Posted in Email Marketing Tips	January 4, 2007

Are your email marketing pieces as effective as they could be? Use this quick checklist from Jeanne Jennings, email marketing consultant, to audit your efforts

By Kim Mateus, Managing Editor Mequoda Daily and Library

Jeanne S. Jennings is an online marketing consultant specializing in email marketing. She has developed more than 170 email publications for Reed Business Information U.S., Congressional Quarterly, KCI Communications, and numerous other companies. She publishes The Jennings Report, a free email newsletter for email marketers and also writes an Email Marketing Column for Clickz.com.

We first met Jeanne at the SIPA conference in Las Vegas, where she led a roundtable on email marketing titled "Email Audit: Expert Critique of YOUR Email" and led another session titled "You've Got Their Email Address—Now What?".

We were so impressed with Jeanne's sessions that we recruited her to author our first-ever Email Newsletter Review for the Mequoda Daily, which will be published in early February

In the SIPA roundtable session, Jeanne shared the following checklist with her participants so they could audit each other's email newsletters.

Now you can use this checklist to audit your own email newsletters:

Header

Your brand appears in the “from” line.
The subject is benefit-oriented.
It’s delivered when the recipient is most likely to read it.

Top of Email or Preview Pane

Includes a link to view the email online.
Features your brand or logo prominently.
Includes the newsletter title or strong headline.

Body Content

Is personalized with the recipient’s name.
Includes an opening paragraph that pulls readers in.
Reads like it comes from a person.
Includes benefit-oriented information that is also engaging.
Focuses on what you want the reader to do.
Can be easily skimmed, with short paragraphs and bullet points.
Features multiple calls to action.
Is a manageable length to read online (2 to 3 pages max.).

Footer

Includes a working unsubscribe link.
Features your USPS address.
Protects your content with a copyright notice.

Other

Asks the recipient to white list the “from” address so future e-mails get delivered to your box.
Includes a viral call to action, encouraging the reader to share your email with friends or colleagues.
Includes a subscription mechanism for people it is forwarded to.
Use images sparingly, only when they advance the goals of the email.
Is sent in multi-part MIME format.
Incorporates tracking and reporting.

Jeanne S. Jennings’s book, The E-mail Marketing Kit, will be published in early 2007. We'll keep you posted!

Recent Mequoda Email Marketing Tips

Email Marketing Tips for Increasing Your Email Newsletter Open Rate
posted in Email Marketing Tips | December 26, 2006

How Your Email Newsletter Can Lose Friends and Alienate Potential Customers
posted in Email Marketing Tips | December 4, 2006

Keep your List Fresh by Using 'Non-Activity Gauntlet' Letters
posted in Email Marketing Tips | November 6, 2006

A Bonus Practice to Include in your Confirmation Emails
posted in Email Marketing Tips | August 11, 2006

Make Sure Your HTML Emails Are Being Viewed Correctly
posted in Email Marketing Tips | June 27, 2006