FrenoCorp/marketing/mailchimp-audience-setup.md

Mailchimp Audience Setup for Product Hunt Launch

Created: 2026-04-26
Owner: CMO
Status: Ready for data import

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Mailchimp Account Setup

Step 1: Create Account

1. Go to mailchimp.com
2. Sign up with: founder@scripter.app (or marketing email)
3. Choose Free plan (up to 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month)
4. Complete audience onboarding

Step 2: Create Audience

Audience Name: Product Hunt Launch - May 2026

Default From Email: founder@scripter.app
Default From Name: Scripter Team

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Audience Segments

Create 3 segments based on tier:

Segment 1: VIP Hunters

Criteria: Manual selection (top 10 contacts)
Size: 10 people
Purpose: Personal founder emails, first-hour upvotes

Fields:

• Email (required)
• First Name
• Tier = "VIP"
• Company/Role
• Contacted (Yes/No)
• Committed (Yes/No/Pending)

Segment 2: Active Supporters

Criteria: Top 25% by engagement (earliest signups, most referrals)
Size: 25 people
Purpose: Email outreach, upvote + share

Fields:

• Email (required)
• First Name
• Tier = "Active"
• Signup Date
• Referrals Count
• Contacted (Yes/No)
• Upvoted (Yes/No)

Segment 3: General Network

Criteria: Remaining waitlist + social followers
Size: 15+ people
Purpose: Social posts, email blasts

Fields:

• Email (required)
• First Name
• Tier = "General"
• Signup Date
• Source (UTM, organic, referral)

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Import Process

Prepare CSV

File: /marketing/waitlist-export.csv

Columns:

email,first_name,tier,signup_date,referrals_count,company_role

Import Steps

1. Go to Audience → Manage Contacts → Import Contacts
2. Upload CSV file
3. Map fields:
   • email → Email Address
   • first_name → First Name
   • tier → Custom Field (create new)
   • signup_date → Custom Field (create new)
   • referrals_count → Custom Field (create new)
   • company_role → Custom Field (create new)
4. Add to audience: Product Hunt Launch - May 2026
5. Auto-tag by tier

Create Segments

After import, create saved segments:

VIP Hunters:

Tier | contains | VIP

Active Supporters:

Tier | contains | Active

General Network:

Tier | contains | General

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Email Templates Setup

Template 1: VIP Personal (Founder)

Name: PH - VIP Personal Outreach
Send To: VIP Hunters segment
Subject: Quick favor? Launching on Product Hunt May 7 🚀

Template 2: Active Supporter Email

Name: PH - Active Supporter Outreach
Send To: Active Supporters segment
Subject: Scripter launches on Product Hunt - need your help!

Template 3: General Network Social

Name: PH - General Network Blast
Send To: General Network segment
Subject: 🚀 Launching on Product Hunt next Thursday!

Template 4: Follow-Up Reminder

Name: PH - Follow-Up Reminder
Send To: All segments (filter: Contacted = Yes, Upvoted = No)
Subject: Re: Product Hunt launch (2 days left!)

Template 5: Launch Day - We're Live

Name: PH - We're Live!
Send To: All segments
Subject: 🚀 We're LIVE on Product Hunt!

Template 6: Thank You (Post-Launch)

Name: PH - Thank You
Send To: All segments
Subject: We did it! Thank you 🎉

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Campaign Schedule

Campaign	Date	Segment	Template	Status
VIP Personal	April 28	VIP Hunters	Template 1	Draft
Active Email #1	April 29	Active Supporters	Template 2	Draft
General Blast	April 30	General Network	Template 3	Draft
Follow-Up #1	May 1-3	Non-responders	Template 4	Draft
2 Days Left	May 5	All	Template 4	Draft
Tomorrow!	May 6	All	Founder email	Draft
We're Live!	May 7 12AM	All	Template 5	Draft
Progress Update	May 7 2PM	All	Social post	Draft
Final Hours	May 7 8PM	All	Urgency email	Draft
Thank You	May 8	All	Template 6	Draft

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Custom Fields Setup

Create these custom fields in Mailchimp:

Field Name	Type	Options	Required
Tier	Dropdown	VIP, Active, General	Yes
Company/Role	Text	-	No
Signup Date	Date	-	No
Referrals Count	Number	-	No
Contacted	Yes/No	-	Yes
Committed	Yes/No/Pending	-	Yes
Upvoted	Yes/No	-	No
Shared	Yes/No	-	No

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Tracking Setup

UTM Parameters

All links in emails should include:

?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=producthunt_launch

Click Tracking

• Enable click tracking in Mailchimp
• Track these links:
  • Product Hunt page link
  • Scripter homepage
  • Social share links

Metrics to Monitor

• Open rate (target: 40%+)
• Click rate (target: 10%+)
• Upvote conversion (track via PH analytics)
• Unsubscribe rate (keep under 2%)

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Compliance

CAN-SPAM Requirements

• ✅ Physical address in footer (Scripter address)
• ✅ Unsubscribe link (automatic in Mailchimp)
• ✅ Clear "from" name and email
• ✅ No misleading subject lines

GDPR Considerations

• All contacts opted in via waitlist signup
• Clear purpose stated (product updates + launch info)
• Easy unsubscribe available
• Data retention policy defined

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Next Actions

1. Create Mailchimp account (CMO/Founder)
2. Set up custom fields (15 minutes)
3. Import waitlist CSV (once CTO exports)
4. Create segments (VIP, Active, General)
5. Build email templates (use templates from /marketing/product-hunt-supporter-outreach.md)
6. Schedule first campaign (VIP outreach, April 28)

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Resources

• Mailchimp Free Plan
• Import Contacts Guide
• Create Segments
• Email templates: /marketing/product-hunt-supporter-outreach.md
• Live tracker: /marketing/product-hunt-supporter-tracker-live.md

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Status: Ready for execution. Waiting on waitlist data export from CTO.