Have a question?

Live Support Available Monday - Friday,  9AM - 5PM EST
Chat With Us

Search Articles by Topic "Rules, Terms and Policies"

  • Why can’t I import a role based address into my list?

    Role-based email addresses aren't generally people, they're built for functions like marketing or customer service, so we don't allow them to be imported to your list. These types of addresses are usually anonymous company addresses that can be managed by several people or change hands quite often as people change…

    http://eepurl.com/hcr6

  • Can I use my list in MailChimp?

    Here are some quick examples of lists that are okay, and lists that are not okay to use in MailChimp. This is just a guideline that we compiled from the most common lists we see and the most common questions we get. Your situation may be different, so always refer…

    http://eepurl.com/hcqX

  • What is required on my campaign to meet your Terms of Use and follow anti-spam laws?

    Anti-Spam Compliance and Requirements As an ESP, we are required to enforce spam laws, not just because it's a legal obligation, and not just because it's the right thing to do. Spam negatively impacts deliverability rates, and we want to make sure your emails reach their recipients. We have some…

    http://eepurl.com/hc0G

  • How is the email address under the required email footer content used by MailChimp?

    When you provide an email address in the Permission Reminder or "Required Email Footer Content" area of your account we'll use that email address on your signup forms as a way for people trying to sign up to your list can contact you. This can be your email address, or…

    http://eepurl.com/gOH7

  • Why is my account under review?

    Get Reviewed Fast Here are the things you can do to speed up the review process and get a movin' in your account. Make sure your account is compliant with our Terms of Use . You agreed to it when you signed up, so it’s a good idea to read…

    http://eepurl.com/hcMt

  • What is a Permission Reminder?

    A Permission Reminder is a blurb in your campaign that reminds your recipients how they signed up for your list. This could be something like "You're receiving this campaign because you signed up at www.mailchimp.com" or "You're receiving this campaign because you signed up at my recent art show at…

    http://eepurl.com/hcAF

  • How Legitimate Marketers Can Prevent Spam Complaints

    You don't have to be a spammer to be reported for spamming You don't have to be a spammer to get reported for spamming. If you're a legitimate marketer, and you send email newsletters and promotions long enough, you're going to get reported. It's just a matter of time. In…

    http://eepurl.com/ymf7

  • Is my list okay to use in MailChimp?

    Not sure if your list is okay to use with MailChimp? We've helped a lot of customers and we've seen lots of lists. We can tell you if your list is going to run into some trouble. Below are some common scenarios that'll help you decide whether or not your…

    http://eepurl.com/ynaj

  • General Compliance Tips

    The following items are associated with High Abuse Complaints: Permission Stale Lists Improperly Collected Lists Offline Lists Purchased Lists Content is not relevant Third-Party Marketing No Unsubscribe Link Outside Unsubscribe Process The following items are associated with High Unsubscribe Rates: Permission Stale Lists Improperly Collected Lists Offline Lists Purchased Lists…

    http://eepurl.com/izYT

  • How did I get an Abuse Complaint?

    Registered Complaints Your recipients can report emails as spam in their email program. You've probably seen this option in your Gmail or Yahoo accounts. If an ISP has what is called a Feedback Loop (most of them do), a recipient who marks one of your emails as spam gets registered…

    http://eepurl.com/hcQw

  • Why review an account?

    We need to review each list that comes into our system to make sure it meets our terms of use, which are put in place to help us maintain great deliverability for everybody. A quick review of everyone's list helps us ensure we are only sending permission-based emails that keep…

    http://eepurl.com/kevJv

  • What role addresses does MailChimp specifically block from bulk importing?

    Typically role addresses are anonymous company addresses that can be managed by several people or change hands quite often as people change jobs or positions. This results in a high rate of spam complaints for addresses of this type and they are too high risk to allow on bulk import.…

    http://eepurl.com/hcMl

  • How do I get more people to join my list?

    The best way to grow an email list is to do so slowly and organically, so that the people on your list are really engaged and are the top notch followers of your business or organization. We'll help get you started. But, keeping sending awesome and relevant content and you'll…

    http://eepurl.com/EAW1

  • About Bounce Warnings

    Bounces are emails that are returned to the sender because they cannot be delivered for a given reason. At first, you should take the warnings as a "heads up" that some of the email addresses you sent to are no longer valid or some other delivery error is occurring. ISPs…

    http://eepurl.com/izP2

  • Why do I have to use your unsubscribe link?

