Mailchimp SMS: Step-by-Step + What You Should Know for 2024

Mailchimp… or SMSchimp?

Mailchimp is one of the most widely used email marketing platforms in the world.

Case in point: 13 million users.

13 million.

(To put in perspective, HubSpot, one of Mailchimp’s competitors, has just shy of 217,000 users by some reports.)

Naturally, with the widespread popularity of Mailchimp as an email marketing platform, the question sometimes comes up…

What about SMS?

Does Mailchimp offer SMS? Or how can you go about SMS marketing if you’re a Mailchimp user?

This article will walk you through the answers to those questions.

Does Mailchimp do SMS marketing? / Does Mailchimp have SMS?

The first question to answer is whether Mailchimp offers SMS natively.

The answer is that while in the past Mailchimp relied on third-party integrations in order to incorporate SMS, it has recently released its own SMS feature.

Although information regarding this new feature is scarce since it’s fairly fresh on the market, here’s some info you might want to know about it…

Is Mailchimp’s SMS feature included?

Mailchimp’s SMS feature is not included in your regular Mailchimp plan but must be purchased as an add-on feature.

Can I send SMS to anybody in my Mailchimp database?

No, you’ll need to get specific opt-in permission from each recipient in order to send SMS.

Mailchimp provides you with a form you can use to allow people to sign up, or you can import a file. (As far as we know, per Spring Ahead Media, these are currently the only ways to opt people into SMS in Mailchimp.)

Are there restrictions?

Yes—currently, Mailchimp’s direct SMS feature is only available in the United States and the United Kingdom.

You also are unable to send any content related to SHAFT (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco / Cannabis).

Is there a Mailchimp SMS integration?

While Mailchimp does have its own SMS solution, there are Mailchimp SMS integrations available as well.

Why would you use an integration rather than Mailchimp’s own native service?

An SMS-focused platform may offer more robust options and have fewer limitations than a platform that’s primarily focused on email.

Using an integration may give you the best of both worlds, because you can enjoy the email expertise side of Mailchimp while also enjoying the SMS expertise side of an SMS-specific service.

One such SMS service that you can integrate with is our service Mobile Text Alerts via the integration site Zapier.

How to do Mailchimp SMS marketing

The process for going about SMS marketing via Mailchimp would be different depending on if you use their native feature or use an integration…

Native feature

For Mailchimp’s native feature, there are a few steps you’ll need to take…

1. You’ll first need to purchase the SMS add-on for whatever plan you’re currently on—go to “Campaigns→SMS” to find this option.

2. You’ll next need to submit an application to Mailchimp, which you can do inside your online dashboard there under the “SMS” tab.
   • This involves simply filling out a form that asks you some questions about your business.
   • The questions are mostly basic, but if you need any help, you can reach out to Mailchimp support.

3. Once your application is submitted, you should hear back regarding your application within a few business days.
4. After you’re approved, you can start opting in subscribers, either through a sign-up form you can create, or by importing a file. (Both of these options are available via the online dashboard.)
5. Once you have subscribers loaded in, you’re ready to send or schedule messages within your Mailchimp dashboard.

• Under the “Campaigns→SMS” tab, click “Create SMS”

Integrations

Different integrations may work in different ways, but here is how things would work when integrating through Mobile Text Alerts…

1. Get an account on the SMS platform

With Mobile Text Alerts, you can get an account in order to use the mass texting online dashboard and SMS API.

This allows you full access to the gamut of SMS marketing features available to an SMS platform—including integration options.

Once you have an account at Mobile Text Alerts, you’ll be able to access the integration site Zapier via SMS platform’s online dashboard.

2. Sync with Zapier via the Online Dashboard

You can easily sync with Zapier using Mobile Text Alerts’ online dashboard.

This is located in the “Integrations” section on the online dashboard (located under “Add-Ons” on the navigation bar).

In this section, you’ll see the different integration options available to you, one of which you’ll see is MailChimp (via Zapier).

When you click on the “MailChimp” option, you’ll be prompted to log in or create an account with Zapier.

Creating a basic account doesn’t cost anything, and if the basic account isn’t enough for you, keep in mind that with Zapier you’re able to connect to thousands of other apps, so getting a full account could be useful for other business purposes.

3. Create your integration within the integration popup

You’ll be able to create your integration via Zapier directly within the integration popup that shows up for you.

Mailchimp should already be selected as your “trigger” app by default, so you can designate what type of “event” within Mailchimp you’d like to trigger the integration.

Your Mailchimp trigger options include events such as (1) when a new contact is added to your Mailchimp account or to an audience, (2) when a new order is created, or (3) when a link is clicked in your email campaigns.

4. Enter Mailchimp credentials

After doing all of the above, you’ll be asked to enter your Mailchimp credentials so that you can integrate your Mailchimp account.

