EMAIL CHECKLIST
Your email checklist before you hit send
Check the people, item, price, offer and links. Open a test email on your phone. Fix wrong facts and broken links before you send.
In this guide
YOUR REVIEW SHEET
Keep track of what you checked
Check the email first, then tick the box. Add any fixes in your notes. Include any other checks your store needs.
Your work stays on this page. Copy or download it before you leave. Your notes include any boxes you left unchecked.
What must you fix first?
Start with errors that affect the shopper. A cart email after an order is worse than a dull heading. A wrong link matters more than a button’s color.
Stop if the people, product, price or deal are wrong. Stop for a broken main link or unsubscribe link too. Check again after the fix.
Then work on the words and layout. Two subject lines can both be fine. An offer that does not work is not ready.
A cart email that looks ready, but is not
Picture a Daily Cleanser email. The subject names it. The photo is right. The button says “Return to your cart.”
Tap it. It opens the homepage. Check the shopper. They bought this morning. Hold the send for both reasons.
Write the fixes: “Use the saved-cart link” and “Skip people who bought.” Test the link while signed out. Check one shopper with a cart and one with a new order.
Shopify says to test links and deal details in an email. Send a fresh test after your edits too.
What do you check each time?
For each email, check the people, item, deal, words and links. Try a long item name on a phone. Check what shows when a first name is missing.
Check sender setup when you change apps or email domains. Your provider helps prove you can send from that domain. This is called sender authentication.
Gmail has extra rules for senders over 5,000 emails a day to personal Gmail inboxes. For their sales emails, it needs two ways to leave the list. One is a visible link. The other is one-click unsubscribe in the email headers. Headers are details sent with the email.
Use your provider’s steps and the Gmail guide below. Try leaving the list with a test address. Check that its sales emails stop. A screenshot cannot test this.
Source: Google: sender setup and unsubscribe requirements for Gmail
What does “ready” mean?
Save which draft you checked, which inbox got it and what you fixed. Note where the main button went. Use the sheets below to keep that record.
Give the email a name you can find later. Link tags can help you track visits in Google Analytics. Use the same campaign name on that email’s links.
After sending, check which emails arrived, clicks, orders and replies. Choose someone to watch for problems. They should know how to pause sends.
Ready means the key checks pass and no fix is left. A checked box records your work. It does not test the email for you.
Source: Google Analytics: tracking email visits with campaign links
Your review sheets
Copy a sheet into your notes. Fill it in as you check the email.
Who gets the email and what it shows
Email name or automatic message: Email version: Reviewed by:
Who should receive this? Sample shopper: Did this person sign up for email? Recent purchase and other reminders checked:
Product and price checked against: Offer tested, if included: Anything to change:
Start here to check who will get the email and which item it shows.
The delivered email
Test inbox and date: Sender and reply address:
Subject and inbox preview: Item details and shopper name: Phone view, with and without images: Plain-text version:
Main button opens: Other links checked: Unsubscribe tested: Sender authentication checked:
Use the test email that reached your inbox to fill this in.
What to fix and do next
Ready to send, or change first? Final version: Remaining change and who handles it:
Email or campaign name: Which result will we count, and where? Dates we will count:
Who is watching replies? Where can we pause automatic sending? When will we review the results?
Keep these notes with the email so you know what to do next.