In a digital world the place nothing is forgotten, a mistake could cause extra than simply embarrassment. Improper hyperlinks, illegible textual content, insensitive language, or one in every of dozens (in all probability extra like a whole lot) of different points can price firms substantial income and electronic mail entrepreneurs their jobs.
Which may appear excessive, however these within the business know all too nicely the psychological flash of worst-case situations they expertise simply earlier than a marketing campaign launches. It’s so widespread that it’s grow to be referred to as “ship button nervousness.”
However what if you happen to might have ship button confidence as an alternative?
The one factor that appears to cut back this type of electronic mail advertising stress is to examine the e-mail for errors or points. Then examine once more. And once more. And but, you possibly can nonetheless overlook one thing and end up sorting by way of a catastrophe.
Because of this even probably the most expert and skilled electronic mail entrepreneurs use pre-send checklists to make sure every part is completed appropriately. Getting in for an essential medical process? Surgeons have a guidelines. As pilots put together to fly 400 treasured lives throughout the ocean — a guidelines.
So for groups who’re sending high-stakes emails (and that’s nearly any firm that cares about their popularity or backside line), they offer every message the eye it deserves with a pre-send electronic mail guidelines. When nervousness strikes, they will see that every part was double-checked.
Is there a proper option to conduct electronic mail high quality assurance? We consider so. Mannequin it after the best way subscribers really expertise your message — the way it seems of their inbox, first — and care for the technical facets subsequent, earlier than you give attention to E-mail Previews on the finish of the method.
And…
You should use an automated pre-send guidelines.
A 360-degree, pre-send guidelines for electronic mail professionals
E-mail on Acid has developed the instruments that business leaders belief to persistently ship electronic mail perfection. As a part of our full suite, we provide an automatic electronic mail readiness guidelines that we name Marketing campaign Precheck.
This lets you evaluate your preheader textual content, handle accessibility points, validate URLs and pictures, run spell examine, see if you happen to’ve been blocklisted, run spam assessments, after which preview how your electronic mail renders on greater than 90 of the preferred gadgets and electronic mail shoppers.
What’s notably nice about Marketing campaign Precheck is that you could discover and repair points instantly. So there’s no extra forwards and backwards between electronic mail high quality assurance and improvement. It makes everybody extra environment friendly — and effectivity is cash.
That is far more than an electronic mail preview. These are sometimes little greater than a screenshot of the e-mail. You may’t inform if the preheader textual content is right. You don’t know if the URLs are proper. And it’d look okay in your laptop, however how are you aware that it’ll look nice for everybody?
Marketing campaign Precheck places you on the trail to comply with the most effective practices of electronic mail design which, on the finish of the day, helps you obtain your final purpose: land within the inbox of your subscribers and garner significant engagement.
The 8 steps of Marketing campaign Precheck
1. Inbox show
Inbox Show exhibits you the topic and preheader textual content and is the very first thing Marketing campaign Precheck covers as a result of it’s the primary encounter subscribers have together with your message. Should you don’t nail this, nothing else issues. So by making certain you have got the right data, you’re optimizing for opens.
When the topic and preheader are remoted, do they nonetheless sound engaging sufficient to pique the curiosity of your viewers? Did you incorporate that last-minute change from the copywriting group? Are there any embarrassing spelling errors?
As soon as your inbox preview is optimized for opens, it’s time to make sure that your message might be interpreted by everybody in your listing.
2. Accessibility
Simply as your emails can’t ship outcomes in the event that they aren’t opened, they gained’t meet your goals if subscribers can’t learn them. Our Accessibility device focuses on the hundreds of thousands of People who, in response to the CDC, have visible impairments.
Can your electronic mail be learn with a display screen reader? Is there alt textual content for each picture? Does the distinction ratio meet WCAG AA requirements? Did you underline each hyperlink?
Lacking this step means you’re losing a considerable portion of your listing. Your organization will undergo and your quarterly report will, too.
3. URL validation
Do your hyperlinks resolve or is there an error? Do they really go to your supposed vacation spot?
Should you’re eyeballing hyperlinks and manually clicking them one after the other, you’re nonetheless leaving an excessive amount of as much as human error.
Our URL Validation device lists your entire hyperlinks in a single spot and robotically shows any error messages. You may simply verify that every one works correctly and edit them straight inside the guidelines. See? Effectivity.
You may even determine the UTM monitoring tags which are used so you possibly can make sure that you obtain correct credit score for the outcomes your message generates!
4. Picture validation
Outlook is infamous for displaying pictures in methods aside from you supposed. There are three facets of E-mail on Acid’s Picture Validation device:
- A callout if a picture is lacking a border or width (or even when there’s a “0” worth entered).