Enter your username and password, and your Mailchimp account will automatically connect to your Mobile Text Alerts account via Zapier.

5. Set up triggers/actions

The next thing you need to do is fill out all of the trigger prompts and designate what specific action you’d like to occur when the “trigger” happens.

For example, when someone is added into your Mailchimp subscriber list, they could simultaneously be added to your Mobile Text Alerts subscriber list, so that you can send and automate messaging flows within your online dashboard (or via the SMS API).

Or when somebody clicks a link in your Mailchimp email, they could receive a text message notification automatically.

Or when a new order is processed in Mailchimp, your customer could receive an SMS confirmation.

What to know before getting started with Mailchimp SMS (+ best practices)

Before getting started with Mailchimp SMS, there are a few things you should know. (Note that many of these points pertain to all SMS platforms and SMS API services.)

Mailchimp is an email-first solution

Mailchimp was not first and foremost designed to be an SMS solution.

It is widely known and used as an email marketing platform, and its SMS services are a recent addition.

As such, there are likely bound to be growing pains and limitations in the implementation of its SMS functionality.

This also may mean that the support you receive won’t necessarily have the same level of history and experience as an SMS-specific service.

You must apply/register ahead of time

With SMS, and with Mailchimp SMS specifically, you aren’t able to get started right away.

You’ll need to fill out an application with some basic information about your business and your intended SMS use case.

While this shouldn’t typically take more than a week to get processed, there’s always the possibility of unexpected delays. So you’ll want to plan accordingly.

With Mobile Text Alerts, as an example of an SMS-specific platform, you are able to send messages without submitting an application. However, for best results, you’ll want to submit a registration form so that the mobile carriers pre-approve your traffic—otherwise, they may filter out your messages as spam.

With all of that in mind, make sure to give yourself plenty of time to get your SMS campaigns approved, so that things can be all ready to go by the time you want to start sending messages.

Some traffic is completely disallowed

Some types of traffic are completely not allowed via Mailchimp SMS.

This would include any traffic that pertains to topics such as sex, alcohol, firearms, tobacco, or drugs (including cannabis).

These restrictions hold true whether or not you operate as a legitimate business (for example, if you want to market your firearms store or wine selection).

Now, these restrictions are similar across the gamut of SMS providers. However, some providers, such as Mobile Text Alerts, do allow you to still send messages and give you guidelines for how to make sure your messages don’t get blocked by mobile carriers.

International traffic is not available

Currently, Mailchimp SMS only allows for domestic traffic within either the United States or the United Kingdom.

There isn’t an option to send messages to other countries at this time.

Not every SMS service offers international capabilities, so this limitation is also not unique to Mailchimp. Mobile Text Alerts is an example of a service that does allow international messaging to almost every country in the world.

If SMS compliance guidelines aren’t followed, you’ll run into problems

Although not all of the SMS compliance guidelines are legally binding, if you don’t abide by them, you’ll likely run into issues with your messages not being delivered to recipients.

The mobile carriers may deem your messages as spam and prevent them from arriving on your recipients’ phones.

Some of those guidelines include:

• Make sure that the people you’re messaging have actually opted in
• Don’t send text messages after hours in the recipient’s local timezone
• Give people an easy way to opt out (i.e., they can opt out by replying STOP to any of your messages)
• Make sure you’re clearly identifying who you are in your messages

SMS has character limits

SMS in general has a character limit of 160 characters per message.

What this means is that once you surpass that 160 character limit, your message will be split up into 2 or more messages.

Now, most of your recipients will likely have modern smartphones—and modern smartphones are “smart” enough that they can recognize when a split message was sent. So they combine the split message into a single block when the message is delivered, and the recipient never knows the difference.

However, this character limit can make a difference when you’re evaluating how many messaging credits you need to purchase in order to send your messages (since longer messages will typically use up more credits).

Mailchimp SMS pricing

SMS is available as an add-on option for your Mailchimp plan.

It costs a minimum of $20 per month on top of your normal plan, which gives you up to 1,000 SMS messaging credits per month.

This price increases incrementally based on how many messaging credits you need.

“Credits” are deducted based on how many messages you send as well as how many recipients receive the message.

For example, if you send a message to 2,000 recipients, this would count as 2,000 credits.

As mentioned above, more credits are used if you have a longer message (more than 160 characters), so that’s something you’ll need to keep in mind when considering how many messaging credits you need.

You also should keep in mind that if you include media (such as an image file), this increases the credits used to 3 per recipient. (But it also increases the maximum character count to 1,600 instead of 160.)

The bottom line is…

• Each message you send will typically cost the same number of credits as there are recipients for your message.
• Longer messages (more than 160 characters) will cost 2 or more credits per recipient.
• Media messages (with images) will cost 3 credits per recipient but allow you to have a longer message (up to 1,600 characters).

