Email marketing has long been a staple in the world of digital marketing, and for good reason. It’s a powerful tool that allows businesses to connect directly with their audience, delivering messages straight to subscribers’ inboxes. Among the many email marketing platforms available, Mailchimp is a well-known and user-friendly choice.
Skillshare, a platform known for its high-quality online courses, offers a course titled “Getting Started with Email Marketing | Learn with Mailchimp,” which aims to guide individuals through the fundamentals of email marketing using this popular platform. In this review, we’ll explore the course, the instructor, its target audience, the topics it covers, as well as its strengths and weaknesses.
Table of Contents
About the course
“Getting Started with Email Marketing | Learn with Mailchimp” is an online course available on Skillshare. Taught by expert instructor Allyson Van Houten, who serves as the product marketing lead at Mailchimp, this 70-minute course is designed to be accessible to both beginners and those who may have some experience with email marketing but seek a structured understanding of how to effectively use Mailchimp as their platform of choice.
The course is divided into several sections that tackle key aspects of email marketing, ranging from building a subscriber list to writing, designing, testing, sending, and analyzing email campaigns. These segments are thoughtfully designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of email marketing’s core concepts and how to apply them using Mailchimp. The course is video-based, and learners can access the content at their own pace, making it flexible and accommodating for various learning styles.
Who is Allyson Van Houten?
Allyson Van Houten, the instructor of this course, brings a wealth of practical expertise to the table. As the product marketing lead at Mailchimp, she works closely with customers, helping them harness the power of Mailchimp to meet their business objectives efficiently. Her hands-on experience with the platform is invaluable, as it provides learners with insights not just into theory but into the practical application of email marketing using Mailchimp.
Allyson’s friendly and approachable teaching style makes complex concepts accessible, and her real-world examples and anecdotes add depth to the course. Her role at Mailchimp and her understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by businesses in the world of email marketing make her a credible and effective instructor for this course.
Target audience
The target audience for this course primarily consists of individuals who are new to email marketing or those who have dabbled in it but want a structured understanding of how to use Mailchimp effectively. Here are some specific groups who can benefit from this course:
- Entrepreneurs: If you’re an entrepreneur looking to expand your business and reach your audience effectively through email marketing, this course provides you with the foundation to get started.
- Small Business Owners: Small business owners can greatly benefit from this course, particularly if they’ve been struggling with how to navigate email marketing to boost their business.
- Marketing Beginners: If you’re new to the world of marketing and want to understand the power of email marketing in building brand awareness and driving customer loyalty, this course offers an accessible entry point.
- Mailchimp Users: Individuals who have chosen Mailchimp as their email marketing platform can leverage this course to maximize the potential of the platform for their campaigns.
- Marketing Enthusiasts: Even if you have a keen interest in marketing but haven’t delved into email marketing yet, this course provides a stepping stone to exploring this effective digital marketing channel.
What is covered in the course?
“Getting Started with Email Marketing | Learn with Mailchimp” covers a wide range of topics, providing learners with a comprehensive understanding of email marketing. The course is divided into multiple sections, each focusing on a specific aspect of email marketing. Here’s an overview of the topics covered:
Email Marketing Overview: The course begins with an introduction to email marketing, explaining its importance as a direct communication tool and how it differs from other marketing channels like social media.
Setting Business Goals: Allyson emphasizes the importance of aligning your email marketing strategy with your business goals. This section helps learners understand the role email marketing plays in driving brand awareness, product awareness, brand loyalty, website traffic, and sales.
Creating Content for Emails: This topic explores the types of content you can include in your email campaigns, particularly leveraging existing content from your website or blog.
Developing an Email Marketing Strategy: The course guides learners on how to create an email marketing strategy that aligns with their business goals. Allyson recommends using a calendar to plan email communications to ensure consistency.
What Types of Email to Send: Here, learners gain insights into different types of email campaigns, including general newsletters, targeted communications, and automated campaigns. The importance of selecting the right type for specific goals is emphasized.
