Email checklist - Litmus

SECTION ONE: PROCESS OVERVIEW

TITLE: What are you calling this process?

> Email checklist - Litmus.

SUMMARY: A one-sentence description of the process.

> Before sending an email to a client, each email needs to be checked.

WHY: Briefly explain why the process is important.

> Because we want to avoid any possible mistake when sending emails to clients as well as a uniform process.

INTERVAL: How often does this process need to be complete?

> When needed.

SECTION TWO: PROCESS EXECUTION

STEP #1

Newsletters writing (content creation) - skip if the email is already written

These points are for newsletter forum, but should be applied when creating most of the emails:

• use american English


• for bullet points we should try to included a benefit in them too, why would people care about looking at that forum post

Example, instead of:

'Andrew made a dedicated post on where he gets his servers from. Very useful information, make sure you go and check that out.'

I would put something like:

'If you're interested in a reliable and affordable virtual server for your strategy development, Andrew shares where he gets his servers from in this post, go check it out"

• read the email out loud once its finished, and the awkward sounding parts will be really obvious

Example, instead of:

"you will be able to learn how to" even though it reads ok on the screen, conversationally people probably wouldn't say 'you will be able to learn how to' here, they might say something like 'you'll learn how to'

• we want our emails to sound more conversational, how we actually talk, not like college professors who study English literature


• or the other option for bullets is to create some mystery or intrigue, like this:

Example:

"Are you wondering where to get cheap and reliable servers for strategy development? Andrew shares where he comes from and how to get a massive 50% discount, so it may be more affordable than you think. More details here"

• another good tip is to put the most interesting bullets first and last in a list and the more bland or boring ones in the middle, because people will usually skip the middle and read the first/last, so always put the best ones there


• it can be tricky sometimes so may not be easy for all bullets but at least try to write some like that


• we need to be careful about making statements that aren't true, like 'make guaranteed profits' and 'everyone wants to travel the world', because saying things that aren't true will put people off-side, and maybe even get us in trouble


• keep it succinct and short, straight to the point

STEP #2

Read the examples below:

It should sound more conversational, you need read it out aloud and adjust anything that sounds awkward or not how someone would say it, like this stuff.

A lot of it isn't really conversational, it sounds more like boring business speak, no personality

There are some trading statements that weren't how traders would say things, it sounds like a non-trader.

Example:

"Our first blog in April was on an interesting and frequently discussed subject, the stop-losses. "

Traders wouldnt say 'the stop-losses', it's just 'stop-losses' with no 'the'

STEP #3

Structure

People should benefit from the article, like in this case, the intro needs changing, because people don't care if Martin is Tomas's broker, we need to start with something that will interest them.

the real benefit to people is a few lines down, so the ordering is wrong:

it should be this order:

- imagine seeing behind the scenes of thousands of different strategies

- by analysing their performance you could determine what works and what doesn't

- we have the guy here - Martin is a veteran broker

- he's also been my personal broker for almost 14 years

- we're lucky to have him on the show today

- go into the bullets

See how that would be more engaging for people, because we starting out with something that could benefit THEM, instead of us talking about how we know a guy, they dont care about that.

STEP #4

Check readability

For polishing the email put the copy into hemingwayapp.com, and any sentences that are hard to read need to be simplified, like this:

See how rewording it or adding a full stop has made the sentence easier to read, ideally we want 0 very hard to read sentences and very few hard to read:

STEP #5

Go to https://litmus.com and log in

STEP #6

Click on checklist and start new checklist

In the left column:

in the right upper corner:

STEP #7

You can either send the code to litmus email (recommended) or paste the HTML code of the email

Send email to: bta@litmustest.com

STEP #8

Once the email arrives, you will see it in the list

STEP #9

Check the subject

Subject - in the whole sequence, it needs to be consistent. If several of them start with the product name, it needs to be added/removed to the rest as well. It needs to be consistent.

