On the hunt for a domain?

You may have noticed recently that Mailchimp is currently pushing out what appears to be a fantastic way for you to get hold of a domain if you’ve never had one before.

They’re offering you the chance to get up to $25 a year off the cost of a domain you purchase via Mailchimp for 5 years and then use with their website building tool – which in essence, for most domains, will make the domain completely free!

Here’s a link to their domain sales page.

…but is this right for you and should you be jumping at the bit to get your domain right now?

Read on…

Free… my favourite price!

Mailchimp are continuing to expand into new areas and services, whilst still maintaining their core email marketing functionality.

One of the new tools that they have recently been working on is their website builder… which offers the chance to create a basic website for your business for free as part of the basic marketing tools they offer.

If you’re just starting out and don’t want the hassle and creating something from scratch on WordPress or want to avoid the cost of a web designer, then this might be a fantastic place for you to start.

Although I’ve not ‘pushed’ the web designer tool much, from the little i’ve played with, it’s still a fantastic set up for building simple websites and a great way to build a basic website, when you’ve got no web presence at all.

…and now, with the ability to have a free domain to host it on for the next five years… why wouldn’t you!

…Well why wouldn’t you?

OK… there are a few limitations and conditions you need to be aware of, if you’re thinking of getting a free domain with Mailchimp but will be wanting some “outside the box” functionality…

Here’s what I’ve been able to understand…

• The “Free” offer is only available if you have built a website in Mailchimp using their website builder within 11 months of purchasing the domain.
  • So if you don’t build a website in Mailchimp… you’ll have to pay
  • …and if you want to use the domain on a website outside of Mailchimp… you’ll have to pay
• If you buy a domain and then want to use it for a landing page…
  • You can, but you’ll need to get Mailchimp’s team to set it up
  • …and since you’re not using the Mailchimp website builder… it’s not free anymore.
• You can use the core domain for a Mailchimp website and then create a sub-domain for landing pages.
• Email is a bit ‘tricky‘ – you can send emails in Mailchimp using the domain, but if you want to have an inbox you’ll either need to use the conversations function in Mailchimp campaigns… or ask Mailchimp’s help to set up something outside.

OK… so if you’re getting creative with Mailchimp and domains, this might need a little bit of thought before jumping in…

My Opinion… For what it’s worth…

The fact is, if you’re sitting there without a website then this is almost a no-brainer… it’ll get you off the starting grid and integrates nicely with all of Mailchimp’s other services.

…and considering a lot of Mailchimp’s target audience are like that, it should get good take up – especially for charities and non-profits.

However, if you’re looking for a bit more functionality it might not be the best route forward for your business as it doesn’t work easily with landing pages and your own ability to email… and despite advances, Mailchimp’s website builder can only get you so far.

…but one thing you could do which would be a great idea… is to grab a free domain… build a one page website within Mailchimp’s website builder (in essence a landing page), and you’ve got it all locked up for the next five years…  you could even put a big “learn more at our main website” link at the bottom so they could then go to your core website after they’ve read the page.

Wrapping Up

So simple question & answer to sum things up…

1. Have you got a website at the moment?
   • If No… then seriously look at this as a way of getting a foot on the ladder.
   • If Yes… then at least bare this in mind when you are thinking of grabbing a domain for a simple one page website…

Remember… Free is a pretty good price point!

…and if you want to jump on it… here’s the link to their domain sales page.