Email marketing involves many moving parts: list building, copywriting, segmentation, deliverability diagnostics, and even design. When you manage all of these simultaneously, it becomes easy to overlook fundamentals, even when you’re an experienced marketer.
Execution can slowly turn reactive. One issue gets fixed, another appears. Small inconsistencies accumulate, and over time, quality takes a hit. To prevent this, we define baseline standards that every email must meet before it’s sent.
Defining these standards requires upfront thinking. However, it reduces avoidable mistakes and eliminates the need for post-send corrections, which are far more expensive than disciplined preparation.
Why Checklists Work
Checklists are useful in any process where repeated execution matters. They are not about bureaucracy, but about consistency.
A well-designed checklist helps ensure that:
- Quality does not depend on mood or time pressure
- Delegation does not dilute standards
- Basic but costly mistakes are avoided
The risk is overengineering. If the checklist becomes long or overly detailed, it turns into friction and slows down execution.
A useful checklist is short, focused, and limited to what truly defines the minimum acceptable standard.
Based on this principle, we use several checklists within our email system. The first and most foundational is what we call the Non-Negotiables List. Unlike other nuanced checklists, we will discuss in further posts, this one protects the structural integrity of the message, which means every email must achieve a perfect score before it is sent.
Non-Negotiables List
This checklist defines the minimum standard an email must meet before it is sent. If it fails any of these criteria, it does not go out.
Standard |
What It Means |
Why It Matters |
What Fails the Test |
|
Self-Containment |
The email delivers value on its own, even if concise. The reader does not need external context to understand it. |
Readers should never feel confused or dependent on a previous email to “get it.” |
Emails that rely entirely on “as mentioned before…” or push readers to click just to understand the core point. |
|
Internal Relevance |
If supporting content exists (blog posts, previous emails, resources), it is referenced appropriately. |
Internal linking strengthens clarity, continuity, and authority. |
Emails that ignore useful supporting material or feel disconnected from your broader body of work. |
|
Scannability |
Structure allows quick comprehension. Clear paragraphs, spacing, and logical flow. |
Most readers scan before they commit to reading. Structure determines whether they continue. |
Dense blocks of text, inconsistent formatting, unclear hierarchy. |
|
Single Dominant Objective & Clear Next Step |
The email has one primary purpose. The call to action directly reflects that purpose and makes the next step obvious. |
Focus drives clarity. Multiple objectives dilute action and weaken performance. |
Multiple competing CTAs, mixed goals (educate and sell and survey), or a vague “learn more” link that does not clearly match the objective. |
Complex strategies are built on simple foundations executed consistently. Most email failures are not caused by advanced tactical mistakes. They happen because basic structural principles were ignored.
The purpose of this list is not to make emails perfect. It is to prevent avoidable errors.
Only after these criteria are met do we think about optimization, experimentation, or creative angles.