STEP #10

HTML header

When split testing, check every single version. It is possible that there are some differences.

Check HTML headers (in Ontraport) that they match the subject and that they contain <title> tags.

Without these tags, the text will be added to the body of the email, but with different font style and size than the rest of the email.

STEP #11

Click on the first preview and using the right arrow, go through others, one by one

STEP #12

Inbox preview - newsletter

1- name - is it Tomas or Andrew? Should be the same person as signed the email

2- preview - is the text from this email? It can be from a different one

STEP #13

Sender

Are all emails in the sequence from the same sender?

STEP #14

Email width

Check that email width is 600px. Sometimes it is full screen, which is not good.

STEP #15

Check font

Font: Arial, Size 16 - consistent throughout the email        

STEP #16

Check links:

All should be as hyperlinks, not the URL in the email:

STEP #17

Is it a newsletter?

If so, don't forget this unsubscribe link: bettertraderacademy.com/no-more-newsletters

STEP #18 

Check line gaps

Same gaps between the lines - they should be the constant throughout the entire email.

STEP #19 

Signature

Is there a signature?

There should be both names, usually 'Tomas and Andrew' or 'Andrew and Tomas' - the first name is who is telling the story.

STEP #20 

Red line above the email

Check email if there is a red line at the top:

If so, it needs to be removed (switch to HTML "source")

STEP #21 

Check images - check for all view, each email client displays it different way

• Check gaps above and below images


• Images should be left-aligned (unless specified otherwise)


• Images can be read, screenshots have similar font size as the text (size 16)


• Screenshots from word editors don't have underlined words (to check grammar)


• Image from the same series have to have the same size (like before and after, case #1, case #2,...)


• Is the text above/below displayed properly? Isn't some of the text on the side of the image?

STEP #22 

Countdown - check for all view, each email client displays it different way

Should there be a countdown? Is the offer time-limited? If so continue with the checklist:

• Does it work as a link?


• Is there a countdown in all emails? Displayed properly?


• Check gaps above and below countdown


• Explanation before the countdown (This offer expires in: or Enrollment into the ‘System Trading Unleashed’ program closes in:)

STEP #23 

Lists - gaps

Between the number and the text there should be a gap

STEP #24 

Bullet points - check for all view, each email client displays it different way

All bullet points displayed properly, especially 2nd level point (if used).

STEP #25 

Spaces

Check for double spaces (search for it using ctrl+f)

STEP #26 

Return back to step 7 and go through the check again for different email clients.

Do this several times as each email client is different. And even the same email clients on different systems (Win/Apple) can give you different results.

STEP #27 

Once done, return to the email overview by clicking the arrow in left upper corner

STEP #28 

Go through the rest of the steps mentioned in the right column

STEP #29 

First impressions

There might be used a word "FREE" time to time, this is ok:

There shouldn't be any other errors. Click on "check your subject in 15+ email clients" to make sure it is displayed properly:

By scrolling, check one by one:

The only issue that is acceptable is too long subject:

STEP #30 

Links

Check that all are going to the right destination:

STEP #31 

Image blocking

Check how the email looks without any images

STEP #32 

Loading speed

We are aiming to have it as fast as possible - when the email takes too long to load, people might lose the patience and close it. This is the result we should get with every message:

If not, try to reduce picture size or work on other problematic aspects of the email

STEP #33 

OntraPort - plain text version

• the text from images (tables, testimonials) should be re-written to plain text version


• if there is a countdown, it will not be displayed and sentences like "this offer closes in:" doesnt make any sense. Should be changed to this offer closes in XX days/ tomorrow / XX hours / soon / etc

STEP #34

Good to go!

If all previous steps have OK results, the email is good to go!

SECTION THREE: REPORTING

WHO: Who should be the outcome sent to?

> Selected clients.

WHAT: What are you expecting to see in the outcome?

> An email.

WHEN: When does the person reviewing the outcome want it?

> When needed.

HOW: How should the outcome be delivered?

> By email.