Why Integrate Your Website with Email Marketing?

Your website generates leads. But what happens after someone fills out your contact form? If the answer is “I manually check emails and respond when I can,” you’re losing opportunities.

For Western Sydney business owners juggling a hundred responsibilities, automated marketing integration means:

  • Leads get immediate responses (even at 2am)
  • Follow-up happens consistently (not when you remember)
  • Customer communications are tracked in one place
  • You can focus on your actual business

This guide covers two powerful tools: Mautic for email automation and Chatwoot for customer communications. Both are open-source, meaning you can host them yourself and avoid ongoing subscription fees.

What Is Mautic?

Mautic is an open-source marketing automation platform. Think of it as a self-hosted alternative to Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, or HubSpot.

What Mautic Does:

  • Collects leads through forms on your website
  • Sends automated email sequences
  • Tracks visitor behaviour on your site
  • Scores leads based on engagement
  • Segments contacts for targeted campaigns
  • Provides analytics on campaign performance

Why Consider Mautic:

  • Cost: Free software (you pay only for hosting and email delivery)
  • Data ownership: Your customer data stays on your servers
  • No subscriber limits: Grow without per-contact pricing
  • Customisation: Modify anything to fit your needs
  • Australian hosting: Keep data in Australia if required

The Catch: Mautic requires technical setup and maintenance. It’s not click-and-go like Mailchimp. But once configured, it’s powerful and cost-effective.

What Is Chatwoot?

Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement platform. It consolidates communications from multiple channels into one inbox.

What Chatwoot Does:

  • Provides live chat for your website
  • Collects messages from Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and email
  • Routes conversations to the right team members
  • Enables team collaboration on customer issues
  • Stores conversation history with each contact
  • Integrates with CRM and other tools

Why Consider Chatwoot:

  • Unified inbox: All customer messages in one place
  • Cost-effective: Free to self-host
  • Multi-channel: Website chat, social media, email
  • Team-friendly: Multiple staff can manage conversations
  • Professional: Looks polished, builds trust

The Catch: Like Mautic, Chatwoot requires technical setup. It also requires someone to actually respond to chats.

How These Tools Work Together

The real power comes from connecting everything:

Website Visitor Journey:

  1. Visitor lands on your website
  2. Chatwoot widget offers to help
  3. Visitor asks a question via chat
  4. If staff are available, they respond immediately
  5. If not, automated response captures their email
  6. Contact is added to Mautic
  7. Mautic sends welcome email and relevant information
  8. Visitor behaviour is tracked
  9. Follow-up emails are sent based on interests
  10. When visitor is ready to buy, you know

This happens automatically. While you’re sleeping, driving between jobs, or meeting with clients.

Setting Up Mautic: A Practical Guide

Here’s what’s involved in getting Mautic running:

Hosting Requirements

Mautic needs:

  • A web server (VPS or dedicated server)
  • PHP 7.4 or higher
  • MySQL or MariaDB database
  • SSL certificate
  • Enough resources (2GB RAM minimum, 4GB recommended)

Hosting Options:

  • DIY: Rent a VPS from Vultr, DigitalOcean, or an Australian provider
  • Managed: Services like Mautic.com offer hosted versions
  • Your Existing Server: If you have a dedicated server for your website

Budget $20-50/month for decent hosting. Compare this to Mailchimp’s pricing once you exceed the free tier.

Installation Process

If you’re technically inclined:

  1. Set up your server and domain (e.g., marketing.yourbusiness.com.au)
  2. Install PHP, MySQL, and a web server (Apache or Nginx)
  3. Download Mautic from mautic.org
  4. Run the installer through your browser
  5. Configure initial settings

If this sounds foreign, your web developer can handle it in a few hours.

Connecting to Your Website

Once installed, connect Mautic to your website:

Tracking Code: Add Mautic’s JavaScript tracking code to your website (similar to Google Analytics). This lets Mautic see what pages visitors view.

<script>
(function(w,d,t,u,n,a,m){w['MauticTrackingObject']=n;
w[n]=w[n]||function(){(w[n].q=w[n].q||[]).push(arguments)},a=d.createElement(t),
m=d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0];a.async=1;a.src=u;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
})(window,document,'script','https://marketing.yourbusiness.com.au/mtc.js','mt');
mt('send', 'pageview');
</script>

Forms: Replace your website’s contact forms with Mautic forms, or connect existing forms to Mautic through integrations.

For WordPress, plugins like WPForms can send submissions directly to Mautic.

Email Delivery Setup

Mautic doesn’t send emails directly - it uses an email delivery service. Options include:

  • Amazon SES: Very affordable, good deliverability
  • Mailgun: Developer-friendly, straightforward pricing
  • SMTP.com: Reliable, Australian support available
  • Your own SMTP: Possible but not recommended for marketing emails

Budget $10-50/month depending on email volume. Even with this cost, you’ll save compared to all-in-one platforms once you have more than a few hundred contacts.

Setting Up Chatwoot: A Practical Guide

Chatwoot setup is similar to Mautic:

Hosting Requirements

Chatwoot needs:

  • A server with Docker support (recommended)
  • Or Ruby on Rails environment (more complex)
  • PostgreSQL or MySQL database
  • Redis for background jobs
  • 2GB+ RAM

Installation (Docker Method)

The easiest approach uses Docker:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/chatwoot/chatwoot.git
cd chatwoot

# Set up environment
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your settings

# Start the services
docker-compose up -d

Your developer can have this running in an hour or two.

