• by Ray Schultz , October 13, 2020

Email marketing firm Mailchimp has launched a community for freelancers and agencies to help them connect with small business clients.  

The new community, Mailchimp & Co., is designed to provide freelancers with the tools they need to “find work and grow on their own terms,” states Amanda Malko, senior director, partner program and marketing at Mailchimp.

In tandem with this effort, Mailchimp is partnering with R/GA to launch a brand campaign focused on freelancers.

Produced in quarantine, the Beautiful Mess campaign features at-home photoshoots of familiar elements of freelancer life, relying on color, composition and unexpected details, the company says.

These real-time images could include “client calls on the couch, working on the stairs, kids and pets running around — all elevated, vibrant, and perfectly-imperfect,” says Mailchimp’s Katie Potochney. 

Potochney adds that freelancers rarely operate in “high-polish, perfectionistic workspaces typically seen in campaigns targeting them."

Mailchimp reports that 40% of the service providers in its ecosystem are freelancers.

In general, freelance jobs increased by over 25% during the second quarter, the company says. That figure could grow as more firms revert to a work-at-home model during the pandemic. 

Mailchimp & Co. also will provide freelancers with access to Mailchimp resources, rewards and training. 

Mailchimp Academy, a learning destination for freelancers and agencies to get certified in Mailchimp, has drawn more than 1,800 enrollees and has certified over 100 people since its launch earlier this year. The topics include email marketing and automation.