How to sign up for a MailChimp account

This article describes how to sign up for a MailChimp account.

About MailChimp

MailChimp provides e-mail marketing services that enable you to efficiently send bulk e-mails to your subscribers and customers.

To help ensure server stability and performance, A2 Hosting limits the number of e-mails you can send at one time directly from your account. If you have a large number of e-mail subscribers, you should use Mail Chimp (or another third-party e-mail provider) instead of A2 Hosting's servers to do mass mailings.

MailChimp allows you to send up to 12,000 e-mail messages per month for free if you have less than 2,000 subscribers. Alternatively, there are paid plans that support larger amounts of subscribers and messages.

Signing up for a MailChimp account

To sign up for a MailChimp account, follow these steps:

1. Use your web browser to go to http://mailchimp.com.
2. Click Sign Up Free.
3. Fill out the registration form. After you submit it, MailChimp sends you an e-mail message.
4. In the message, click the activation link.
5. On the MailChimp site, fill out the remaining fields to complete the account creation process.
   After you create an account, you should create a list and add some subscribers. For detailed information about how to do this, please read MailChimp's documentation about lists at http://kb.mailchimp.com/lists/growth/getting-started-with-lists.

Generating API keys

To integrate MailChimp with your web site at A2 Hosting (or any other sites you may have), you must have an API key. This key is a unique identifier that enables applications to directly access your MailChimp account, so you must keep it secure.

MailChimp does not generate an API key for your account automatically—you must specifically request one. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to MailChimp.
2. On the top menu bar, click your name, and then click Account.
3. Click Extras, and then click API keys.
4. Under Your API keys, click Create a Key. The new key appears under Your API keys.

More Information

For more information about MailChimp, please visit http://mailchimp.com/about.