MailerLite tutorial: what every beginner needs to know

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Photo: Mikhail Nilov (Pexels)

This MailerLite tutorial covers what every beginner needs to know: how to set up your account, build a subscriber list, send your first campaign, and create a basic automation — all on a free or near-free budget. MailerLite’s free plan supports up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails, making it a real option for bloggers and side-hustlers just getting started.

Before going further — MailerLite is a solid choice for many beginners, but it’s not the only one. If you want more advanced CRM features, ActiveCampaign fits better. If you’re already building funnels, GetResponse bundles email with landing pages. This guide focuses specifically on MailerLite’s own workflow, so you can decide if it fits your situation.

Setting up your MailerLite account

Head to mailerlite.com and click “Get started for free.” You’ll need a business email address — Gmail or Hotmail accounts often trigger a manual review, so use a domain-based email if you have one.

The account approval step most beginners miss

MailerLite requires manual approval before you can send campaigns. This usually takes a few hours to one business day. During that window, you can still:

• Build your subscriber groups
• Design your first email template
• Set up your sender identity (your “From” name and email)

To verify your sender domain, go to Settings → Domains and add the DNS records your domain registrar requires. This step isn’t optional — emails without a verified domain land in spam more often.

Navigating the dashboard

The left sidebar has five main sections: Dashboard, Campaigns, Subscribers, Automation, and Forms. New users sometimes ignore the Forms section, but it’s where you create embedded signup forms and pop-ups — the main mechanism for growing your list inside MailerLite.

Building your first subscriber list

MailerLite uses Groups instead of traditional lists. Think of a group as a tag-based bucket. One subscriber can belong to multiple groups, which keeps your list organized without duplicate contacts.

Creating a group

1. Go to Subscribers → Groups
2. Click “Create new group”
3. Name it descriptively — “Blog readers – free opt-in” beats “Group 1”

You can import contacts via CSV or connect directly if you’re migrating from another platform. MailerLite accepts CSV files with columns for email, name, and any custom fields you’ve set up.

Building your signup form

Under Forms, choose between an embedded form (drops into your website’s HTML) or a pop-up. For a WordPress site using Elementor Pro, you can paste the embedded code into an HTML widget. MailerLite also has a native WordPress plugin that handles this without touching code.

A basic high-converting form needs three things:

• A specific benefit headline (“Get the free blog monetization checklist”)
• One field (email only — each added field reduces conversions)
• A clear submit button with action language (“Send me the checklist”)

After someone submits, they’re added to whichever group you connect to that form. You can enable double opt-in under Settings → Account — recommended if you want cleaner list hygiene and GDPR compliance.

Creating and sending your first campaign

A campaign in MailerLite is a one-time broadcast email — a newsletter issue, a product announcement, a welcome message sent manually.

Step-by-step campaign creation

Step 1: Click “Create campaign” from the Campaigns tab and choose “Regular campaign.”

Step 2: Fill in the basics — campaign name (internal only), email subject line, and preview text. The preview text is the snippet readers see in their inbox before opening. Most beginners leave it blank, which is a missed opportunity.

Step 3: Choose your editor. MailerLite offers three options:

• Drag & drop editor — visual blocks, easiest for beginners
• Rich text editor — plain text style, high deliverability
• Custom HTML — for those who code their own templates

Start with the drag & drop editor. It’s intuitive, and you can replace placeholder content without knowing any HTML.

Step 4: Design your email. Keep your first email simple: a header image (optional), one or two paragraphs of text, and one call-to-action button. MailerLite provides pre-built blocks for buttons, images, and dividers.

Step 5: Choose recipients. Select the group(s) you want to receive the campaign. You can also exclude groups — useful if you’re running a promo only for non-buyers.

Step 6: Review and send or schedule. MailerLite shows a deliverability checklist before you hit send — it flags missing alt text, broken links, and subject line length. Fix anything flagged before proceeding.

Setting up your first automation

This is where MailerLite tutorial content gets most interesting for beginners. Automations let you send a sequence of emails triggered by a specific action — like someone joining a group.

A simple welcome sequence

Go to Automation → Create new automation.

