Checklist for your email campaigns

Having an effective checklist for the quality control of your email campaigns can help you to spot and correct mistakes before you send to your email address books.

Most common blunders on email marketing include:
1. misspelt subject line
2. missing images
3. wrong links used or links not working
4. spelling and grammar mistakes
5. sending to the wrong list

Running through a checklist will help you to limit these types of mistakes from your email campaigns so that you can send them in confidence. See the eShoutz suggested points for your checklist:

1. Have I proof-read all the copy? Try reading in Microsoft Word, using the spellchecker to highlight glaring spelling mistakes. You should also read in Notepad, Word won't always catch grammatical mistakes (e.g. to/too/two) so putting your email copy into another environment will help you to see any mistakes that may have been missed previously.

2. Are all links correct and working? Check that each of your links are working and they are each going to the right page/offer.

3. Does each image have an ALT tag? Make sure that each image has an ALT tag decribing the content, this is important because it gives you another way to deliver you information to readers who have disabled images.

4. Have I proof-read all the copy in the text version? Repeat step 1 on your text version. Usually not as much attention is paid to the text version in comparision to the HTML version but this is just as important for your subscribers who do not receive HTML emails.

5. Have I included all of my company information? You should include your company name, street address, telephone number, website address and email address. Having different ways to be contacted encourages your subscribers to interact with you, which in turn makes them feel more confident in your company.

6. Have I previewed the email? Complete a test send so that you can view your email campaign in the preview pane, with images disabled and with different email providers (Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail etc). This enables you to see the email as most of your subscribers will view it. If it doesn't look pretty then go back to your design and make the necessary amendments.

7. Has another person checked over the email? Before you press send, get someone who has not been involved in the creation of your email campaign to check over it. A fresh pair of eyes can spot mistakes that you may have overlooked.

8. Am I sending to the correct address books? This final check helps to ensure that your email campaign is being sent to the intended address books.

For more email marketing advice visit eShoutz.com.

Why email marketing?

Email marketing is one of the most powerful online marketing tools, used by businesses of all sizes. Email marketing usually requires only a small amount of time and often a very small budget to achieve results.

There are very few production costs involved with email marketing, and unlike direct mail there are no material costs. Many email marketing providers such as eShoutz also offer a self-service solution which eliminates management fees and allows you to complete all operations cheaply in-house. Email marketing also allows you to proactively contact prospective and existing customers, without waiting for them to visit your website to view your services and product offers.

Email marketing is an instant marketing solution which can also provide results straight away. Once an email marketer clicks to send an email campaign, it can be instantly distributed to the entire database of recipients a business has. This means that any urgent communications or offers which are due to be outdated within a short period of time can be sent out on an email very quickly before the offer ends.

Not only is the sending of email campaigns instant, but the response can be too. If you create a clear 'call to action' you may see an increase in visitors to your website or an influx in telephone calls almost instantly and usually within 48 hours of dispatching your email newsletter.

It is easy to track the success of your email marketing campaigns. eShoutz has an excellent reporting tool which shows you both numerically and graphically how your email marketing campaign has performed. You can see how many emails were delivered, how many were opened and who has clicked through to your website. You can also see how many enquiries or bookings were ultimately made as a result of your newsletter and the value of those leads.

Above all, eShoutz is simple to use. Creating and sending email marketing campaigns is quick and easy with eShoutz, as is using all of its additional features such as sending dynamic content newsletters and personalising your emails.

For more information on simple email marketing visit eShoutz.com