    Contents Here's Why Adding An Unsub Tag Footer Content Isn't Visible Here's Why MailChimp is built for email marketing, which means we're built to send one-to-many messages. When you're sending one-to-many messages, all kinds of spam regulations, deliverability best practices, infrastructure issues, and netiquette apply. So we're kinda "hard wired"…

    http://eepurl.com/iEXi

  • Why can’t I use MailChimp to clean my list?

    The simple answer is - MailChimp isn't a list cleaning service, we're a different type of company altogether. The longer more helpful answer is - MailChimp is an email service provider and we have specific thresholds that we're required to police to help us maintain the deliverability and sending reputation…

    http://eepurl.com/ms-r

  • Can I create a MailChimp list from my Facebook followers?

    Sometimes people just want to follow your updates on Facebook, rather than get your information from two different sources. If you're really proud of your email newsletter, you can add a signup form to your Facebook page to encourage your followers to also sign up for your newsletter. Going to…

    http://eepurl.com/btzOv

  • Ask Before You “Blast” - The Importance of Permission

    The Importance of Permission Be honest. Whenever you get email marketing that you weren't expecting, or that you never even requested, what do you do (after cursing the name of the person who sent it)? You click that "this is spam" button in your email program. Heck, according to some…

    http://eepurl.com/ylMh

  • About Warnings

    We know that you care about your campaign's performance. We understand that sending out engaging campaigns, that produce great results, is important to you. It's important to us as well. We closely monitor the results of your campaigns and, when we see things that could cause your account reputation to…

    http://eepurl.com/izZH

  • About Bounces

    Bounces are emails that are returned to the sender, because they cannot be delivered for a given reason. There are two kinds of bounces: hard bounces and soft bounces. A hard bounced email is permanently bounced back to the sender because the address is invalid or some form of unexpected…

    http://eepurl.com/izYl

  • I’m an artist and I don’t have a PO Box. Can I use MailChimp?

    Some of us musicians and artists are lucky enough to have a day job at MailChimp and we understand your privacy concerns as an artist. You definitely don't want rabid fans circling your house and bugging your family or removing your precious 1979 Gibson Thunderbird bass from your practice space.…

    http://eepurl.com/dtG39

  • About Bounce Suspension

    We know that you care about your campaign's performance. We understand that sending out engaging campaigns, that produce great results, is important to you. It's important to us as well. We closely monitor the results of your campaigns and, when we see things that could cause your account reputation to…

    http://eepurl.com/izR_

  • Can I use a 3rd party list, purchased list, or rented list?

    MailChimp is only for sending newsletters, sales notices, and communicating to your own permission-based lists. It's not built for sending unsolicited email to people you don't know yet. It is against our terms of use to import any 3rd party lists into MailChimp. No purchased lists, including AdBase. No "rented"…

    http://eepurl.com/hcQ5

  • About Abuse Warnings

    At first, you should take the warnings as a "heads up" that people are complaining about your campaigns. An abuse complaint occurs, when your recipient clicks on "report spam" in their email program. If their ISP has what is called a "Feedback Loop," they are registered as an abuse complaint…

    http://eepurl.com/izPC

  • About General Suspension

    Generally, accounts are suspended for high abuse, bounce and unsubscribe rates. At times though, the account is suspended for violation of our terms of use. Generally, a terms of use violation occurs when you are part of an industry that is prohibited, your account has seen far to many suspensions/warnings…

    http://eepurl.com/iAgq

  • Why was my unsubscribe rate so high?

    Sometimes people want to leave a list. And that's ok. But if you're seeing a spike in your unsubscribe rate you might want to consider the following questions. Is the content I'm sending relevant to my list or what my subscribers are expecting? There's a whole blog about being relevant…

    http://eepurl.com/hcOT

  • Do I have to re-opt in my list when I switch ESPs?

    No - in these cases. If you're currently sending to the list you want to move and you're switching to MailChimp from a reputable ESP and you've been keeping track of your bounces, unsubscribes and abuse complaints, you probably don't need to re-opt in your list when you switch to…

    http://eepurl.com/hc16

  • About Abuse Suspension

    We know that you care about your campaign's performance. We understand that sending out engaging campaigns, that produce great results, is important to you. It's important to us as well. We closely monitor the results of your campaigns, and when we see things that could cause your account reputation to…

    http://eepurl.com/izRS

  • Does MailChimp send out the final welcome email when I import my list?

