Feedframer

Mailchimp RSS-to-Email Integration

Automatically send your latest Instagram posts to your Mailchimp email subscribers using Feedframer's RSS feed and Mailchimp's RSS-to-Email campaigns.

What is Mailchimp RSS-to-Email?

Mailchimp's RSS-to-Email feature automatically creates and sends email campaigns whenever new content is detected in your RSS feed. When you publish a new Instagram post, Feedframer updates your RSS feed, and Mailchimp sends it to your subscribers.

Perfect for:

  • Weekly Instagram roundup emails
  • Automated product showcase newsletters
  • Portfolio update notifications
  • Social proof and engagement campaigns

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  1. A Feedframer account with a connected Instagram account
  2. A Mailchimp account (sign up for free)
  3. An email list in Mailchimp with subscribers
  4. Your Feedframer RSS feed URL (from the RSS Feed page)

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Get Your RSS Feed URL

  1. Log in to your Feedframer account
  2. Navigate to RSS Feed in the sidebar
  3. Select the Instagram account you want to use
  4. Copy the RSS feed URL - it should look like: 
    https://feedframer.com/api/v1/rss?api_key=YOUR_API_TOKEN

Step 2: Create an RSS Campaign in Mailchimp

  1. Log in to your Mailchimp account
  2. Click Create in the top navigation
  3. Select Email from the dropdown
  4. Choose RSS Campaign (you may need to scroll down)
  5. Click Begin

Step 3: Configure Campaign Settings

Feed Settings

  1. Enter your RSS feed URL from Step 1
  2. Click Get feed info
  3. Mailchimp will validate the feed and show a preview

Send Settings

  1. Choose your send frequency:

    • Daily - Send once per day if there are new posts (recommended for active accounts)
    • Weekly - Send once per week on a specific day
    • Monthly - Send once per month on a specific date

  2. Set the send time:

    • Choose when your subscribers should receive the email
    • Consider your audience's timezone and peak engagement times

  3. Schedule Settings:

    • Send only when there's new content - Recommended (prevents empty emails)
    • Send to entire list or Send to a segment

Step 4: Design Your Email Template

Choose a Template

  1. Mailchimp will show template options for RSS campaigns
  2. Choose a template or start from scratch
  3. Templates have merge tags for RSS content (see below)

RSS Merge Tags

Use these merge tags in your template to display Instagram post content:

*|RSSITEMS:|*
    <h2>*|RSSITEM:TITLE|*</h2>
    <div>*|RSSITEM:CONTENT|*</div>
    <a href="*|RSSITEM:URL|*">View on Instagram</a>
*|END:RSSITEMS|*

Available merge tags:

  • *|RSSITEM:TITLE|* - Post caption (first 100 characters)
  • *|RSSITEM:CONTENT|* - Full HTML content with image and caption
  • *|RSSITEM:URL|* - Link to the Instagram post
  • *|RSSITEM:DATE|* - Publication date
  • *|RSSITEMS:COUNT|* - Number of posts in this email

Recommended Template Structure

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>*|MC:SUBJECT|*</title>
</head>
<body>
    <div style="max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">

        <!-- Header -->
        <div style="background: #f5f5f5; padding: 20px; text-align: center;">
            <h1>Latest from Instagram</h1>
        </div>

        <!-- Instagram Posts -->
        <div style="padding: 20px;">
            *|RSSITEMS:5|*
                <div style="margin-bottom: 40px; padding-bottom: 40px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;">

                    <!-- Post Content (includes image) -->
                    <div>*|RSSITEM:CONTENT|*</div>

                    <!-- View on Instagram Button -->
                    <div style="margin-top: 20px;">
                        <a href="*|RSSITEM:URL|*"
                           style="background: #E4405F; color: white; padding: 12px 24px;
                                  text-decoration: none; border-radius: 5px; display: inline-block;">
                            View on Instagram
                        </a>
                    </div>

                    <!-- Post Date -->
                    <p style="color: #999; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 10px;">
                        Posted on *|RSSITEM:DATE|*
                    </p>

                </div>
            *|END:RSSITEMS|*
        </div>

        <!-- Footer -->
        <div style="background: #f5f5f5; padding: 20px; text-align: center; font-size: 12px; color: #666;">
            <p>You're receiving this because you subscribed to our Instagram updates.</p>
            <p>*|LIST:DESCRIPTION|*</p>
            <p><a href="*|UNSUB|*">Unsubscribe</a> | <a href="*|UPDATE_PROFILE|*">Update preferences</a></p>
        </div>

    </div>
</body>
</html>

Notes:

  • *|RSSITEMS:5|* limits the email to 5 most recent posts
  • Increase the number for more posts (max 100 for Premium tier, 12 for Free tier)
  • Feedframer's RSS feed already includes images in *|RSSITEM:CONTENT|*

Step 5: Configure Recipients

  1. Choose your audience:

    • Select the Mailchimp list to send to
    • Optionally segment by tags, signup date, engagement, etc.

  2. Personalization:

    • Add merge tags like *|FNAME|* for first name
    • Customize greeting based on subscriber data

Step 6: Subject Line and Preview Text

Create an engaging subject line:

Good examples:

Fresh from Instagram: New posts this week! 📸
*|RSSFEED:TITLE|* - Weekly Update
Check out our latest Instagram posts
This week's highlights from @yourusername

Merge tags for subject:

  • *|RSSFEED:TITLE|* - Your RSS feed title (@username - Instagram Feed)
  • *|RSSITEMS:COUNT|* - Number of new posts
  • *|DATE:M d, Y|* - Current date

Preview text example:

*|RSSITEMS:COUNT|* new posts from Instagram this week

Step 7: Review and Activate

  1. Send a test email to yourself

    • Verify images display correctly
    • Check links work
    • Ensure formatting looks good on mobile

  2. Review settings:

    • RSS feed URL is correct
    • Send frequency matches your needs
    • Recipients list is correct

  3. Start RSS Campaign

    • Click "Start RSS" to activate
    • Mailchimp will now monitor your feed automatically

Best Practices

Send Frequency

  • Active Instagram accounts (5+ posts/week): Daily or weekly sends
  • Moderate posting (2-4 posts/week): Weekly sends
  • Occasional posting (1-2 posts/week): Weekly or bi-weekly sends

Tip: Match your send frequency to your posting cadence. Free tier updates hourly, Premium updates every 5 minutes.

