Mailchimp is a great resource for many nonprofits. It’s easy to get started and you can learn how to create a campaign in 15 minutes or less. The software also offers a variety of more sophisticated options for experienced users.

However, there are several basic features that are easy to overlook regardless of skill level, and that oversight can prove embarrassing. Whether you’re a newbie or a pro, here are five settings you should check immediately.

Audience Name

There are several settings throughout Mailchimp that make it possible for your audience to see your audience name, so make sure it’s something innocuous as well as descriptive. For example, use “Member Newsletters” rather than “2018 TLC List Scrubbed.”

Don’t like what you see? You can easily change the name by going to Audience → Mange Audience → Settings → Audience name and defaults.

Publicity Settings

If every email you send is something you’d like to see broadcasted to the world, you’re probably all set. If not, you’ll want to pay attention to these two settings:

• Promote my campaigns: Mailchimp is working on a tool to help people discover new newsletters and campaigns. If you don’t opt out, some of your newsletters could be found by the wrong people.
  
  
• Archive bar: The archive bar makes it possible for subscribers to view the archived version of your campaign in their browser, along with the option to view past campaigns and share your emails on social networks. Great, right? Only if you want the public to view all your sent campaigns. If your archive bar is activated, anyone with a “view in browser” link can see everything you’ve sent.

You can manage your campaigns’ publicity settings under Audience → Mange Audience → Settings → Publicity Settings.

Signup Form

This is the page that allows people to subscribe to your newsletters. It’s also the page subscribers see when they click “manage preferences” at the bottom of your emails. Make sure they’re seeing what you want them to!

• Signup form header: The signup form header defaults to your audience name. You can leave this alone if you don’t want to change your audience name (but you probably should to ensure the name is innocuous and descriptive).

• Available fields: Adding custom fields on the back end often makes them visible on the front end! If there are internal fields you don’t want your audience to see and edit, make sure you take advantage of Mailchimp’s option to hide fields under field settings.

To make these changes, go to Audience → Mange Audience→ Signup forms → Form builder → Signup form.

Confirmation pages and emails

Confirmation pages and emails are the other places your audience name is likely to show up! Check your confirmation page, and if you have it enabled, your welcome email, to make sure the language is what you want. While you’re there, think about replacing any standard Mailchimp language with copy that reflects your brand and tone. Also, think about using that welcome email as a chance to engage new subscribers before their first email!

Edits can be made under Audience → Mange Audience → Signup forms → Form builder → Confirmation thank you page or Final welcome email.

Google Analytics tracking names

On a scale of urgency, this setting is the least important but can still reflect poorly on your organization. If you use Google Analytics link tracking, be careful what name appears in this field. The field typically defaults to a preset name or the name of the campaign and it is easily discoverable in the address bar anytime someone clicks on a link. Also, any third-party sites you link to who use Google Analytics will be able to see your campaign name in their reports.

Go with something vague or generic and save yourself some grief. For example, “July_Member_NL_B” instead of “July_newsletter_low_value_contacts.”

You can customize your Google Analytics campaign titles by opening your campaign, scrolling to the bottom of the page, and editing the relevant field in “Settings & Tracking.”