    No, MailChimp does not send the final welcome email confirmation to your recipients if you're importing an already existing opt-in list. We only send confirmation emails to new members of your list if they subscribe through the form you built on MailChimp or from a form you have pointing to…

    http://eepurl.com/hvGj

  • Helpful Compliance Links

    General Compliance Tips Best Practices in List Management Tips for List Management Don't Delete Lists Do you have an old list? Is my list okay to use? Subscriber Activity reports to see who did not open! Avoiding Spam filters! How do I use an Inbox Inspection? How to read the…

    http://eepurl.com/umhr

  • If I am sending to a list on behalf of a client, is that considered a 3rd party list?

    If you receive a permission-based list from a client to send to on their behalf, that list is not automatically considered a third party list. Your client's list would have to follow the same rules as any other list used in MailChimp, and as the account holding, you would still…

    http://eepurl.com/btCY9

  • About Unsubscribe Warnings

    At first, you should take the warnings as a "heads up" that some of the subscribers no longer wish to receive communication from you. We've found that 100% double opt-in lists contain less than 1% unsubscribes (1.01% is over the limit). If your campaign gets more than 1%, you should…

    http://eepurl.com/izQy

  • About Abuse Complaints

    An abuse complaint occurs when your recipient clicks on "report spam" in their email program. If their ISP has what's called a "Feedback Loop," they are registered as an abuse complaint in your account. The abuse complaint causes the recipient to be automatically unsubscribed and they will no longer receive…

    http://eepurl.com/iAgp

  • Why is my account deactivated?

    Accounts can be deactivated from lack of use, credit card issues or abuse problems. Here's how to resolve those issues. There was an abuse issue on your recent campaign. Our abuse system found an issue with a recent campaign or with your account. This can include too many spam complaints,…

    http://eepurl.com/iA7H

  • Why was my account suspended?

    If you tried to log in to MailChimp, but got an Account Suspended message, it's probably because our review system or human review team saw something about your last campaign, or your account, that raised a red flag for them. Red Flags Account information that is too fake or anonymous…

    http://eepurl.com/hcZz

  • Will MailChimp show my address in my campaign archives?

    *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* Merge Tags We respect your privacy, so by default, we hide your contact info on your campaign archives. The *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* tags in the footer hide your CAN-SPAM info, specifically your Permission Reminder and physical address, when someone views the email as an archive page. At that point ,it's no…

    http://eepurl.com/b4TgD

  • How do I know who reported my email as spam?

    Abuse complaints can be found in your campaign reports. Go to Reports. Click on the title of the campaign you want to review. On the overview page, you will see a box with your complaints. If you click on complaints, you'll see which email addresses registered an abuse compliant. You…

    http://eepurl.com/gYz0

  • About Direct Complaints

    We know that you care about your campaign's performance. We understand that sending out engaging campaigns that produce great results is important to you. It's important to us as well. We closely monitor the results of your campaigns. And when we see things that could cause your account reputation to…

    http://eepurl.com/izVP

  • What do I do if I get an accidental abuse complaint?

    Your recipients can report emails as spam in their email program. You've probably seen this option in your Gmail or Yahoo accounts. If an ISP has what is called a Feedback Loop (most of them do), a recipient who marks one of your emails as spam gets registered as an…

    http://eepurl.com/hcSb

  • How do I add an unsubscribed address back to my list?

    If someone is accidentally unsubscribed from your list, there are two ways to add them back. Through the Confirmation Email If the subscriber unsubscribed using an unsubscribe link in a campaign, they will receive a removal confirmation email. That email includes a link that they can click to add them…

    http://eepurl.com/hcO7

  • How do I change my Permission Reminder?

    Edit Your Permission Reminder From A Campaign You can update your Permission Reminder text directly from the footer your campaigns. Clicking on "edit contact info" will pop up the "required email footer content" section of the list attached to this particular campaign. You can make any changes to information pulled…

    http://eepurl.com/gOHX

  • Does MailChimp Provide, Sell or Rent Email Lists?

    No. MailChimp does not provide, sell, share, or rent lists. Ever. The delivery of email marketing to rented or sold lists is an extremely touchy issue, and is very, very difficult to do correctly, and without getting labeled as a spammer. For this reason, it is against our terms of…

    http://eepurl.com/g2Re

  • Can I get a list of people that started the signup process, but didn’t click the confirmation link?

    Unfortunately, we don't have access to a list of those people who did not finish the double opt-in process. The people who didn't click on the confirmation email might have been added by someone else, might have changed their mind about signing up, etc. If you have concerns that people…

    http://eepurl.com/gOGA

  • Can I send my campaign to a listserv address?

