The RSS-Driven Campaigns in MailChimp are fantastic, but let’s say you want to take your newsletter a step further and hand select the posts that get delivered to your reader’s inbox each week. This can be easily done using a customized template, complete with your branding and fonts. See this example from New Orleans Moms Blog for ALL the possibilities of a customized template!

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to get started. There is also a Video How-To if you are a visual learner!

Creating The Template >>

Login in to your MailChimp account and find your Templates tab.
From your Template tab, select the Create New button in the upper right.
From the “Basic” selections, find the 1:2:1 Column Drag and Drop template and hit Select.
Be sure to upload your header graphic in the large image area.
Edit the text found above the header in the upper left corner of your newsletter to something like:
a :: “Stay in the know about being a mom in {City Name}!”
b :: A summary of the posts you will be including – “#CMBNUltimateBabyRegistry + Giveaways, Having More Babies, Target Trip Tips, Giving Up Facebook, Helping A New Mom and More >>”
In your introduction area, click on the little pencil icon to edit the content block. Then in the block editing column that now appears to the right of your screen, find the < > icon.
Once you’ve select the < > icon, copy and paste the following code into the text box:
<h2>TITLE</h2>Now that you’ve selected a template to work with, drag in content blocks to define the structure of your message. Don’t worry, you can always delete or rearrange blocks as needed. Then click “Design” to define fonts, colors, and styles.Need inspiration for your design? <a class="mc-template-link" href="http://inspiration.mailchimp.com">Here’s what other MailChimp users are doing.</a>
Be sure to update your color values found here:  to your branded colors.
Select Save and Close when done.
Then in the next Image + Caption content block to the left, click on the little pencil icon to edit the content block. Then in the block editing column that now appears to the right of your screen, find the < > icon (Same as Step 6 above.).
Once you’ve selected the < > icon, copy and paste the following code in the text box:
<h3>TITLE</h3>Body copy goes here. Read More...
Be sure to update your color values found here:  to your branded colors.
Select Save and Close when done.
Repeat Steps 10 – 13 for the right Image + Caption content block.
Then drag and drop one full-width or two one-column image blocks in you are going to include Sponsor ads or other graphic promotions at the bottom of your newsletters. It could look something like this:
Then to finish up your template drag and drop the “Social Follow” content block in the right column and add your social links.
In the bottom right corner, select Save and Exit and name your Template, i.e. Weekly Newsletter Template, etc.

Using Your New Template >>

Create a new Campaign. From your Campaign tab, select the Create New button in the upper right.
Select a Regular Campaign from the Choose A Type Of Campaign To Send: list of options.
Then select your List you’d like to send the campaign to.
Fill out the Campaign Info section.
From the Select A Template screen, find the Save Templates tab to find your custom template. Select your custom template from the list, i.e. Weekly Newsletter Template.
Once you’ve selected your custom template you can start creating your newsletter by adding images and content to each of the newsletter content blocks.
Fill our your newsletter, schedule and send!

A Few Important Notes >>

Since this is NOT an RSS-based campaign you will need to update these newsletters each week.
You can easily Replicate your campaign from the main Campaigns page. Simply select the dropdown arrow next to the campaign you want to replicate and select Replicate.

Video How-To >>

Run into issues or have questions? Email Kelli at [email protected].

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How To Create A Custom Newsletter Template In MailChimp