|
Best Practices in Email Marketing Checklist
|
Doing it now |
Will do it soon |
Won’t or N/A |
| Permission |
|
Got recipient’s consent in advance? (Opt-in, not opt-out) |
|
|
|
|
Numerous opt-in opportunities provided with low barriers to entry? |
|
|
|
|
Collecting more than just the email address? |
|
|
|
|
Amount of work required to sign up is minimal? |
|
|
|
|
Email list sign-up on all forms on your site, including inquiry, order, and feedback forms? |
|
|
|
|
Privacy policy published and abided by? |
|
|
|
|
Monitoring the number/variety of contacts to avoid burnout? |
|
|
|
| Your Email Messages |
|
Easy way to unsubscribe? |
|
|
|
|
Reply works? |
|
|
|
|
Signed by a real person? |
|
|
|
|
Relevant? |
|
|
|
|
Timely? |
|
|
|
|
Beneficial? |
|
|
|
|
If a promotional message, contains a compelling offer and a call-to-action? |
|
|
|
|
If a newsletter, contains a header, a table of contents, a welcome, and multiple ‘departments’? |
|
|
|
|
Includes a privacy statement? |
|
|
|
|
Includes a disclaimer? |
|
|
|
|
Includes unsubscribe instructions? |
|
|
|
|
Short and sweet? |
|
|
|
|
Using links? |
|
|
|
|
Avoiding spam filter triggers? (“Freeâ€, “opt-inâ€, “!!!â€, “forward to a friendâ€, 'Bcc', etc.)? |
|
|
|
|
No attachments? |
|
|
|
| Plain-text Emails |
|
Preceding URLs with “http://†and emails with “mailto:� |
|
|
|
|
Limiting the line width to 65 characters? |
|
|
|
|
Headlines in ALL CAPS? |
|
|
|
| HTML Emails |
|
Using tables to control placement & avoid long lines? |
|
|
|
|
Embedding a form to make it easy for the recipient to respond to the offer? |
|
|
|
|
Auto filling in as many form fields as possible? |
|
|
|
|
No scripts? |
|
|
|
|
No Flash? |
|
|
|
|
No Streaming Video? |
|
|
|
|
Sending HTML and plaintext together in multi-part MIME format? |
|
|
|
| Personalizing |
|
Greeting the recipient by first name? |
|
|
|
|
Personalizing the 'Subject' line? |
|
|
|
|
Personalizing the offer? |
|
|
|
|
Personalizing the message copy? |
|
|
|
|
'To' line contains the recipient’s email address? |
|
|
|
|
Recipient can control the contact frequency? |
|
|
|
|
Sending the email between 10 and 2 Tuesday through Thursday? |
|
|
|
| Segmenting |
|
Segmenting your list by demographics, psychographics, clickographics (visiting behavior and transaction history)? |
|
|
|
| List Brokers |
|
Avoiding the use of purchased lists? |
|
|
|
|
If renting a list, is it double opt-in, fastidiously clean of unsubscribes, and finely segmented? |
|
|
|
| Testing |
|
Got a control group? |
|
|
|
|
Varying only one thing at a time? |
|
|
|
|
Testing the offer? |
|
|
|
|
Testing the 'Subject' line? |
|
|
|
|
Testing the 'From' line? |
|
|
|
|
Testing the message copy? |
|
|
|
|
Testing the layout? |
|
|
|
|
Testing the message length? |
|
|
|
|
Testing the timing? |
|
|
|
|