    MailChimp does not allow for campaigns to be sent to listserv addresses. The emails we send are tracked, built for, and sent to unique recipients only. Sending one email to many is also seen as bandwidth abuse and is a direct violation of our terms of use. Any accounts found…

    http://eepurl.com/g5UQ

  • About Unsubscribe Suspension

    We know that you care about your campaign's performance. We understand that sending out engaging campaigns, that produce great results, is important to you. It's important to us as well. We closely monitor the results of your campaigns, and when we see things that could cause your account reputation to…

    http://eepurl.com/izSu

  • I received SPAM from MailChimp.

    If someone has indeed abused our system to send you spam, we're *very* sorry. We do our best to prevent abuse on our system and to educate users about what's right and wrong. If one of our users is violating our strict terms of use by sending spam, we definitely…

    http://eepurl.com/g6t0

  • About List Suspension

    We know that you care about your campaign's performance. And, we understand, that sending out engaging campaigns that produce great results is important to you. It's important to us as well. We closely monitor the results of your campaigns and scan all lists in our systems. When we see things…

    http://eepurl.com/izV_

  • About No Outside Unsubscribe Link Suspension

    We know that you care about your campaign's performance. We understand that sending out engaging campaigns that produce great results is important to you. It's important to us as well. We closely monitor the content of your campaigns and, when we see things that could cause your account reputation to…

    http://eepurl.com/izUH

  • Can you re-activate my archived account?

    There are two ways that an account can be archived in MailChimp. If an account owner clicks to permanently close their account under account > close my account. If an account hasn't been accessed for a period greater than 12 months. If the account is closed, it is totally closed…

    http://eepurl.com/hctZ

  • Can I send campaigns to my customers who didn’t specifically sign up on my signup forms?

    Legally you send bulk emails to people who purchased from you. Sometimes the customer or industry experts do not agree with this practice and consider the email to be spam. But you can take some steps to keep your customers happy with your emails and keep abuse complaints down. Make…

    http://eepurl.com/hcxR

  • Why would I want to let people LEAVE my list?!?!?

    For one, it's the law. You've got to let them leave if they want to move on. Read and understand the FTC's CAN-SPAM Law for more information. But even more importantly, it's just the right thing to do. If your customers don't want to receive your emails any more, why…

    http://eepurl.com/hcZG

  • Why can’t you add code to my website or fix my broken code?

    Our support team can help you use the MailChimp system and the tools we provide to create, send, and track your email campaigns. But one thing we can't do is create your code for your website, create custom code for your campaigns, or work with any code that you are…

    http://eepurl.com/hcIe

  • Do you collect information submitted through the forward to a friend tool?

    No, No and No. Because we're cool like that. You and your recipients can forward your campaign without the worry of the person you are forwarding to ending up on some random list. Our Privacy Policy

    http://eepurl.com/hcZ3

  • MailChimp Privacy Policy

    Visit the full MailChimp Privacy Policy for more details and information. Sorry to send you to another link, but with legal stuff it's all got to be in one place.

    http://eepurl.com/hcYu

  • If I forward a message, can my personal information be seen in the forward?

    For privacy reasons, when you use the Forward to a Friend tool, we don't display recipient data in the forwarded version of your campaign. There is no telling how many times a forwarded link or message could be sent on and to whom. Instead we replace personal information with generic…

    http://eepurl.com/hcEf

  • How long do I have to keep a list in my account?

    The general life of a campaign is 30-45 days, so it's best to leave your list in the account for at least that long before deleting. When a list is deleted in MailChimp all campaigns that were sent to that list will remain in the account. However, all links and…

    http://eepurl.com/hcUq

  • Do you allow me to signup with and send from free, personal, or at-home addresses?

    Yes, you can use your own email address, regardless of whether it is a private domain or a public domain address, or whether you have a free account or a paid account.

    http://eepurl.com/DGYb

  • Unacceptable Use and Content

    In our Terms of Use Section 11.f outlines Prohibited Content and Industries. Information on lists that are ok and not ok to use on MailChimp.

    http://eepurl.com/hcUE

  • Why don’t you support third party software?

    Our support team members are trained to be experts on the MailChimp system. In addition, we have great knowledge about the email marketing industry and deliverability as well and will be happy to share that information with you. Sometimes, we can even give you tips about how browsers and email…

    http://eepurl.com/hcCR

  • Will MailChimp use my customer list in any way?

    As our Privacy Policy states, MailChimp and The Rocket Science Group, LLC will not sell, or rent, your customer list(s). View the full privacy policy for further details.

    http://eepurl.com/hcRn

Explore the Knowledge Base

Popular Support Articles

Browse by Topic