Content Limits

  • Free Tier: Include up to 12 posts in email using *|RSSITEMS:12|*
  • Premium Tier: Include up to 100 posts using *|RSSITEMS:100|*
  • Recommended: 3-5 posts per email for best engagement

Email Design

  1. Keep it simple - Let your Instagram content shine
  2. Mobile-first - 60%+ of emails are opened on mobile
  3. Clear CTAs - Make "View on Instagram" buttons prominent
  4. Branding - Add your logo and colors to match your brand

Subject Line Tips

  1. Use numbers - "5 new posts from Instagram this week"
  2. Create urgency - "Fresh content alert!"
  3. Be specific - "New product photos on Instagram"
  4. Test variations - A/B test different subject lines

Advanced Configuration

Filtering Posts by Type

Want to send only certain types of Instagram posts? Use Mailchimp's RSS merge tag filtering:

*|RSSITEMS:|*
    *|IF:RSSITEM:CONTENT contains "IMAGE"|*
        <!-- Only show image posts -->
        <div>*|RSSITEM:CONTENT|*</div>
    *|END:IF|*
*|END:RSSITEMS|*

Note: Feedframer's RSS feed includes all post types. For more granular filtering, consider using multiple Instagram accounts or the REST API instead.

Custom Styling

Override Feedframer's default image styling:

*|RSSITEMS:|*
    <div class="instagram-post">
        <!-- Extract and restyle content -->
        <div style="border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; margin-bottom: 20px;">
            *|RSSITEM:CONTENT|*
        </div>
    </div>
*|END:RSSITEMS|*

Add custom CSS to resize images:

<style>
    .instagram-post img {
        max-width: 100% !important;
        height: auto !important;
        border-radius: 8px;
    }
</style>

Conditional Content

Show different content based on post count:

*|IF:RSSITEMS:COUNT > 3|*
    <p>Wow! We've been busy on Instagram this week with *|RSSITEMS:COUNT|* new posts!</p>
*|ELSE:|*
    <p>Here's what we shared on Instagram this week:</p>
*|END:IF|*

Monitoring Performance

Track in Mailchimp

After your RSS campaign is running, monitor:

  1. Open rate - How many subscribers opened the email
  2. Click rate - How many clicked through to Instagram
  3. Unsubscribe rate - Monitor for fatigue
  4. Send frequency - How often emails are actually sent

Optimize Based on Data

  • Low open rates? Try different subject lines or send times
  • Low click rates? Improve email design or CTA placement
  • High unsubscribes? Reduce send frequency or improve content
  • Emails not sending? Check if you have new Instagram posts

Troubleshooting

Campaign Not Sending

Cause: No new content in RSS feed since last send

Solutions:

  1. Check your Instagram account is connected in Feedframer
  2. Verify you've posted new content to Instagram
  3. Note tier update frequency (Free: hourly, Premium: 5 minutes)
  4. Review Mailchimp's RSS campaign activity log

Images Not Displaying

Cause: Email client blocking images or HTML formatting issues

Solutions:

  1. Test in multiple email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail)
  2. Ensure images are not blocked by recipient's email settings
  3. Use *|RSSITEM:CONTENT|* which includes properly formatted images
  4. Check that Feedframer RSS feed contains <media:content> elements

Old Posts Appearing

Cause: Mailchimp may send all posts from feed on first campaign

Solutions:

  1. This is normal for the first send - Mailchimp will track what's been sent
  2. Subsequent sends will only include new posts
  3. Limit posts with *|RSSITEMS:5|* to show only recent content

Feed Not Validating

Cause: Invalid RSS feed URL or Mailchimp can't access the feed

Solutions:

  1. Copy the RSS feed URL exactly as shown in Feedframer
  2. Ensure your Instagram account status is "Active"
  3. Test the URL directly in a browser - should show XML
  4. Check that you haven't regenerated your API token

Example Use Cases

E-commerce Store

Scenario: Send weekly product showcase emails

Setup:

  • Frequency: Every Monday at 9am
  • Template: Product grid layout
  • Content: 5 most recent posts
  • Subject: "New Arrivals: Fresh styles on Instagram"

Photography Portfolio

Scenario: Monthly portfolio update newsletter

Setup:

  • Frequency: First day of each month
  • Template: Large images, minimal text
  • Content: All posts from previous month
  • Subject: "|DATE:F| Photography Highlights"

Restaurant/Cafe

Scenario: Daily specials and menu updates

Setup:

  • Frequency: Daily at 7am
  • Template: Single post showcase
  • Content: Most recent post only
  • Subject: "Today's Special at [Restaurant Name]"

Getting Help

Need assistance with your Mailchimp integration?

Mailchimp Resources:

Feedframer Support:

Next Steps

Once your Mailchimp RSS campaign is running:

  1. Monitor performance metrics in Mailchimp
  2. Test different send frequencies to optimize engagement
  3. A/B test subject lines and email designs
  4. Consider creating segments for highly engaged subscribers
  5. Explore Klaviyo integration for more advanced automation

Happy emailing! 📧