Mailchimp and affiliate marketing. A match made in heaven? FAQs.

Can I use Mailchimp for affiliate marketing?

Mailchimp’s policies on affiliate marketing are quite opaque to say the least. 

On one hand, they say they do not support affiliate marketing. In their terms of service they also state they do not allow “Affiliate Marketing” as a “business type” as well. 

On the other hand, they say that you can include affiliate links within your Mailchimp emails that you send out to your email lists. So which is it?

There seems to be a bit of a contradiction here, don’t you think? The best way I can assess this is that according to Mailchimp themselves, putting an affiliate link in with your emails to your email list is perfectly fine. 

However, as long as those emails do not target the affiliate product as the main content, but that the affiliate product is more woven into the content, then that’s okay. 

The main context of the content in other words, cannot directly talk about the product or service that the affiliate links are linked to. 

If the content is on another topic and the affiliate link is related to the topic, but not the main subject of the content in your email, then they say it’s perfectly fine. 

Here’s a link to their policy: About Affiliate Links in Mailchimp.

However, this is where most affiliate marketers get in trouble. Mailchimp is constantly banning accounts for sending affiliate links and with their emails. So what’s an affiliate marketer to do?

The simple answer is not to use Mailchimp at all and get another email service provider that is more affiliate marketer friendly. 

But, Mailchimp is free up to your first 2,000 email list subscribers. And that’s their hook. This is the trap most affiliate marketers fall into. Especially those on a tight budget, first starting out.  

This is where you are much better off going with an email provider that may cost a little money up front, but will save you so much time and aggravation down the road, it will be more than worth it. 

Besides, being able to grow a stable email list, without having to start over by having your account banned by Mailchimp or any other provider is more than worth it. 

You need to ask yourself, “How much is your email list worth to you? Not only now, but long term?”

You know what they say, “The money is in the list.”

Let’s explore some other FAQs regarding Mailchimp and affiliate marketing and see for yourself.

Can you put affiliate links in emails using Mailchimp?

Technically, according to Mailchimp’s own policy, “you can put affiliate links in your emails.” 

Again, as long as the main content of the email isn’t about the product or service in the affiliate link.

However, there are certain industries that you are not allowed to promote these are:

Here is the link to the policy in their terms of service: Acceptable Use Policy.

Also your affiliate links cannot be used to solicit or sign up potential affiliates either. 

So you can have affiliate product or service links in your email, but you cannot have links to sign up potential affiliate marketers or affiliates for a product or service. 

Mailchimp indeed, does not make it easy for affiliate marketers to use their email autoresponder service. 

In fact, as you can see from the list of businesses that are “off limits”, “Affiliate Marketing” is also included in that “off limits” list. 

So my next question is, “Why would any affiliate marketer want to pay for or even use a service for free (up to 2,000 subscribers only) that does not value them nor want them on their platform?“

In addition, please note that some affiliate programs do not allow the use of their affiliates program links in emails. 

In fact, many don’t allow this form of promotion including Amazon. 

Therefore, if you are an Amazon affiliate, you are not allowed to use your Amazon affiliate links within your emails. 

So please check the affiliate programs you are promoting to make sure that you can promote their products or services via email marketing or else you may lose your account with that particular affiliate program.

What is Mailchimp’s affiliate marketing policy?

Here is a link to Mailchimp’s affiliate marketing policy. As you can see it is just as opaque as I had described it above.

What is Mailchimp’s referral or partner program?

Despite the fact that Mailchimp does not value nor allow affiliate marketers to legitimately promote their businesses using their email autoresponder, they do have an affiliate program of their own, of sorts. 

However, it is not a direct affiliate program in the traditional sense. It is more or less a referral program that they call their Mailchimp partner program.

How it works like this, if you are already a Mailchimp client, a paying client that is, for anyone you refer to Mailchimp who signs up for their paid service, you will receive a credit towards your monthly subscription cost. 

Here are the details for Mailchimp’s partner program. 

Please note that Mailchimp updated their Partner Program in October 2020. I have links below which will give you some general information on these changes.

Here is a pdf which goes into a little more detail of it’s updated version of their Partner Program.

However, for exact remuneration details, you will need to sign up for Mailchimp. 

Does the Mailchimp partner program offer commission?

Until October 2020, Mailchimp’s partner program did not offer direct commissions. They only offered credits to your own Mailchimp paid subscription account. 

This meant that for every new paying client you refer to Mailchimp they will deduct x amount off your monthly subscription. 

However, as of October 13th 2020, Mailchimp changed the terms of their partner program with a few new features, including direct payments to your bank account for every paid Mailchimp account through your referral link.

In addition, they’ll now also pay you commissions on any additional upgrades and features for either new clients or clients that you have already referred. 

Though, you must still sign up for Mailchimp in order to be eligible for these additional paid partner program benefits. Here are some links that you might find useful:

Again here are some of the details in the pdf Partner Program.

Mailchimp and affiliate marketing conclusions.

As you can see Mailchimp and affiliate marketing are not a match made in heaven. In fact, if you don’t watch your step, it could be a match made in hell. 

So take it from me, as well as other affiliate marketers, spend a little extra and go for an email autoresponder service that not only welcomes affiliate marketers, but makes their life in affiliate marketing so much easier. 

Why use a service that doesn’t appreciate or value what you do for a living anyway? There are plenty of other email autoresponder services that you can use that do value affiliate marketers and the affiliate marketing profession. 

Don’t misunderstand me, other auto responders also have rules in their terms of service and understandably so. 

Many do not want to promote affiliate product services, or websites for that matter, that promote violence or are based around sexual themes for example. 

Others don’t like promoting gambling websites as well. 

So do your homework, and choose the email autoresponder that best fits your own affiliate marketing and website needs.

Even if it costs you a little bit upfront, it will more than pay for itself since one of the main tenets of affiliate marketing is after all, “the money is in the list”. 

So build out your list right the first time. Cutting corners and saving a few pennies in the beginning of building your email list will only cost you loads more time as well as money down the road If you don’t do it right. 

Especially, if you go through all the trouble of using Mailchimp in building your list only to have not only your account banned, but losing that very list as well. 

This can happen of course, if you don’t back-up your email list. 

But the very fact that a company like Mailchimp, can in effect, hold your email list hostage, should be another red flag of why affiliate marketing professionals should not use their platform. So don’t be a chump.

After all, if the “money is in the list”, why take any chances, right?