There are so many things to think about as you’re preparing your email campaign and getting it ready to send. We wanted to put together a thorough checklist so that you can be sure you didn’t miss anything.

(Printable version)

Subject line:

• Is it between 50-60 characters long (or less)? Make sure the first 15 characters can draw them in (for recipients reading it on a BlackBerry or other mobile device).
• Does the subject line relate to the content that is in the email campaign without looking like spam?
• Have you used any spam-filter words or punctuation that could send it to the junk folder? (Note: the TailoredMail application will automatically notify you by a pop up of words that you may have used that could cause the email to get caught by a spam-filter).
• Have you written down or tested multiple subject lines to determine which one would be most effective?
• Does your brand/company name appear in the subject line or “From” address?

“From” address:

• Is it “From” a sender that the recipient will recognize?
• Is the “From” address a registered email address?
• Have you tested the address to make sure replies are routed correctly?
• Do you have a person monitoring the inbox that the “From” address is routed to?

Pre-header/ Header

• Have you included a teaser above the header to entice your reader to open or scroll down to read the body of the email? Maybe personalize it with their name, or add a call-to-action (CTA) or perhaps even the title of the most newsworthy article. Essentially, add something that will give them reason to open it.
• Did you include an “add to address book” line? If so, is the address you inserted the actual address you want them to add to their safe senders/white list?
• Do you have a “view this online” or “view this in mobile” link?

Preview Pane:

• Are you featuring your company/brand logo prominently?
• Does the content above the fold catch their attention enough to open it or scroll down to view more?
• If you’re using an “In This Issue” section, do the titles link and anchor to their respective article in the body of the newsletter?

Body

• Were you able to personalize this message with your subscriber’s name?
• Did you spell check your entire message?
• If you copied from a Microsoft Word document, did you check to make sure you removed all Microsoft Word smart quotes so that your copy renders correctly in all email clients?
• Did you proofread your content? Make sure you have someone else proofread it in case there’s anything you may have missed.
• Do you have multiple CTA’s that grabs the recipient’s attention (both graphics and links)?
• If your campaign is mostly HTML graphics, does the Text version communicate the message effectively as well?
• Can your email be easily skimmed? If not, try bolding key words/phrases adding short paragraphs or bullets.
• Is your email campaign readable online or is it too long?
• Have you compressed your images enough so that they’re not too large of files to load when your recipient opens the email?

Footer

• Is there an obvious unsubscribe link? Did you test the unsubscribe link to make sure it works?
• Did you include your postal (USPS) address?
• Is the copyright year updated?
• Do you have a link to your privacy policy or any other privacy information they should have access to?
• If your campaign is about a sales event, did you include an updated disclaimer?
• Did you include a link for them to update their subscription preferences?
• Do you have a forward-to-a-friend link?
• Did you include a sign up link for people the message is forwarded to?

Pre-broadcast check- HTML and Text Versions

• Did you spell check the entire campaign?
• Did you check that all links are active and go to the correct pages?
• Did you check to make sure there is ALT text for links and images?
• If the recipient has images turned off, will your message still make sense?
• Does your ALT text actually describe what the image or link is?
• If you have prices listed in your campaign, and you’re linking them to your website, do the prices match what is listed on the website?
• Did you check the spam score?
• Did you check to make sure all of your unsubscribe links work? Make sure you see it from your recipient’s point of view and go through the process of opting out to make sure it is easy and seamless.
• If you have expiration dates in the campaign, are they current expiration dates?
• Did you test the broadcast across your subscriber’s main email clients? Did you test them on a Mac (using Safari, Firefox and MacMail) and a PC (using IE6 or IE7, Firefox and Outlook 2007)?
• Did you check to make sure any special characters render correctly in all the email clients?
• Did you send out a test message to your Seed List?
• Did you correct all rendering issues and resend a test to the same list?
• Is your message CAN-SPAM compliant?
• Did you review your message frequency and sending schedule to be sure this campaign is spaced out enough from the previous or next scheduled campaign?

Email List

• Are you sending to the correct list?
• Are you able to segment the list to send the campaign to the most appropriate recipients?
• If this is a dynamic campaign, did you select the correct item filters/categories to be included/excluded in the campaign?
• Do you have permission to send to everyone on the list?

Broadcast

• Are you sending at a time that the recipients will most likely open it?
• Are you using the correct email template?
• Did you make sure the trackers are turned on?
• If you want this campaign to be added to your Archive list, did you check the Archives box during set up?
• Did you make sure to remove all unsubscribe requests that did not use the automated link?
• Have you checked your list to make sure you aren’t sending to any suspicious addresses- spam@, abuse@, etc?

One last thing. Before you send, ask yourself…

• Is the content of your campaign compelling and relevant to what your subscriber signed up for?
• Is it newsworthy enough on its own, or should you wait to send it with more compelling information? Does it pass the “who cares” test?
• Is there a clear action you want your subscriber to take? Will they understand what action that is?