How many times have you created an email marketing campaign and then noticed that you have neglected to correct some glaring error? We all have, even some of the best people in the business do it from time to time. Without a good process, these errors tend to be present more times than they are not. So, what is a good way to ensure these are few and far between? Let’s just run you through the basics of a good email marketing pre-flight checklist, based on one of our processes.

Before you send:

Checklist of some key elements that should be in your email newsletter or promotion  before you press the “Send” button:

Your “From” and “Subject” Lines:

1. Does your “From” line include your company name or brand?

Does your “Subject” line:

1. Meet the guidelines for length (5-8 words, 40 characters including spaces)?
2. Incorporate a specific benefit?
3. Include your brand (if for some reason your “From” line does not)?
4. Create a sense of urgency?
5. Avoid words or punctuation — such as “Free” or exclamation points — that could trigger spam filters?

Your Email Copy:

1. Will the content of your email be interesting and meaningful to the people you’re sending it to?
2. Is your email personalized with the recipient’s first name, last name, or both, if appropriate?
3. Is your email copy clear and concise?
4. Will your contacts know what to do once they’ve read your email? Should they call to request your free offer? Print out a coupon? Provide comments and feedback on an article?
5. Does your email clearly explain how your product or service can help [benefit] the recipient? Save them money? Time? Aggravation?
6. Have you used appropriate graphics while also making good use of white space?

Important Last-Second Checks:

1. Are you prepared to handle inbound email responses and questions resulting from your outbound email campaigns? Follow-through is as important as the first contact.
2. Have you proofread the “From” line, “Subject” line, and email copy thoroughly?
3. Have you checked all links to be sure they work properly?
4. Have you previewed and sent yourself a test in both HTML and text formats?
5. Have you sent this to your internal company test group (remember 3 sets of eyes are ALWAYS better than one!)

When you can answer “yes” to all of these questions, you are ready to hit the “Send” button!