This should do the trick. For now I will be manually updating this until I create an automated workflow. I do not guarantee that this will work forever (the update process is rather clunky right now).
If you're able to copy the archives across to your own site, it might be worth it for the SEO benefits (and you can put the signup form at the top of each page). But your focus on automated workflow seems very wise.
One suggestion - you might want to add an actual unsubscribe link on the site. I once had somebody subscribe to one of my lists, who then wanted to unsubscribe before receiving the first email and was quite upset that they couldn't find an unsubscribe link on the site itself.
I want to keep this primarily as a newsletter because it allows me to speak directly to my readers in many different ways. While I will have an RSS link and post the emails on the website, those are there mostly to give an idea of the newsletter rather than the preferred way of reading it.
Thanks for the unsubscribe link suggestion. I went ahead and added it.
Looking into this right now. I'm surprised it's taking me longer than 2 seconds to find a solution. I would expect MailChimp to have this built in... Unless I'm blind.
This should do the trick. For now I will be manually updating this until I create an automated workflow. I do not guarantee that this will work forever (the update process is rather clunky right now).
I am open to suggestions.