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How Mailchimp Grew Its Userbase In One Year

Mailchimp was acquired by Intuit for $12B.

But first, it was a side hustle for 7 years.

Then in 2009, Mailchimp's userbase exploded from 85k to 450k users in one year.

These 3 tactics led to Mailchimp's growth:

1. Adding A Freemium Plan

In 2009 Mailchimp introduced their “Free Forever Plan,” where users could use Mailchimp for free, forever, until they reached 2000 subscribers on their email list.

So, how did they convert free users into paid users?

  1. Mailchimp capped how many subscribers a user could have at 2000.
  2. Mailchimp capped how many emails a user could send every month at 12k.
  3. Mailchimp offered free features like automation to help users grow faster (accelerating the above metrics).
  4. Mailchimp created a resource center for users to succeed.

With these four tactics, Mailchimp created the ceiling for users but then gave them the ladder to reach it.

2. Mailchimp's Digital Billboard

The brilliance of their Forever Free Plan was the addition of the digital billboard Mailchimp added at the footer of each email sent until a user upgraded.

This made each email an ad for Mailchimp, creating a viral effect by turning Mailchimp into an automated machine continuously feeding itself new users through its customers' email lists.

And if you want to remove it?

Then upgrade.

3. Monkey Rewards

And for those who upgraded to a paid plan and have the choice to remove the Mailchimp logo?

Mailchimp incentivized them not to remove it through their MonkeyRewards program.

How? If someone clicks the Mailchimp badge in your email and signs up, then Mailchimp awards you $30.

And the person who signed up also receives $30.

The Results After Year One?

MailChimp Co-founder and CEO Ben Chestnut said:

  • MailChimp grew from 85k users to 450k users
  • MailChimp's paying customers grew by 150%
  • MailChimp's profit grew 650% in one year

So, putting it all together:

  • Offer a "Freemium" option to help users experience the value
  • Create a ceiling where the transition from freemium to premium is a no brainer
  • Give users the resources to break through the ceiling
  • Inject "digital billboards" into your content or product where applicable
  • Use a 2-way referral program to incentivize current users to share and future users to sign up

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