{"id":17361,"date":"2024-04-18T12:20:23","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T12:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.integrately.com\/?p=17361"},"modified":"2024-06-20T11:37:13","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T11:37:13","slug":"how-mailchimp-bootstrapped-to-140-million-customers-and-800-million-in-revenue-part1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.integrately.com\/how-mailchimp-bootstrapped-to-140-million-customers-and-800-million-in-revenue-part1","title":{"rendered":"How Mailchimp bootstrapped to 140 Million customers and $800 Million in revenue – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\"\"\/<\/div>

Steal the Growth Secrets Of \nGrowing Companies<\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Looking to make your product a hit in the market? That’s what we’re all after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Notion<\/a>, the community and word-of-mouth took it beyond $10 Billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, I was curious as to what made Mailchimp go from \ud83d\udc47 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a \u2018Side Hustle\u2019 to \u2192 \u2018$800 Million in Revenue\u2019?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join me as I uncover their insider secrets in this 3-part article:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part 1 – Mailchimp’s Masterstroke in Branding (Read below)<\/strong>
Part 2 – Growth Strategies: Not by the books
Part 3 – Mailchimp Traffic & SEO Playbook<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
Join The Gang<\/div>

Get the growth secrets in your inbox for FREE<\/p>

<\/form>

No spam. Promise. See privacy policy<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Abhishek
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Author – Abhishek A Agrawal<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Founder at Integrately – Easiest integration platform<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n<\/svg>Twitter<\/span>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedin<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Mailchimp’s Masterstroke in Branding<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Back in 2000, who would have thought of Chimp being an iconic face of a brand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today it\u2019s synonymous with email marketing, right?  Why so?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because they came up with their own innovative branding tactics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A unique brand style that\u2019s relatable<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mailchimp pioneered in using fun elements in an industry typically seen as serious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From their mascot to social media and ads, every touchpoint with the brand feels like a conversation with a friend, not a corporate entity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

Find where your audience hangs out and make it  #1 Marketing Channel<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mailchimp has been adopting this tactic right from the start. They reach out where their audience dwells and get noticed remarkably with the help of 3 channels:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Event-based Marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They quickly realized that their target audience hangs out at events, art shows, fundraisers, etc. So, they started sponsoring such events<\/b>. No kidding, they even went on to commission a Rock Opera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the best part – they promote themselves without being annoying. Instead of showing lots of ads, they just let everyone know they sponsored the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subtle branding, no jibba jabba!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This helped Mailchimp get recognized, & the buzz never ended \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n\n\n
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"brandon-s\"\/\n\t\t\t
Audrey<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\"g2\n\t<\/div>\n\t
Love the rock opera. I started using mail Chimp immediately after I heard it.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"brandon-s\"\/\n\t\t\t
Body waters<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\"g2\n\t<\/div>\n\t
I have been inspired to make a million dollars so i can give you half.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"brandon-s\"\/\n\t\t\t
Campbell<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\"g2\n\t<\/div>\n\t
Love this! go Aaron. We <3 Mailchimp!!<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"brandon-s\"\/\n\t\t\t
Josh<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\"g2\n\t<\/div>\n\t
I probably won’t have heard about mailchimp without you, or at least not taken the recommendation so easily.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"brandon-s\"\/\n\t\t\t
Zana Fauzi<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\"g2\n\t<\/div>\n\t
I hereby ‘LIKE thispost, and ‘Love’ Mailchimp! <3<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

2. Location-based Marketing<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With time,  Mailchimp targeted cities with more users and placed their billboards<\/strong> in such areas. To top it with fun and make it more relatable, the billboards had nothing but a smiling Freddie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, you don\u2019t see a smiling monkey hanging out on a billboard every day! And this striking element makes Mailchimp stay with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The billboard campaign was a success. \ud83c\udf89 But how did they measure its results<\/strong>? Well, they tracked how many people posted Freddie\u2019s photos on social media. Mostly, people were happy to see the smiling Freddie, like this Twitter user \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3 . Podcast-based Marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After events and billboards, podcast was the most popular channel tapped by Mailchimp. It inspired them to sponsor the famous podcasts: `This American Life` and `Serial`.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Particularly, the Serial sponsorship paid off:<\/p>\n\n\n\n