Mistakes in email marketing happen even in the largest and most successful companies. However, depending on the mistake, the impact can range from a user’s awkward surprise without consequences to serious damage to your business. We have compiled a few tips on how to avoid or at least significantly decrease mistakes in email marketing.
Mistakes in email marketing can happen at different stages. You should therefore be aware of the typical mistake sources so you will know what to watch out for.
- Spelling and grammar mistakes (particularly problematic in the subject line)
- incorrect or non-functioning links
- not tracked links (irrelevant in the user awareness but annoying for the internal analysis)
- incorrect image urls
- incorrect image dimensions (images too large, distorted display etc.)
- HTML and character encoding errors
- lacking support of specific elements in common email clients (e.g. moving image content)
- incorrect sender
- incorrect send time
- lacking email elements (e.g. pre-header, SWYN buttons)
- legal minimum requirements not met (no legal note, unsubscribe link missing, etc.)
- incorrect target group chosen
- incorrect sender chosen
- incorrect campaign assignment (if relevant for the analysis)
- no or incorrect optimisation for mobile terminal devices
Comprehensive Quality Assurance
In order to avoid mistakes in email marketing, you should run a thorough quality assurance prior to each sending. Modern email marketing solutions, such as ELAINE FIVE offer a number of integrated quality assurance measures, e.g. the automated verification of link and image quality, link tracking and a spam check. With the right email marketing software, you can also run display tests for all common email clients, as well as for mobile terminal devices. In addition to software-based quality assurance, you should carry out manual checks. Create a checklist containing (at least) the above mentioned error sources and run through this checklist with each mailing. It is recommended to use the 4-eye principle for quality management. Professional email marketing software enables you to link the sending of an email to a clearing process so that no email is sent without the necessary clearing authorisation.