketing investment we have ever made. It is a marketing channel giving us the best bang for our buck. Based on our experience and by studying good e-mail marketing practices, we have developed a module that will allow you to get the maximum out of your e-mail marketing with a minimum effort required for configuration. If you are still not using any solutions for converting visitors to subscribers, start as soon as today. Each missed day equals a lost opportunity.  
 

How to Get EasyDNN MailChimp Plus

You can download a free trial version of the module from our website. You can purchase the module individually on the DNN store or as a part of the EDS Theme & Module Collection. EDS Theme & Module Collection is a collection of all our products (9 DNN themes and 6 DNN modules) saving you a lot of money.