Are Your Emails Checking Off this Email Sending Checklist?

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So you’ve been growing your database of potential clients, interested folk, clients, customers, and more.?

As your list grows larger, so do the stakes when you send mass emails, but don’t worry! Your reputation will grow with each email sent.?

This is a great sign though. There is power in an email list. You control the information in your database - and no algorithm can take it away from you. You absolutely should be growing your email list.

The problem is… when you sit down to send an email or a campaign of email sequences - what do you say??

How will it look? Will you be labeled as spam?

All valid concerns but let’s put them to rest. Truthfully, there are many little details when it comes to sending emails. Not just what to write.?

To help, we’ve compiled an email marketing checklist. Use this to make sure you’ve “crossed your t’s and dotted your i’s” and that your emails look and sound as good as you hope they do.

Be Professional

Make sure things are aligned. Check your “from” name and “reply to” address.

Many times, once the recipient is used to getting your emails - and if you’ve done a great job of enticing them, a big reason they open them is simply because they value you in their inbox. They’ll see your “from name” and it adds weight to the email. Best practice here is to put an individual’s name, not just the name of your business.?

If you do decide to add a company name, write it like this: “Joe at Apple”, or “Charlotte, Facebook”.

Your reply to address also needs to be active so that if they reply, you will receive it.

2. Fill in an Enticing Subject Line

There is a ton of information out there on subject lines. After the “from name” they are essentially the main reason your email will get opened. Best practices here are:

• Be transparent (don’t make clickbaity promises just so they open and be careful using fwd: or re: in hopes that they’ll think you already have a conversation running. No one likes to be tricked. This will only result in more unsubscribes.
• Align the subject line with what’s actually in the email.?
• Use this space to highlight a specific benefit the recipient will be interested in. (This is why it definitely pays to really KNOW what your audience will respond to and want).
• Limit it to what they’ll see on their phone. Keep it short. The purpose of a subject line is to get them to open the email, not to explain or sell or write out whole sentences.

3. Be Human

Include a greeting. We all like to be greeted. Depending on the email automation you’re using, you can add what’s called a “dynamic tag” where you can add their name here and customize the email based on the name they’ve given you in your email database.?

Just be sure that it’s set up correctly, and check for typos when adding the custom field. You don’t want them to see “{contact name}”. You want them to see their actual name.?

4. Be Easy On the Eyes

Yes, take a look at yourself before you leave the house to make sure you look good…?

But also make your emails easy to read. No one likes to receive, let alone read a “wall of text”.

Make your email is “scannable” so that they get the idea even if they’re just scanning over the email.

• Use bullets.
• Use subheadings
• Be concise.
• Space out your sentences.
• Paragraphs, if any need to be short.
• And remember that each line in the body of your email needs to keep them reading until your reach your call to action.
• If using images, make sure they’re formatted correctly.?
• Whatever graphics or images you include should not detract from the message.
• Check the ALT text for your images. (In case the image doesn’t load for the recipient, they’ll still get the idea of the image based on what you put in the ALT text).

5. Include just ONE Desired Action

Whether you want them to download a report, schedule a call, read a blog post, comment, etc, you need to tell them. Review this list before you send:

• Make it clear what they should do next.?
• Only include one action to take in each email.
• Be benefits-oriented (share what benefit they’ll get from taking said action)

6. Check Your Footer

Your email provider will include a footer with your address, an unsubscribe link, and whatever else you want to add.?

Just check these settings to make sure that whatever is in the footer is up-to-date.

7. Review

Proofread: As a professional, you want to make sure that your message comes across clearly and that any potential errors don’t distract from your message.?

Double-check any links: Linked to the right place?

Check the mobile view: Especially with images, or if you have any formatting with your text. You want it to look good on mobile and desktop. With links, make sure they are easy to click on with your fingers.?

Images: are they rendering correctly?

8. Spam Check

To help avoid the spam folder, run your email through a spam checker to help spot any words that might get your email flagged as spam automatically.

9. Use the right tools for your purpose

There are many reasons to send an email. When you’re marketing, you want them to download your report, watch your video, go to your website...?

But when you’re engaged in sales, prospecting, and outreach, you inherently have somewhat of a different relationship - that it’s not at a mass level.

So it doesn’t make sense to use automation tools like Mailchimp and other autoresponders. They are great for mass email marketing! But when you are targeting a specific “account” or a specific prospect - you need to stand out. You need to make sure that you come across, to both the recipient and their email provider as “priority mail,” like 1-on-1 mail does.

For this reason, it’s helpful to use email automation products that allow you the time-saving benefits of sending to a larger group of prospects while ALSO appearing to be an email sent individually.?

Connect 365 is a client attraction and sales automation tool that offers a more personal, intimate experience to the recipient. It cuts through the noise of the modern email inbox and stands out in a sea of “marketing” and “advertising” emails that your prospects receive on a daily basis.

The result? More people will read your most important emails without you having to send each one manually. Win-win.

10. Follow Templates

No need to reinvent the wheel! There are many templates available you can use. Just be sure to adapt them to what you need. Just like a hammer has no use without nails, no software solution can generate business without sound strategies in place.

For example, all Connect 365 users have access to dozens of campaign templates that you can add to your Connect 365 account with just a click of a button. Including:

• Outbound Messaging & Prospecting Templates
• Sales Follow Up And Nurture Campaign Templates
• Event Promotion Templates
• Event Follow Up Templates
• Joint Venture Partner Recruitment Templates
• PR & Media Opportunity Outreach Templates
• And A Whole Lot More

Your Turn: How to Get Leads & Build Your Email List

“The daily grind” refers to the awful way of life too many of us live…

It was what was supposed to work - it’s what we were taught…

Go to school.

Get job.

Work there till you can’t.

Retire.

Unless you absolutely love your job, for most, that means waking up and going to work so you can come home and watch Netflix afterward, scroll through pictures of places you want to travel, and do home maintenance on the weekends.

That’s the grind. It never ends.

Literally… wearing us down every day.

Unfortunately, many of us start businesses to step out of “the daily grind”. But it doesn’t happen.

You know why? Because they end up making their own jobs.?

Running in circles trying to do everything.

Working more than ever before.

And wondering if they should just get a corporate job again.

If you’ve started a business, or are thinking about it - I have something for you…

We’ve surveyed hundreds of businesses to find out where the disconnect is.

WHY do some businesses struggle so much?

We found out that while 88% of businesses struggle with cash flow every single month…

12% of businesses don’t.

Well - we were curious. What made the difference for these businesses?

Here’s what we found… we wrote up everything in our latest report “The 12% Method”:

Download it at no charge here and uncover the biggest roadblock that’s keeping you in the grind.

You can turn things around. Learn from those who’ve done it.