> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.hosting.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Signing up for a Mailchimp account

> Sign up for Mailchimp and schedule bulk emails effortlessly. Get instructions on account setup, API keys, and more.

This article describes how to sign up for a Mailchimp account.

## About Mailchimp

Mailchimp provides e-mail marketing services that enable you to efficiently send bulk e-mails to your subscribers and customers.

To help ensure server stability and performance, hosting.com limits the number of e-mails you can send at one time directly from your account. If you have a large number of e-mail subscribers, you should use Mail Chimp (or another third-party e-mail provider) instead of hosting.com's servers to do mass mailings.

Mailchimp allows you to send up to 12,000 e-mail messages per month for free if you have less than 2,000 subscribers. Alternatively, there are paid plans that support larger amounts of subscribers and messages.

<Tip>
  For information about Mailchimp's pricing options, please visit [http://mailchimp.com/pricing](http://mailchimp.com/pricing).
</Tip>

## Signing up for a Mailchimp account

To sign up for a Mailchimp account, follow these steps:

1. Use your web browser to go to [http://mailchimp.com](http://mailchimp.com).

2. Click **Sign Up Free**.

3. Fill out the registration form. After you submit it, Mailchimp sends you an e-mail message.

4. In the message, click the activation link.

5. On the Mailchimp site, fill out the remaining fields to complete the account creation process.
   > 📘 Note
   >
   > After you create an account, you should create a list and add some subscribers. For detailed information about how to do this, please read Mailchimp's documentation about lists at [http://kb.mailchimp.com/lists/growth/getting-started-with-lists](http://kb.mailchimp.com/lists/growth/getting-started-with-lists).

## Generating API keys

To integrate Mailchimp with your web site at hosting.com (or any other sites you may have), you must have an API key. This key is a unique identifier that enables applications to directly access your Mailchimp account, so you must keep it secure.

Mailchimp does not generate an API key for your account automatically—you must specifically request one. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Mailchimp.

2. On the top menu bar, click your name, and then click **Account**.

3. Click **Extras**, and then click **API keys**.

4. Under **Your API keys**, click **Create a Key**. The new key appears under **Your API keys**.

## More information

For more information about Mailchimp, please visit [http://mailchimp.com/about](http://mailchimp.com/about).

## Related articles

* [Adding Mailchimp subscribers from WordPress](/docs/adding-mailchimp-subscribers-from-wordpress)