Email marketing tasks you don't do, but should

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checklistIn all the excitement of the email high life, there are some tasks that get forgotten. Or - let's be honest - there are some mundane email marketing tasks we studiously avoid.

Here's a quick list with tips and links. Feel free to add more examples in the comments.

In no particular order:

Survey your list


You can learn a lot about who did what and when by examining campaign reports. But the metrics aren't so good when it comes to the whys (and why nots).

You can help fill in some of the knowledge gaps by surveying your list. Subscribers are an obvious, but overlooked, source of tips and insight for improving your emails.

Surveys also communicate the fact that you value the subscribers' opinions. It's all about relationships, right? And any subsequent changes you make carry the legitimacy of a democratic decision.

Make a backup


Do you have your address list, campaign details and all associated data backed up somewhere safe?

Dust down the old material


Revist all the sign-up forms, confirmation and welcome emails, email footers, unsubscribe mechanisms and subscription pages you setup way back when and never bothered looking at again.
  • Do they still work?
  • Do they still communicate the right message?
  • Do they add value to your program?
There's a fine body of literature out there on relevant best practices.

Take sign-up forms as an example. In the past few days...
  • Michael Williams evaluated various aspects of the sign-up process and language used.
  • DJ Waldow and Kimberly Snyder offered insights from reviews of some retailers' efforts.
  • Denise Cox looked at some of the reasons why people don't complete the newsletter subscription process.
  • And Dylan Boyd highlighted a novel sign-up form with lessons for the rest of us.

Do something about the addresses that never respond


They ARE costing you business. Besides, it's the new email marketing.

Bite the email authentication bullet


There's a reason people keep banging on about it. If your email's authenticated, it tells ISPs and email services that you are who you say you are, and you're prepared to be accountable for your email actions. Expect that to become a prerequisite for delivery success.

Adam Covati had a recent summary. Check out EmailKarma's authentication posts and my own overview for marketers.

Review your email marketing strategy


Seriously. When did you last sit back and ask "What do we actually want to achieve and is what we currently do the best way to reach those goals?"

If you need help formulating a strategy, try Jeanne Jennings' six-part article series on the topic. Megan Ouellet has a list of boxes to tick when performing a self-evaluation. And Aaron Smith offers some tips on defining an effective production strategy.

Any other useful tasks that always get pushed to the bottom of the to-do list?

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[This post brought to you by Campaigner Email Marketing]
Permalink | June 03, 2008 | 0 comment(s) - add yours!
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