1. Trigger: “When subscriber joins a group” → select your opt-in group
2. Email 1 (immediately): Deliver the lead magnet or confirm the subscription. Keep it under 150 words.
3. Delay: Add a 2-day wait
4. Email 2: Introduce yourself or your blog’s main value — what readers should expect
5. Delay: Add a 3-day wait
6. Email 3: Point to your most popular post or offer a related free resource

On the free plan, you can build automations with up to 1,000 active subscribers. The automation builder is visual — drag steps into a flow chart, connect them with arrows, and publish when ready.

Automation triggers available on the free plan

• Subscriber joins a group
• Subscriber completes a form
• A date-based trigger (e.g., birthday emails if you collected a date field)

Advanced triggers — like “subscriber clicks a link” or “subscriber field changes” — require the Growing Business plan, which starts at $9/month for up to 500 subscribers (or $18/month for 1,000).

MailerLite pricing: free vs. paid

Understanding the tiers helps you plan before you hit a wall.

For most beginners, the free plan covers the first 6–12 months comfortably. The main friction is the MailerLite footer branding on outgoing emails — if that bothers you or your audience, the Growing Business plan at $9/month removes it.

How MailerLite compares to other beginner-friendly tools

This MailerLite tutorial would be incomplete without honest context. Here’s how it stacks up against two alternatives that frequently appear in the same conversations:

Our take: MailerLite wins on design flexibility and landing pages at the free tier. Kit (formerly ConvertKit) wins if you sell digital products or courses, because its tagging and commerce features are more mature. Brevo makes more sense if you also need transactional email (order confirmations, password resets).

Deliverability and list hygiene basics

Sending emails is only useful if they arrive. A few practices matter early:

• Clean your list every 90 days. Remove subscribers who haven’t opened a single email in six months. MailerLite’s subscriber filter under Subscribers → Filters makes this easy — sort by “Last opened” and export or delete the unengaged segment.
• Use a custom domain email. Sending from yourname@yourdomain.com — verified via DNS — consistently outperforms free email provider addresses.
• Don’t buy lists. Purchased lists spike spam complaints, which damages your sender reputation. Build organically through your forms and content.
• Monitor your open rate. Industry benchmarks vary by niche, but a healthy open rate for small newsletters typically sits between 25–40% [verify]. If yours drops below 20%, audit your subject lines and list freshness before blaming the platform.

Frequently asked questions

Is MailerLite really free for beginners?

Yes — the free plan supports up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month with no credit card required. You get access to campaigns, automations, forms, and landing pages. The only visible limitation is MailerLite’s footer branding on outgoing emails.

How long does MailerLite account approval take?

Most accounts are approved within a few hours during business days. Using a domain-based email address (not Gmail or Yahoo) speeds up the process. You can build your lists and templates while waiting.

Can I migrate from Mailchimp to MailerLite?

Yes. Export your Mailchimp list as a CSV (with email, first name, last name, and any tags), then import it under Subscribers → Import in MailerLite. Map your columns during the import wizard. Your automations won’t transfer — those need to be rebuilt manually.

Does MailerLite support A/B testing?

A/B testing for subject lines and sender names is available on the Growing Business plan ($9/month and up). The free plan doesn’t include it, though you can manually test by sending two campaigns to different groups and comparing open rates.

What’s the difference between MailerLite Classic and the New MailerLite?

MailerLite launched a redesigned platform (often called “New MailerLite”) in 2023. Existing users on the Classic version can still access it, but new signups go directly to the new version. The new interface has a cleaner dashboard and updated automation builder. If you’re starting fresh, you’re already on the new version by default.

This MailerLite tutorial: what every beginner needs to know covers the core setup path — account creation, subscriber groups, campaign building, and basic automation. For most bloggers sending a weekly newsletter to a growing audience, the free plan handles everything comfortably through the early stages.

The skills you build here transfer to more powerful platforms if you outgrow MailerLite. Segmentation logic, automation triggers, and deliverability habits work the same way whether you’re on MailerLite, Kit, or ActiveCampaign later.

Want more step-by-step guides on email marketing, blogging tools, and building an audience? Bookmark twofunnelsaway.com — new guides publish regularly.