This is kind of a big deal. In a perfect world, we’d have clean email lists that include location data for each address. But my world is not perfect, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one. So when Mailchimp announced that they’ve enabled geo tracking in their latest release, I pretty much did the happy dance right on the spot.
How do they do it? Basically, they are able to track IP addresses for people who interact with you during the double opt-in process, by opening your email and displaying images, or by clicking on a link in your email. Is it perfect? No. But it’s a huge step better than nothing. And overtime, it might even be more accurate for non-members than the information we collect at opt-in–afterall, people move, but they probably aren’t going to update their subscriptions if they haven’t changed their email address.
Another cool perk of the geo tracking is something Mailchimp is calling “Time Warp.” Basically, the system will automagically deliver your message at the time you choose, regardless of time zone. Whoa. Can I get an w00t w00t!
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9 responses to "Mailchimp Introduces Geolocation for Email"
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@Mailchimp Introduces Geolocation for Email (http://bit.ly/bM4qj3) #socialfish
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wow http://ow.ly/15xGi Mailchimp Introduces Geolocation for Email — SocialFish
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Mailchimp Introduces Geolocation for Email — SocialFish http://bit.ly/adjUwf
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RT @rjleaman: Mailchimp Introduces Geolocation for Email — SocialFish http://bit.ly/adjUwf
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Can you share how you would actually use the geolocation information? I can see that it might be nice to get a vague sense of where your subscribers are from, but what else could you do with this? I saw the announcement in my MailChimp account but didn’t understand why I would be that interested… Would love some hints.
Good question – events are an obvious fit. As you get closer to the date of the event, it’s less likely that someone beyond a 150-mile radius will make last-minute plans to attend. Now you can better target that area. For associations who have local networks or chapters, you can target membership and local event information to them. Same for state and local advocacy information. I’m sure we can all think of more ways to use geolocation…this is just off the top of my head.
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