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Tell us a little bit about yourself and how did you get to where you are today?

I’m Emily and I think some people know me as “that Mailchimp obsessed girl.” BUT- I’m the co-founder of Mailchimp-focused email marketing agency, Westfield Creative, based outside of Chicago, IL. We design and manage emails for brands and have worked with a wide range of clients- from Columbia University to Sparking Ice, General Mills…to your local hardware store. The range is wide in email because every business needs email marketing. I’m also a mother of 3 and I do a lot of posting on Instagram Stories (@emilyryanlikes).

I founded the company 8 years ago with my sister, Elizabeth, after we saw a big need for clients needing Mailchimp help. I had lived in NYC for 11 years and worked at a startup where I first used Mailchimp and saw how well it worked for that company, so I’ve really been hooked on email marketing ever since. We also just love how a simple email can grow a business.

We are Mailchimp Pro Partners and also Mailchimp Certified.

What’s your favorite email marketing tool, and why?

Mailchimp, of course. We love it because our clients want to make money or nurture their customers using email and Mailchimp makes this easy. We love the drag and drop builders and all the tools that come along with Mailchimp. The data, the pre-built customer journeys, the Campaign Manager. There are a wealth of tools when you use Mailchimp and it’s incredible what you can do with your marketing in one platform.

Hardware:

• MacBook Pro (M2) Laptop
• Laptop stand
• Ring light
• iPhone stand (for filming Reels)
• Mouse/mouse pad
• Notepad
• Sometimes a monitor – but all pretty minimal bc I move around a lot
• COFFEE. Lots of coffee!

Software:

• Mailchimp
• Monday.com for project management
• Canva and Adobe CS
• Gmail
• Google Cal
• Slack
• Wave apps for all invoicing and estimates
• Dropbox Sign for all contract signing

How do you stay creative and where do you find inspiration?

It may sound funny, but I get a lot of inspiration from Instagram. I have always used it as a sort of magazine – to browse art and images. I post a lot on Instagram Stories and find it almost fun to create content that is beautiful and fun for others (but also inspires me).

I also find a lot of inspiration from just looking at my own inbox and seeing what other brands are doing with email. And from sites like ReallyGoodEmails.com.

How do you manage work-life balance?

Never easy but it’s crucial to preventing burnout. I TRY hard to phsyically shut my laptop at 5pm and focus on my family. I don’t work weekends. I don’t allow clients to text to me and I believe that family always comes first, no matter what. It makes things challenging, but these years with my kids are so short and it’s important to have family quality time built in.

But, my brain never really stops thinking about clients and things I want to do for my business. So shutting my own brain off is a little harder!

What are you excited about for 2023?

We feel really lucky to work with some amazing clients right now. Being a Mailchimp Partner has given us a lot of opportunities to connect with bigger brands (through the Experts Directory) so I so pumped to work with some well-known brands. I’ve always dreamed about doing work that excites me and I really feel like we’re finally getting there. We just finished a project for a brand within General Mills…I mean how cool is that?!

And of course excited to continue watching my small kids grow. That I am MOST excited about. These are really fun years (my kids are 1, 4 and 8). This beats work excitement any day!

Follow Emily’s journey on Twitter –> @emilyryantweets

Much love,
Andy

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @emaillove