RSS feeds are excellent tools for content distribution, but they haven’t been adopted by the masses. Most customers still prefer to get their updates and promotions via an email newsletter.

Thanks to MailChimp’s RSS to Email service, modern day bloggers and old-fashioned email lovers can meet in the middle. The service automatically sends out an email campaign when you update your blog content. And while RSS to email is not a new concept (we discussed such a service in Really Hot Mail), MailChimp gives your more control over the design and delivery of your campaign:

• Style your email template so that it mirrors the look and feel of your web site. Or, just use the templates they have on hand. Either way, MailChimp pulls your RSS content and repackages it in a nice, neat email format.
• Take advantage of MailChimp’s advanced merge tagging system, which lets you target customers by geography and tailor the content they receive – a handy feature if you want to integrate advertising or promotions for a specific area.
• Manage your subscriptions and track who opens your email and clicks on links. You can even integrate Google Analytics!

MailChimp charges based on the size of your mailing list. Bottom line, if you’re a business who utilizes a blog to communicate with your customers- and you factor in the convenience of the platform, the design controls, and the value you get with the tracking and analytics – MailChimp might be a good investment, especially if it means that you can stop going through the regular hassle of creating a standalone HTML newsletter.