eNewsletter - eComm Checklist

Download this checklist (scroll to bottom) if you are building and sending an eComm Marketing Cloud eNewsletter. Your campus eComm specialist's role is to provide an audience report (or list).

STEPS

TIME FRAME

TASK


STEP 1:
STRATEGIZE		 4 weeks
IDENTIFY GOAL, MESSAGE, AUDIENCE & DESIRED ACTION
This is a fictitious example
  GOAL: To share news and events with CU employees systemwide
  MESSAGE: Connections
  AUDIENCE(S): CU employees employees
  ACTION: Read email and visit landing pages for more info


STEP 2:
AUDIENCE		 4 weeks
IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE
Sending everything to everyone is not the best way to increase engagement and overall goodwill with CU constituents. This practice could lead to global unsubscribe activities, which affect all CU communications, including any future communications you send. 
  Who would be most interested in your message?

 

OTHER AUDIENCE DETAILS

If you have a list of individuals who need to receive your communication and who are not in a CU source system, prepare a spreadsheet and include as many details as possible. 
  At a minimum, we need the following data points to process your list (each in a column):
      ID number (eg; Employee ID, Student ID, Salesforce Contact ID, etc.)
      First name
      Last name
      Email  


STEP 3:
SEND RANGE		 4 weeks
SET DELIVERY RANGE
Identify a time frame for when you will send your eNewsletter. This might be "the 2nd week of the month." Whatever it is, identify it, stick to it and get buy-in and support from your team members. We recommend you find a range. Things happen and sometimes sending on a certain day is difficult. Give yourself some wiggle room identify a week or even a few days. Once you've set a range, email your campus eComm specialist so we can add it to our Calendar so others will know not to send a communication to the same audience during that range.

 

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STEP 4:
TEMPLATE		 4 weeks
BUILD TEMPLATE IN MARKETING CLOUD
Login to Marketing Cloud and select a CU Template. If you need additional content blocks or can't find a template that works with your design, contact your campus eComm specialist for help.

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STEP 5:
CONTENT		 4 weeks
WRITE OR ACQUIRE CONTENT FOR ENEWSLETTER
1. Newsletter should include short teasers that inspire the reader to do something. You can many items to cover in your eNewsletter, just remember to keep it relevant and as short as possible, otherwise you'll lose 'em.  
  • Is it short, easy to read and compelling? 
  • Identify the "actionable component." This may be "read more," "Register" for an event, "donate," etc. Identify this item in a prominent way within content. You might do this with a button, large font or a use a Marketing Cloud Content Block. 
  • Identify contact information. This is not only a best practice, but is required under CAN-SPAM legislation (address, phone and email)
  • Get message edited or at least reviewed by a second set of eyes to check for spelling, grammar, etc. 

2. Write a compelling subject line

3. Write a pre-header (for mobile devices). Learn more about pre-headers. 

 

DEVELOP LANDING PAGE
Each of your teasers should send your reader somewhere else, like a registration page, an article on a website, etc. This must be ready in advance.    Create a clear and easy-to-follow landing page so your reader can quickly accomplish your desired task. 
  • Is it obvious to the reader what you want them to read or take action on?
  • Ensure the reader does not have to click somewhere else or at least keep the number of clicks to a minimum
  • Ensure easy-to-find contact information is available on the landing page

 

COLLECT ASSETS
eComm already has CU branded headers and buttons (eg; register, donate, etc.), but if you would like to include additional or other assets, such as a photo or special graphic, you'll need to acquire these assets. All images should be no larger than 600 px wide. Learn more about image sizes. 

 

BUILD ENEWSLETTER IN MARKETING CLOUD
Using the new template that you created in step 4, copy it and build your eNewsletter. Check out our training page if you're new to eComm or if you want to browse our eComm Wiki for details on specific topics. 

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STEP 5:
SUBMIT		 2 WEEKS
(at least)
SUBMIT REQUEST

Your campus eComm specialist will develop your audience list(s).

Submit List Request 

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STEP 6:
REVIEW		 1 week
REVIEW
  • Review audience and send classification with your campus eComm specialist. Ask other questions as needed. 
  • Review content with your internal stakeholders and/or approvers (eg; your boss). Have your team check spelling, links, graphics, subject line and pre-header.
  • Obtain approval from internal team

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STEP 7:
SEND

Day of

Send your eNewsletter and celebrate! 

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STEP 8:
ANALYZE		 Day after - 1 week after send
ANALYZE DATA
  • Review open, click-through and unsubscribe rates in Marketing Cloud
  • Modify future communications (eg; reminders) accordingly
  • Are you planning to send a reminder? Make sure you submitted a list request. 

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Download the Checklist


Do you have something to add?
Send a note to Kim at kim.egan@cu.edu.