“If you always do what you‘ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”. 

This is a quote attributed to several people including Tony Robbins and Henry Ford.  Whoever said it, it’s a good reminder that things aren’t going to change if you keep doing the same thing.  

But what if you don’t realise that what you are doing is wrong?  

If your email marketing isn’t quite hitting the mark, you might not know what you can do to improve it.  And actually why should you?  You’re the expert in what you do, not email marketing.

That’s where I can help you using my email marketing audit.

 

What is an email marketing audit?

In an email marketing audit which I call my Email Marketing Optimiser I will look at different elements of your emails, including what the reader sees and what is going on in the back end of your email marketing platform.  

I’ll identify your strengths and weaknesses and offer recommendations for changes and improvements.  The audit doesn’t include me carrying out any of these refinements.

 

What’s included in email marketing audit?

I’ll look at the front end, i.e. what your subscribers see and I’ll consider the user experience.  There’s nothing more frustrating that wanting to unsubscribe and not being able to easily find the link.

And I’ll  also look at the technical back end of your email marketing platform to ensure you what you are doing will maximise your chances of good deliverability.  

1.  Email Marketing Objectives

Firstly, I’ll ask you about your email marketing objectives and why you are sending emails.  If you’re sending emails just as a tick-box exercise then it’s time to start getting strategic. 

Knowing why you a sending your emails will help you when creating content and designing the email.  Conversely, having a content calendar for your business will help you map out which emails to send.  Or perhaps you have a launch coming up; in which case you need to map out your emails for pre-launch and open cart (when people can actually buy your new thing). Maybe you want to get more traffic to your blog or podcast, increase donations to your charity or get people to sign up to a challenge.  

Understanding your objectives will help me when I am looking at your content.

2.  Audience

Audience – the right audience – plays a major role in the effectiveness of your email marketing and deliverability and open rates of each email.

I’ll find out where your audience is coming from, how people have got on your list (please don’t tell you’ve bought lists!) and how engaged your audience is. 

I’ll look at the behaviour of your audience for each email and report back on what these stats are telling you.

3.  Email Design

When you consider the design of an email, you need to firstly consider your reader.  Remember that there is a real human at the other end of your email, someone whose precious time you are taking up when they open your email.  

If the design of the email is too busy and too overwhelming then they’re going to close it pretty quickly.  If the call to action, what you want them to do after reading the email, is not clear then you aren’t going to see the results you want.

There are various aspects to the design of the email that I’ll report on, some are aesthetic whilst others are technical and could be affecting your deliverability.

4.  Domains

In the audit I’ll check on your domain status, looking at whether or not you have your domain verified.  This can have a bearing on deliverability and it signals to internet email providers like Gmail and Yahoo that you are a trusted sender.

5.  Email content

Content plays a huge role in digital marketing.  Through your value content, people will build trust in you and see you as the expert. 

Your content can solve problems and identify you as the person people go to with their challenges.  Content draws people in and helps establish you in their minds.  It’s the like, know and trust factor.

With your emails, I’ll have a look at the content you have sent out over the past few months.  I’ll look at factors such as what type of content it is, what value it is giving and how it does or doesn’t align to your email marketing strategy.

6.  Tags, segments and automations

You want your email marketing platform to work for you in the background. There are some great features which help you do this such as tags, segments and automations which help you get into the nitty gritty of email marketing way beyond sending out a broadcast to your whole list once a month.

I’ll report back on how you are using these features, any problems arising and make some suggestions for best practices if required..

In particular, automated emails, sometimes known as workflows, are really what make email marketing work for you in the background. The email marketing platform you use will have a bearing on what you can do with automations and I’ll make suggestions in relation to your choice of platform.

 

Will you need access to my email marketing platform?

Yes I will.  You can share your password with me using a secure passwords manager so that I don’t actually see your log in details.

I will test a couple of your emails, sending them to my inbox so I can see what your subscriber sees.  You’ll easily be able to identify these emails and I’ll delete them when I’ve finished.

 

What happens after I book an audit?

After you book, you’ll receive an email from me to arrange access details to your email marketing platform.   Once I’ve carried out your audit, I’ll email you my report in pdf form with my observations and recommendations on which you can take action.

 

What happens if I don’t know how to do the things you’ve suggested?

Don’t worry.  Most of the things I suggest will be easy to implement if you follow my recommendations. 

If anything is too technical for you then I will be happy to support you and we can talk about working together.  Your web developer will be able to carry out some of the technical tasks, such as domain verification.

 

How much is an email marketing audit?

At the moment, an audit costs £197.  As you can see from the above, you’ll get a comprehensive report with my recommendations that will not only cover technical aspects, but content too.

 

Great, how do I book an audit?

Simply click here to request an Email Marketing Optimiser and I’ll do the rest.