- A GIF optimizer that defines which body Outlook makes use of because the thumbnail or static picture.
- A picture optimizer for pace and message measurement. No one goes to attend quite a lot of seconds in your pictures to load. To maximise your pace, they need to be lower than 200KB. In case your pictures don’t meet this normal, we’ll optimize them for you. E-mail on Acid may even host the pictures in your behalf. However if you happen to don’t wish to reap the benefits of that supply, we give you a folder of compressed pictures on the finish of Marketing campaign Precheck.
The Picture Validation step in Marketing campaign Precheck is a good instance of why many name this a discover and repair device.
It doesn’t simply let you know which body is about to indicate because the thumbnail in your GIF, it helps you to select which body to make use of. It doesn’t simply let you know that the pictures are too giant, it compresses them for you. How’s that for purple carpet service?
5. Spell examine
The Spell Test device checks each side of your electronic mail — from preheader textual content to physique copy — for awkward errors. Your copywriter certainly did this earlier than they completed their work, however as issues change arms and edits are made, errors have a not-so-funny approach of creeping in.
E-mail on Acid additionally has a model integrity checker to make sure you didn’t use any phrases which are greatest left unsaid. And on the finish of the day, you possibly can select to disregard any warnings like branded phrases {that a} typical dictionary won’t acknowledge.
6. Area blocklists
That is about greater than your area. It’s about each area you hyperlink to inside your message. If any are blocklisted, it might affect the deliverability of your electronic mail. Plus, there could also be an excellent motive a website is on the naughty listing. You undoubtedly don’t wish to be chargeable for sending your subscribers to a dangerous website.
One of many capabilities of the Deliverability checker is to validate domains in opposition to 4 totally different companies. If there’s an issue, we’ll give you the code generated and a hyperlink to that individual blocklist so you possibly can resolve the issue.
7. Spam
Our spam take a look at is the second half of the Deliverability checker and runs your electronic mail in opposition to greater than 20 totally different filters. Does your message make it to the inbox? You’ll get a listing of cross/fail outcomes together with any particular filters that failed the message.
That is all about understanding what’s going to occur to your message earlier than you ship it. Belief us: it’s a lot better than discovering out from an indignant boss or subscriber that you simply’ve landed within the spam folder. Eek! Speak about successful to model popularity.
8. E-mail previews
Now that all the behind-the-scenes stuff has been accomplished, it’s time to take a look at the entire image. Previewing screenshots of your emails is a key step within the pre-send guidelines course of.
Once more, this comes on the finish as a result of any modifications made in the course of the first a part of the e-mail QA course of can have an effect on how the message really shows on somebody’s gadget. Plus, a wonderful preview can provide you a false sense of safety: a perfectly-designed message is nugatory if it’s not delivered, opened, and viewable.
Our E-mail Previews are rather more than screenshots. They’re precise reside shoppers. You’ll see precisely what your subscribers will see. One factor that units E-mail on Acid aside from related platforms … Limitless Testing. Regardless of your plan, you possibly can take a look at as many emails as you need and share them with group members with out hitting a month-to-month ceiling.
You may preview greater than 90 totally different shoppers and gadgets. After which you possibly can preview many times till you’re able to ship electronic mail perfection.
With a pre-send guidelines, you maintain the steering wheel
E-mail on Acid supplies you with the chance to examine probably the most essential facets of your message and make speedy edits. This implies you should use our automated pre-send guidelines to attain higher outcomes with extra effectivity than ever. There’s no have to depend on third events or a co-worker throughout the corridor to let you know in case your electronic mail “seems good.” You’re in management.
Plus, with E-mail on Acid, you possibly can create personalized workflows primarily based in your group’s wants. With our electronic mail group administration instruments you possibly can arrange numerous permissions and duties so the proper individuals have entry and the fallacious individuals don’t. You may even toggle on or off particular facets of Marketing campaign Precheck in the event that they don’t match into your workflow for any motive.
You’re within the driver’s seat and also you’ve received the wheel. It’s time to ship electronic mail perfection.
Writer: Geoff Traub
Geoff Traub leads E-mail on Acid’s Buyer Success Staff, which works to onboard and help entrepreneurs who use our electronic mail readiness platform. Geoff and his group are comfortable to assist our prospects of their quest to ship electronic mail perfection. He resides within the mountains of Idaho, and his woodpile might be greater than yours.
Writer: Geoff Traub
Geoff Traub leads E-mail on Acid’s Buyer Success Staff, which works to onboard and help entrepreneurs who use our electronic mail readiness platform. Geoff and his group are comfortable to assist our prospects of their quest to ship electronic mail perfection. He resides within the mountains of Idaho, and his woodpile might be greater than yours.