Adding Chat to Your Website

Once Chatwoot is running, you’ll get a widget code:

<script>
(function(d,t) {
  var BASE_URL="https://chat.yourbusiness.com.au";
  var g=d.createElement(t),s=d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0];
  g.src=BASE_URL+"/packs/js/sdk.js";
  g.defer = true;
  g.async = true;
  s.parentNode.insertBefore(g,s);
  g.onload=function(){
    window.chatwootSDK.run({
      websiteToken: 'your-token-here',
      baseUrl: BASE_URL
    })
  }
})(document,"script");
</script>

Add this to your website, and the chat widget appears.

Configuring Team Access

Set up team members in Chatwoot:

  • Create accounts for staff who will respond to chats
  • Set up working hours (so chat shows as unavailable after hours)
  • Configure automated responses for common questions
  • Enable email notifications so you don’t miss messages

Connecting Mautic and Chatwoot

Here’s where it gets powerful:

Contact Synchronisation

When someone chats on your website, their contact information can flow to Mautic. Options:

Webhook Integration: Chatwoot can send data to Mautic via webhooks. When a new contact is created in Chatwoot, Mautic receives the information automatically.

Zapier/n8n Integration: Use an automation tool to connect the platforms. When X happens in Chatwoot, do Y in Mautic.

API Integration: For more complex needs, custom development can sync data exactly how you want.

Practical Example

Here’s a real workflow:

  1. Visitor chats: “Hi, do you service the Hills District?”
  2. Auto-response: “Thanks for your message! Yes, we cover all of Sydney’s Hills District. Can I get your email to send you our service guide?”
  3. Visitor provides email: [email protected]
  4. Chatwoot creates contact with email and conversation history
  5. Mautic receives contact via webhook
  6. Mautic sends email with Hills District service guide
  7. Visitor opens email and clicks link to pricing page
  8. Mautic tracks this and updates lead score
  9. After 2 days with no response, Mautic sends follow-up email
  10. You see hot lead in Mautic dashboard - someone interested in your services who’s actively engaging

This happens automatically. You just review the dashboard and follow up with qualified leads.

Automation Examples for Western Sydney Businesses

Here’s how different businesses might use this setup:

Tradesperson (Plumber, Electrician, etc.)

Chat Widget: “Need urgent help? Chat with us now!” Auto-Response: Captures postcode and problem description Email Sequence:

  • Immediate: “Thanks for contacting us. Here’s what to check while you wait.”
  • If no booking in 24 hours: “Still having issues? We can usually visit same-day.”
  • If enquiry abandoned: Monthly newsletter with maintenance tips

Professional Services (Accountant, Lawyer)

Chat Widget: “Have a quick question? We’re here to help.” Auto-Response: Captures enquiry type and contact details Email Sequence:

  • Immediate: Relevant guide based on enquiry type
  • Day 3: “Did our guide help? We offer a free 15-minute consultation.”
  • Ongoing: Industry updates and tax deadline reminders

Retail/E-commerce

Chat Widget: “Questions about our products? Ask here!” Auto-Response: Product recommendations based on questions Email Sequence:

  • Abandoned cart: “Forgot something? Here’s 10% off to complete your order”
  • Post-purchase: “How was your experience? Leave a review”
  • Reorder reminder: Timed based on typical product lifecycle

Costs Comparison

Let’s compare costs for a business with 2,000 contacts sending 10,000 emails/month:

  • Mailchimp: ~$150/month
  • ActiveCampaign: ~$130/month
  • HubSpot: ~$800/month (with CRM features)
  • Intercom (chat): ~$300/month

Annual Total: $1,560 - $13,200+

Self-Hosted Stack

  • Mautic Hosting: $30/month
  • Chatwoot Hosting: $30/month (or combined with Mautic)
  • Email Delivery (SES): ~$10/month
  • Initial Setup: $500-2,000 (one-time)

Annual Total: ~$840 + setup

The self-hosted approach saves money from year two onwards, especially as you grow.

Is This Right for Your Business?

Self-hosted Mautic/Chatwoot makes sense if:

  • You’re planning long-term growth
  • You want full control over your data
  • You have access to technical support
  • You’re comfortable with a learning curve
  • Your contact list is or will be substantial

Stick with paid platforms if:

  • You need immediate, simple setup
  • You have no technical support
  • Your contact list is small
  • You’re testing whether email marketing works for you

There’s no wrong answer - only what fits your situation.

Getting Started

Here’s your action plan:

Week 1: Plan

  • Document what you want to achieve with email marketing
  • List the automations that would help your business
  • Decide: self-host or use paid platforms

Week 2: Setup

  • If self-hosting: arrange hosting and installation
  • If paid platforms: sign up for free trials
  • Set up basic tracking on your website

Week 3: Connect

  • Create your first email template
  • Set up your first automation (welcome email)
  • Add chat widget to website

Week 4: Refine

  • Monitor what’s working
  • Adjust messaging based on responses
  • Plan additional automations

Need Help With Integration?

At Cosmos Web Tech, we’ve set up Mautic and Chatwoot for Western Sydney businesses who want powerful marketing automation without ongoing subscription costs.

We can:

  • Install and configure Mautic on your hosting
  • Set up Chatwoot for customer communications
  • Connect everything to your existing website
  • Build automations specific to your business
  • Train you to manage the system

The initial investment pays off through lower ongoing costs and better lead management.

Get in touch for a free consultation. We’ll assess whether self-hosted solutions make sense for your situation and give you an honest recommendation.

Your leads deserve better than manual follow-up. Let’s automate the routine so you can focus on the relationships.

For executive-level thinking on digital marketing strategy and technology investment, explore Ash Ganda’s blog.

Cosmos Web Tech is the web development division of Ganda Tech Services, specialising in website design, SEO, and e-commerce for Australian businesses.