Sending our email newsletter in Mailchimp

***Important Note: This email newsletter template was made for MailChimp or ConvertKit platforms

In order to use this Canva email newsletter template, you will be downloading the designs as images (and therefore sending them via MailChimp as images). This means any external links you add directly in Canva will NOT be linked in your email. To add links to your email, you will have to link the entire image within your email provider – we'll show you how to do this in MailChimp in the video below!

Additionally, this means your email provider needs to have the ability to send images in the body of the email, rather than adding the images as attachments. MailChimp and ConvertKit are email providers that do allow this. If you use another email provider, you can always copy the content from our email template and plug it into other email providers like FloDesk. Lastly: The most important part is adding your personal touch in your text and personal images. 

Sending our Email Newsletters in MailChimp

Customizing the C&C Email Newsletter Template - [WATCH VIDEO]

How to customize C&C's Email Newsletter Template in MailChimp:

1. On the Coffee & Contracts website, open the template labeled “[Month] Newsletter.” (You will find this in the “What’s New” tab every month). Here you will find the Canva template you will use for the contents of the email, and the Mailchimp template link. 
   1. Click "Open" to customize the Canva template. Click "Use Template" to start editing the template.
   2. 💡 Please note: You will not be adding any links in Canva, we will be downloading this template as an image and adding any external links in MailChimp.
2. Name your newsletter - Pick one your readers would be excited about opening
   1. [Name’s] Virtual Pop By
   2. [Name’s] Virtual Updates
   3. The [City] Scoop
   4. The [City] Beat
   5. [Your name] in [Your market] “Tara in Tampa”
3. Update the placeholders
   1. Any time you see brackets “[example]”, that means it requires you to fill in your own personal info!
   2. Update "[City name]" and "[Month]"
   3. Add your own photos and information
   4. Don’t forget to update the signature!
4. Download the files
   1. Download all the files as PNGs
   2. IMPORTANT: when you click download, under the “Size” heading, drag the button to the right. This will ensure your images are crisp and clear once downloaded

Sending through MailChimp:

1. Access the MailChimp Template
   1. Go back to the Coffee & Contracts website and Click on the link “MailChimp Template”
   2. 💡  Make sure you have already signed up for and are logged into your MailChimp account before clicking this template link.
   3. Once you click the template link, MailChimp will redirect you to your Email Templates page under Campaigns. The Newsletter Template will be the first one in the list. Click on the title to customize it.
2. Update the images in the MailChimp Template 
   1. Now you will swap the images in the template for the ones you just downloaded. 
   2. Click the first image > Click the Pen icon > On to the right you'll see options to customize this image. Click "Replace" and you will be brought to a page to upload the images you just downloaded from Canva. You can go ahead and upload all of the images you just downloaded. (IMPORTANT NOTE: you will need to open the .zip file from your downloads to access the image files). 
   3. Select the first image and click "Insert" to replace the image. 
   4. Now you're going to replace the second image. Click he first image > Click the Pen icon > Click "Replace" to replace this image with the one you just downloaded. Select the second image and click "Insert" to replace the image. 
   5. Repeat this step for the third image
   6. Repeat this step for the fourth image
   7. Add your Instagram URL link to the fourth image
      1. Click the image > Click the Pen icon > Click “Link”
      2. Paste your Instagram URL
      3. Click “Insert" and "Save"
3. Update social media icons & Coffee & Contracts Logo
   1. 💡Click the social media icon section at the bottom to add your URLs and swap out any of the social media icons. Click the Coffee & Contracts logo at the top to remove or swap with your own logo.
4. Add your email recipients:
   1. On the left toolbar, under Audience > Click “All Contacts”
   2. Under Add Contacts > Click Import Contacts
   3. Choose how you’d like to add your contacts (Import from another service, upload a CSV file, or copy & paste)
5. Now, it's time to SEND! 
   1. Go back to the Email Templates page in Mailchimp (under Campaigns). 
   2. Go to the template you were just customizing, click the drop down arrow on the right, and click "Create Campaign"
   3. Add your information, check the email to make sure the links work and there are no typos or errors
   4. Select the audience you wish to send the email to
   5. Send it now or schedule your email for a future date!