Having prepared and sent well over a thousand different newsletters, this is what I know to be true: mistakes happen. There are so many opportunities for error that I still cringe inwardly when I click ‘schedule’ or ‘send’.
This checklist gives you an easy way to remember all of the things to check before you send:
- Use a spell-checker and make corrections as necessary, paying attention to American vs. Canadian spelling. (I use Grammarly which runs within the email app.)
- Send yourself a test message from within your email service provider account.
- In your email inbox, check that the subject line and pre-header text are correct and there are no typos.
- Read all the text from top to bottom, including pre-header text, header text, dates, body text and footer text. I suggest reading out loud.
- Double-check that any dates, days and times mentioned are the correct ones.
- Double-check addresses and phone numbers to ensure there are no typos such as transposed numbers.
- Check that the fonts and colours are uniform throughout.
- Check that margins are aligned and spacing is consistent.
- Click on EVERY link (including links images) and wait for it to load to ensure it goes to the right place.
- If you make any corrections, send yourself another test message to check those.