Mailchimp subscribe forms are NOT all equal

I cannot emphasise how much sign-up forms are not all equal when it comes to collecting subscribers and making Mailchimp work as well as poss.

So here are 3 things you might not know about sign-up forms and 2 things to do in your Mailchimp account.

3 things you might not know about sign-up forms

[1] Mailchimp has 10 different types of forms and their uses are not always obvious

Within Mailchimp you can find these different sorts of forms here and there - some are easy to find, some are tucked away:

• Pop-Up (new style, which have lots of variations from full page to slide-up, multi steps and sticky buttons, and also offer AB testing)

• Pop-up (legacy - mostly grandfathered but I still see the odd one here and there)

• Hosted (like a standalone web-page that you can link to)

• Embed (code that you can add to your website to include the form within an existing page)

• Landing Pages (a standalone web-page usually (not not always) used for a specific campaign)

• Internal “add a contact” (that you see in the back end only)

• Surveys (obvious)

• Preferences (to opt in and out of groups)

• Unsubscribe (obvious)

• Forward (to forward an email to a friend or colleague with a custom message).

All of them function differently, and also have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. For example:

• Embedded/hosted will ADD a new subscriber, but not allow an existing subscriber to update their details or fill in gaps. That can be a problem depending on what you need your form to do, like deliver a specific lead magnet, or fill in gaps about your existing subscribers.

• You might think a survey is the right type of form to get feedback, but it might actually be a landing page in your specific circumstances.

• You might think you need an unsubscribe form, when actually a survey could be the solution.

• You might think the back-end form is the best option for your internal team to add a contact, when in fact an internal use landing page can keep things working better.

The best sort of form to use will depend entirely on what you need it to do. They also have surprising uses that you might not know about.

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[2] The type of form fields you use can make or break your data

I see a lot of forms with “open text” fields for things that should be restricted values like a dropdown, radio or checkbox. This means that the data in Mailchimp will probably be completely useless as a result, to the extent that you might as well not even ask the question.

For example, if you want to collect which country someone is in and give them an open text box to type in, you might get any of these replies from people in the UK alone:

• UK

• U.K.

• United Kingdom

• GB

• G.B.

• Britain

• Great Britain

• England

• Wales

• Scotland

• Ireland

• Utd Kingdom

• Gt Britain

• Britian (there’s ALWAYS someone who can’t spell).

Apply that across the rest of the world, and take into account someone from e.g.  Spain might also write “España” and it becomes somewhere between very complicated to nigh-on-impossible to create a segment to email subscribers in a specific country.

If however, you’d had a dropdown with a restricted list of countries to select from, everyone would have exactly the same term for that country in their data and you can very easily segment. You could even use that response to drive an automation or shape a flow sequence.

See what I mean?

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[3] Third party forms might be the answer

I rarely get asked to help with forms, but invariably the forms are absolutely key to the work involved in most projects.

Sometimes a form might need:

• Conditional logic (the input fields change depending on the response to the question before)

• Hidden fields that the person completing it can’t see, but that send vital data across to populate your CRM or drive an automation.

• Conditional data transfer so that you can e.g. collect responses, but only send certain ones that meet certain conditions into Mailchimp. For example:

  • your contact form includes a dropdown to subscribe for emails. If they select “yes” they are sent to Mailchimp, if they select “no” they are not. Either way the contact form still does everything else it needs to.

• And sometimes you’re using a 3rd party tool or app, like Salesforce, or Eventbrite, or Calendly, or your shop for example, that includes a form for a specific function but that you’re also using to grow your mailing list at the same time.

Mailchimp’s own forms can’t do any of these things. So I also work with a huge number of different form builders and know their unique abilities and limitations, to help decide which is the one we need, e.g.

• Different Wordpress plugins like Gravity, CF7, Elementor, EasyForms, WP Forms

• 3rd party specific form apps like Jotform, Typeform and Cognito

• Forms specific to many different types of websites and app like Squarespace, Wix, Calendly, Acuity, Eventbrite, ScoreApp, Payhip, Airtable, Google, SurveyMonkey etc etc.

• Middleware like Zapier that can act as a data bridge between forms and Mailchimp to send the right thing to the right place in the right format.

2 things to do in Mailchimp (and beyond)

[1] A profiling question (AKA “zero party data”) can make ALL the difference

Instead of just email address, or name and email, could you include one additional question that could transform the way your nurture and segment subscribers from the very outset?

For example:

• If you are a pet store retailer, include you could include a checkbox asking what pets they have dogs / cats / gerbils / fish etc. If someone says cats and gerbils, they don’t want to see a welcome email full of dog accessories, right?

• If you offer solutions, include a dropdown asking what someone’s primary issue is from a list of your services. Deal with their pain-point first.

• If you run events in different locations, you could include a dropdown with the locations you are in, and ask them to select theirs.  

• If you offer relationship coaching, include a dropdown to find out their current relationship status. There’s no point telling them about divorce if they’re looking for love.

Now I’m HOPING you have a welcome automation set up? (if not, we need to talk).

If you do, instead of sending a very generic welcome email to everyone, you can send them down a flow (think of a family tree shape) where the very first email they ever receive from you directly relates to their interest / role / location. And the more relevant your first email is, the more likely they are to feel like you see them and can help.

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[2] Find ALL the forms that someone could subscribe to on your website, then…

• Look at them with a fresh pair of eyes

• Are they easy to find?

• If your form is in the footer only, will someone on a mobile device ever scroll that far?

• Are they GDPR compliant?

• Have you got separate first and last name boxes?

• Do you have free text fields when restricted fields like a drop-down might be more helpful?

• If you complete them, do they send the right information to the right place? (Be sure to test them with aliases so that they behave for you as they would for a new subscriber.)

• Could you include one additional question that could transform the way your nurture and segment subscribers from the very outset?

Stuck? Questions? Need help with Mailchimp?

I’m Claire Witz, a fully certified UK Mailchimp Pro Partner ranked in the top 10 globally. I help marketing teams, charities and ambitious businesses sort out messy Mailchimp accounts, improve how they’re set up, and get far more from the platform and their email marketing.

If you want a calm, knowledgeable and very experienced expert in your corner, just ask.