Best SMS integration for Mailchimp

There are several options available for connecting a separate SMS integration for Mailchimp.

Determining the best integration is difficult to evaluate, because there’s limited info online for comparison.

But here’s a list of some of the available integrations out there…

1. Mobile Text Alerts

As mentioned above, Mobile Text Alerts offers an integration that’s powered by the integration site Zapier.

This integration is accessible directly within the Mobile Text Alerts online dashboard. It allows you to trigger automated messages based on actions that occur within Mailchimp, or it can simply allow you to sync your contacts to the Mobile Text Alerts database.

If you sync your contacts to Mobile Text Alerts, you’re able to use all the advantages of an SMS-focused service—such as automated replies, contact management options, and a support team with a robust history in the world of SMS.

2. Zapier

Another option for integrating SMS with Mailchimp is to simply use the site Zapier to directly integrate with your SMS provider of choice.

As long as your SMS platform is supported on Zapier (which is highly likely because Zapier supports thousands of different services), you should be able to connect it to Mailchimp.

(Note that although the Mobile Text Alerts integration mentioned above is powered by Zapier, it is actually an integration that’s able to be set up and managed directly within your Mobile Text Alerts dashboard.)

3. SimpleTexting

SimpleTexting, another SMS platform, offers a native integration with Mailchimp.

The native integration allows you to sync your new contacts who sign up via your Mailchimp opt-in form into the SimpleTexting dashboard.

4. EZ Texting

The EZ Texting integration allows you to sync your Mailchimp contacts to EZ Texting, which is another SMS provider.

5. SlickText

One final integration to discuss is with SlickText.

SlickText is a popular SMS platform which has a native integration with Mailchimp.

Their integration allows you to capture subscriber emails via SlickText and automatically add them to your Mailchimp database.

Best uses for a Mailchimp SMS integration

What is actually the use of a Mailchimp SMS integration?

Here are a few ideas.

Sync contacts

The #1 use for an integration between Mailchimp and an SMS service is to allow you to sync up contacts so that you can take full advantage of email through Mailchimp and full advantage of SMS through your SMS service.

That way, you’ll have access to the full range of features offered by an SMS service—include an SMS API, contact grouping and management, and automated reply options.

Then you’ll be able to plan sending SMS campaigns to your Mailchimp audience accordingly.

Automatically send texts when actions are taken in Mailchimp

You can use some integrations to automatically send texts whenever certain actions occur within Mailchimp.

Maybe you want to send out an SMS confirmation when someone is added to your Mailchimp audience.

Maybe you want to send out an SMS confirmation when someone completes an order via Mailchimp.

Maybe you want to send out an SMS notice when someone opens your email or clicks a link within your email.

In any of those situations, you can set up an integration to do it.

Update your SMS contact details when actions are taken in Mailchimp

Something else you can do with some Mailchimp integrations is update your SMS contact details when certain actions are taken in Mailchimp—specifically, you can put your contact into a particular “group” based on their activity.

For example, if your Mailchimp subscriber opens an email, they could be placed within an “Opened Email” group within your SMS platform. Then you’d be able to send messages or set up SMS workflows related to that specific group.

Or when an email is sent to a subscriber, you could add them to a “Sent Email” group. Or when a link is clicked, you could add them to a “Email Link Clicked” group.

You get the idea.

Mailchimp SMS FAQ

In addition to all the info listed above, here are some more answers to frequently asked questions.

Can Mailchimp send SMS?

The answer is yes, Mailchimp now has the ability to send SMS.

Previously, Mailchimp did not have a native SMS marketing offering, so you had to integrate with an external SMS service in order to send SMS.

Now Mailchimp does have its own SMS service you can purchase as an add-on to whatever plan you are currently on (besides the free plan).

But despite Mailchimp now offering a native SMS option, you may want to consider integrating with a third-party SMS service that specializes in SMS particularly.

How to send SMS from Mailchimp?

To send SMS directly from Mailchimp, here’s what you’ll need to do…

1. Purchase the SMS add-on.
2. Submit an application for approval to send text messages.
3. Wait for approval.
4. Upload a file with your SMS contacts, or have your subscribers submit an online form you can create within the Mailchimp dashboard.
5. Create your message within the message builder in the Mailchimp dashboard.

Alternatively, you can set up an integration with an SMS platform that allows you to use a full-fledged SMS marketing service in connection with your Mailchimp account.

You can view the “how to do Mailchimp SMS marketing” section above for more details.

Get Started with Mailchimp SMS

To get started with Mailchimp SMS via the Mobile Text Alerts integration, you can get a free test account with Mobile Text Alerts.

Then you’ll be able to see if sending SMS to your Mailchimp contacts is a right fit for you.