What to Do When MailChimp Suspends Your Account
Well, don’t do what I did. I waited more than five months before I had time to pursue a solution. My stats for eQuipping for eMinistry took a hit. But, that is a story for another time. (It’s been a very busy year-and-a-half.)
On August 20, 2019, MailChimp suspended my account for an alleged “acceptable use violation.” Their automatic software didn’t like the MailChimp email I’d sent. MailChimp offered a form for me to send a request into a queue. Because I have a free account, I would hear from them eventually about this suspension. Well, I didn’t. Looking back, they might have been using an invalid address to reach me.
Finally, towards the end of January, I had time to look into the problem. I went to GetHuman to see if I could find a direct email address. I sent a request with this new email address (customersupport at mailchimp dot com) and received a kind response from MailChimp within 36 hours. They reinstated my account.
Of course, sooner would have been better, but God had a plan for all this. (Again, a story for another time). I was glad to have my MailChimp account back in working order even though I’ve lost some readership.
How to Avoid a MailChimp Suspension
High bounce rates, as well as abuse complaints, can lead to a suspension.
Best Practices for a MailChimp User
I don’t know why MailChimp suspended my account. Along with their prompt response, MailChimp sent me to an article about best practices to stay in compliance:
- Get permission to send mail.
- Keep your content true to what you promised.
- Provide choices for what readers would like to receive (instead of all your content).
- Provide a good way to unsubscribe.
Best Practices for a MailChimp Reader
Too many bounces send a negative message to MailChimp.
- If you aren’t using an email address, update to your new email address.
- If you’re leaving Cru staff, unsubscribe (or change your address). Please don’t let your old email hard bounce.
- If you don’t want a MailChimp email anymore, unsubscribe. It’s easy to use the “spam” button, but please only use it on email content that is unsolicited or offensive. Be courteous to a blogger that you don’t want to read anymore. Take a brief time to unsubscribe.
eQuipping for eMinistry 
Thanks, Sus! I also had a Mailchimp account suspended for unknown reasons. I did, however, contact them immediately – I wanted to send a prayer letter that day – and MailChimp reinstated me within a day. I am still a bit frustrated with them since I don’t see anything in their article that warranted the suspension and therefore don’t know how to prevent it happening again. I will “clean” bounced emails more quickly at least. Glad to be in good company anyway! 😊
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I know God had a reason for me to take so long to resolve the problem. Sorry it happened to you, too. I wonder if my suspension may have happened because one or more people used “spam” instead of “unsubscribe” to stop their subscription with me. I don’t know. Just guessing.
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Thanks, Sus! I also had a MailChimp account suspended for unknown reasons. I did, however, contact them immediately – I wanted to send a prayer letter – and MailChimp reinstated me within a day. I am still a bit frustrated with them since I don’t see anything in their article that I did that warranted the suspension and, therefore, don’t know how to prevent it happening again. I will “clean” bounced emails more quickly at least. Glad to be in good company anyway. 🙂 I look forward to learning from your new direction for creatives.
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I’m looking forward to the emphasis with creatives, too!
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