Determining Email Frequency: Allyson discusses how often to send emails and suggests starting with a monthly frequency for beginners. The section also highlights the importance of tracking email engagement.
Examples of Great Email Campaigns: The course showcases real-world examples of effective email campaigns to inspire and inform learners. These examples include various styles and content approaches.
Campaign Creation – Building a Subscriber List: A crucial aspect of email marketing is building a subscriber list. This section provides insights into collecting and managing subscribers. It discusses how to ensure your list consists of individuals genuinely interested in your content.
Campaign Creation – Segmenting Subscribers: The course delves into the practice of segmenting subscribers based on specific criteria, allowing targeted content delivery and increased relevance.
Campaign Creation – Writing Content: This section provides guidance on writing email content, covering essential elements such as subject lines, pre-header text, headlines, body copy, and calls to action.
Campaign Creation – Design: The design of your email template is explored in this section. It covers the importance of clarity, consistency, fonts, calls to action, images, and the use of animated GIFs.
Campaign Creation – Testing, Sending, and Analyzing: The final segment discusses the significance of testing your emails, including A/B testing and compatibility across email clients. It also touches on scheduling emails, analyzing key metrics, and making data-driven improvements.
What I liked and disliked
As with any online learning course, there are going to be aspects that do not appeal to all learners. Below are the parts of the course I liked, along with the parts I disliked, so that you can better decide if this course is right for you.
Likes
Comprehensive and Structured Content: The course offers a well-structured and comprehensive curriculum. It takes learners through the entire process of email marketing, from the fundamentals to advanced topics.
Practical Insights from a Mailchimp Expert: Allyson’s role at Mailchimp adds a layer of practicality and real-world knowledge to the course, making it highly credible.
Emphasis on Alignment with Business Goals: The focus on aligning email marketing with broader business objectives is a fundamental principle that every marketer should grasp.
Effective Introduction for Beginners: This course serves as an excellent introduction for beginners. It ensures that learners understand the basics and are well-prepared to launch their email marketing campaigns.
Real-World Examples: The inclusion of real-world email campaign examples provides inspiration and insights that can be applied to learners’ own efforts
Dislikes
Lack of more in-depth or advanced strategies for experienced email marketers: This course is clearly designed for beginners so anyone who has more email marketing experience may not find it helpful.
How much does the course cost?
Courses on Skillshare can not be bought individually – they can only be accessed by signing up for a Skillshare membership. The good news? Skillshare offers e-student.org learners a full month free trial if you use our link (if not using our link, there is normally only a 7-day free trial). As virtually all Skillshare courses will take you less than a month to complete, you can in effect take this or any other Skillshare course for free – or any number of courses that you can finish in a month.
Once your free trial is over, the cost of Skillshare is $165 per year, which averages out to $13.75 per month. This gives you full access to all 34,000+ Skillshare courses. But if you're not happy to continue, you can easily cancel any time before your free trial ends – just go to your payment settings in your account.
If you have no need for a free trial, you can instead get %30 discount on your first year by using this special link instead. With this link, your first year will be just $115.50, averaging out to $9.63 per month. Note that this offer is only valid for new accounts, so it can't be combined with the 30-day free trial.
Concluding thoughts
“Getting Started with Email Marketing | Learn with Mailchimp” on Skillshare is a good resource for individuals looking to venture into email marketing, specifically those who are looking to use Mailchimp as their platform. Allyson Van Houten, the course instructor, does a commendable job of taking learners through the email marketing journey, from the very basics to more advanced strategies.
The course’s strengths lie in its comprehensiveness, practical insights from a Mailchimp expert, and the emphasis on aligning email marketing with broader business goals. This course is a valuable resource for beginners seeking a solid foundation in email marketing or for small business owners looking to unlock the potential of email campaigns. With an engaging instructor and real-world examples, this course is a worthwhile investment for anyone looking to harness the power of email marketing effectively. It provides the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing and reach a wider, more engaged audience.
Whether you’re a novice or have some prior email marketing experience, “Getting Started with Email Marketing | Learn with Mailchimp” equips you with the necessary tools to succeed in the realm of email marketing.
