An erroneous email, sent in haste, can have disastrous results, and in any case does not attest to your precision and reliability.
For this reason, it is essential to read through everything carefully, checking its layout and ensuring the mail is being sent to the correct mailing list, prior to hit “Send”.
According to the marketing guru, Seth Godin, there are actually 36 points to check prior to sending an email.
Here are our favorites from a long (semi-serious) list:
13. Am I angry? (If so, save as draft and come back to the note in one hour).
35. Bonus: Does the subject line make it easy to understand what’s to come and likely it will get filed properly?
36. If I had to pay 42 cents to send this email, would I?
Be sure to check out the full list here.
Beside, if you really want to avoid email disasters, pay attention to these questions* you should answer before sending your next email campaigns:
1. Content
- Does your subject line explain the email’s purpose and the offer?
- Does your subject line have less than or equal to 50 characters including spaces?
- Is the content readable under all e-mail circumstances– browsers, mailboxes, operating systems, hand-held devices, etc.?
- Does your content provide requisite information about the offer/info?
- Is your content personalized?
- Does your content have a call-to-action message?
- Do all images have descriptive alt tags?
2. Design
- Is the message visually optimized?
- Are images strategically placed to move the eye toward the call to action?
- Does the email’s layout support the brand?
- Does it carry a consistent brand message through the entire user flow?
- Does the template fit correctly in the preview pane?
3. CAN SPAM compliance
- Does your message contain a link to the web version?
- Does it have a working opt-out/unsubscribe link?
- Have you provided company name and physical address?
- Have you mentioned recipient’s e-mail address?
- Does it have a link to preference-update page?
- Does the message have working “contact us” link or phone number?
4. Spam checking
- Is your content spam-checked?
- Is your HTML coding tested?
- Have you checked your domain name and IP address in the major blacklists?
5. List and usage
- Do you have correct and updated email addresses in your list?
- Does your list have correct contact details and names for personalized messages?
- If you have a third-party list rental strategy, then have you meticulously defined your target profile to get most suitable prospects?
- Do you have opt-in lists?
The biggest error is to believe that an email is merely a virtual message, while in fact an email is a permanent text, that can be traced and – above all – disseminated.
And a single error can cast doubt over our entire credibility.
*based on SEOstudy check list