The ultimate drip-campaign checklist: 30 things to look into before you hit send

It’s really easy to screw up bulk e-mail sends. Whether you’re sending a mass e-mail to a newsletter/subscriber list, or to new prospects, it’s really important that you get everything in order.

So many things can go wrong. You have a typo, send it to the wrong person, or you didn’t anticipate something that bites you later on.

Plus, the numbers are stacked against you. Instead of making a mistake to an email to one person, your mistake is sent to 10, 100, or (goodness forbid) 100,000 contacts.

That’s why it’s essential to make sure you’re properly prepared. Mistakes are inevitable, but as a smart professional, there are some things that you can do to avoid them.

Here’s what you should do to make sure you’re ready to hit send:

Drip Campaign Email List Preparation Tips:

De-duplicate your list

Cleaning your list improperly is a common mistake for email marketers and sales professionals to run into during drip campaigns.

If you’re merging lists, you likely have some duplicates. Make sure to clean it up first. Some systems automatically de-duplicate but they don’t often catch if the person is in there twice with two different emails.

Make sure you have the correct info for your contacts

Is your list up to date? Perhaps it’s years old so your contacts don’t work there anymore. If you have knowledge about your contact, update it. For email lists, try and set up a system to stay up to date. If your list has low engagement, for example, you can ask people that haven’t opened emails if they still want to receive your messages. Having an easy opt-out helps keep your list healthy and full of happy readers who actually want to hear from you.

There are two approaches here:
1) do the work upfront

2) figure it out when you send

I’m a bit chaotic and a fan of 2 as it saves some time. E-mails will bounce back if they aren’t valid. This will provide the info you need to clean your CRM and save you time and money on email verification.

That being said, there is some upfront work that’s worth doing. Like making sure the emails match the company by checking the domain…