Your Pre-Launch Email Marketing Checklist4 min read

Your Pre-Launch Email Marketing Checklist4 min read

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Use this email marketing checklist to make sure you’re not missing any key details in your next email campaign.

1. From Address

Determine what name you wish to appear as the sender in the recipient’s inbox. For example, if it’s a sales message, you may decide to send it from the sales manager. If you’re sending an educational message, you may wish to send it from “[Your Brand] Education” to stimulate more opens. Whatever you choose, be sure it’s relevant to the content of your email.

2. Reply-To Email Address

Make sure you set a reply-to email address that is regularly monitored to ensure no direct responses fall through the cracks.

3. Preview Text

Preview text is the line of copy that appears in email inboxes beneath or next to your subject line. This copy is as important as your subject line when it comes to encouraging email opens. This line of text should give a direct, to-the-point description of your email’s contents.

4. A/B Test

At a minimum, you should A/B test your subject lines. You may consider sending a retargeted email to those who don’t open with a variation of the winning subject line. You may also elect to A/B test creative, copy, and calls-to-action.

5. Minimize Scroll

Place your call-to-action both at the top and bottom of your email to capture those who won’t scroll long enough to see the action at the bottom of the email.

6. Mobile

Optimize your email for mobile. Chances are more than 50% of your recipients will be consuming your message on a mobile device. Make sure they don’t have to scroll far for a call-to-action, squint to read your copy, or read too much copy to get to the value you are providing.

7. Call-to-Action

Include your call-to-action (CTA) in text hyperlinks, buttons, and images to capture as many prospects as possible. On the flip side, make sure you’re not including too many CTAs in a single email, and be sure to position them in locations that don’t require a lot of scrolling. The copy should be simple and to the point.

8. Subject Line

Your subject line is the most important element of your email. It will either invite people to read more or get lost in the noise of an inbox. Take time and thought to generate short, high-impact subject lines that pique curiosity (and encourage clicks). If you deploy an email that is a total dud, try reworking the subject line and resending to the people who didn’t open.

9. Subscription Preferences

Allow subscribers to curate which lists they are subscribed to instead of just opting out of all of your communications. This will help keep your opt-out numbers low. Plus, it will empower subscribers to choose what kinds of communication they receive.

10. A Clear Message

Make sure your copy clearly communications what you want your email recipients to do. Each element of your email should work with the rest to make it clear what action readers should take—and more importantly, what value they get from taking it.

11. Value

Are you adding value? Before you hit send, read your message and ask yourself a hard question: If I didn’t send this, would anyone miss it? If your honest answer is No, then take a look at how you can reposition to provide value. Make your message one that people want to read—not another piece of junk mail.

12. Send Time & Day

This is another variable that is smart to test. In the veterinary market, anecdotal data suggests that Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best days to deploy email. Test your messages to discover your best send time. Be aware that optimal send times may change! For example, when COVID-19 first shut down the country, pretty much any time was a good time to send email.

13. Landing Page

Does your email CTA link to a landing page specific to the campaign where you can measure traffic, conversions, and ROI? If not, it should.

14. ROI Tracking

If your email contains a CTA that is campaign-specific, make sure you can track inbound inquiries that lead to sales through your CRM. This will help you evaluate ROI and campaign success, which will give you the intel you need to pivot or double down.

15. Follow Up Procedure

The success of your email is often dependent upon your follow-up process. Make sure your sales team has easy visibility to sales inquiries. Plus, be sure to train the sales team about how to respond in line with your campaign messaging. You get extra points if your sales team learns how to track results so you can optimize your next campaign!

Ready to dive into your next campaign? Try these extra tips for optimizing opens.

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