Checklist for Building Emails:
Use this checklist as you navigate building an email from start to finish in either Mailchimp or Constant Contact. This list is MC-specific:
- login to Mailchimp or Constant Contact via the AccordusTeam (MC) or Accordus client login (CC)
- Select Campaigns
- Replicate or copy the most recently sent email if Accordus built it – if not find the most recent Accordus one and start there.
- Rename the Email campaign as “ACCORDUS: <Topic of Email> <Send date or today’s date>”
- Change the email settings, starting from the top to bottom:
- review the recipients
- ensure the “from” name is the client’s name and email
- change the subject to a placeholder like “Spring Newsletter” and not “TESTTESTTEST”
- ensure preview text is relevant to the body of the email and doesn’t capture the “VIEW IN BROWSER” as the preview text
- change the URL in Mailchimp to a relevant slug to the email
- Now it’s time to design the email. Use the exact copy and graphics you were given from the creative team. Our senior designer will give feedback if changes are needed in the QA process or if a new layout is warranted.
- Update the header graphic first, by drag and drop method or click the image and select “insert image/replace image” – make sure the link is the correct URL or works with the theme of the email.
- Copy and paste the text from the writer in Text Prep to a blank Notepad or WordEdit document to remove all formatting.
- Copy/Paste the plain text into the email.
- Ensure Merge Fields are present like Hi, Friend! or Hello Friend
- As a reminder, in MC the first name is *|FNAME|*.
- The default font should be Helvetica, 16-point, black or dark grey font – select all text, clear styles, and ensure it matches.
- Insert another text box and/or image box to break up the copy if needed. We prefer images with faces up close, so you can see the whites of their eyes. You may need to include this description in your assignment to a designer.
- Make sure there is a relevant signature graphic or text signature, and check that the footer is clear. Starting 2-22-2024, remove all the extra “footer text” Mailchimp inserts such as Copyright info, address, etc. Mailchimp will insert a footer with the required content at the bottom without that footer block.
- Select “SEND TEST” or “PREVIEW” and check that all links work in the images and in the footer (if social media icons are present).
- Grab the “View in browser” link (using Mailchimp) or send a test to yourself (if in Constant Contact).
- Insert the link from MailChimp into a Teamwork task for the QA process to begin.
- Send the task to the senior designer and the copy editor with a due date – review this article on how to post tasks via email if necessary.
Timelines for Building Emails:
When working on communications task, this is the estimated time it should take you to complete each task:
- Assign out an email at the beginning of the email process – 10-30 minutes, this task will take longer if the Team Lead did not provide all the necessary content and you are seeking to build a great task for clarity for the rest of the team
- Build the email and send it to QA – 15-30 minutes; exceptions are building welcome series with multiple steps in an automation. For this step, we want to copy and paste the content from the writer into the email and drop the images into the email as sent by the designer. Add the links to the buttons or images, then send it to QA. Our creative director will give input on design changes/layout changes to the email.
- Make revisions from the client – 10-20 minutes. This will include watching a video from the team lead explaining the changes needed, assigning out the graphics and content update (if needed), and updating anything you can within the actual email at that time.
- When the content/design comes back, the revision time should be 10 minutes or so including sending the email to the team lead for final approval. Exceptions are made for revisions that require assigning a new task to the designer to revise an image.
- Schedule email – 5-10 minutes. This includes doing the final QA check and composing the email to send to the clients and TL with pertinent info. Bookmark this spreadsheet, if you haven’t already.
- Import contacts to Mailchimp or CC – Please send all requests for importing contacts to Julia in Teamwork.
- If more time is needed for any of the above tasks, reach out to the lead communications coordinator for help.
Examples of Great Newsletters/Emails
Lovevery – new product/design
charity: water – Sample email from a donor
charity: water – newsletter/donate email
charity: water – newsletter (check out the reading time on the blog!)
Monk Manual – a good example of making the donor the “hero” of the marketing story and highlighting why they give, in a sense (this is a blog post, but the email they sent was a replica)
Resources: