Spring clean your email marketing in 30 minutes

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (French writer, poet, and aviator)

It’s starting to feel like spring… at least here in London.

The days are a little longer. The sun has made an appearance. And it’s a good moment to reset a few things — including your email marketing.

If you’re like almost any marketer I speak to, your setup has probably become a bit… messy.

• Perhaps you have more templates than you need (with some really stuffy old ones still lingering around).
• Maybe you have some automations running that you forgot about… that are still sending… to… some people.
• Or it could be that you’ve just been trying to do too much in your newsletter template — too many sections, buttons, stories, images, and all else.

I have good news for you: you’re already making progress. Yes, right now. Because (in the words of our good friend Frances Fogel) you are now problem aware. Which means you’re on a path to being able to solve it.

My job today is to make you solution aware.

So here’s a handful of simple ways to spring clean your email marketing in 30 minutes.

1. Delete one thing

Start with subtraction.

An old template, an unused segment, an automation you’re not confident in.

You don’t need to optimise everything — just remove one thing that’s adding complexity.

Complexity has a habit of creeping up on you until it paralyses you. Prevent it at all costs!

2. Simplify your next email

Before you send your next campaign, ask: “Can this say one thing instead of three?”

One idea. One message. One clear outcome.

Clarity tends to outperform complexity.

This isn’t always the case, but it tends to be increasingly true for automated messages. Even a long form newsletter can be improved with restraint and reduction.

3. Check your CTA

Look at your last email.

Was it obvious what the reader should do next?

If there are multiple buttons or competing links, there might be a chance to simplify your next email.

One clear next step is usually enough. Five is probably too many.

4. Skim your last email like a reader

Open your most recent campaign. Go to your inbox, find it in the list, see it how the recipient sees it — the subject line, the preview text. Open it and scroll it quickly.

• Was the subject line tempting?
• Was the preview text compelling, or even set?
• Does it feel easy to read?
• Are the paragraphs too long? Too short?
• Does anything feel sloppy, robotic, or unnecessary?

I find so many improvements (in so many areas of business!) come from experiencing your offering in the shoes of the customer.

5. Give yourself permission to send sooner

A lot of emails get delayed in the name of perfection.

This might seem contrary to what I’ve said so far, but please hear me out!

Instead, aim for:

• Be clear rather than clever.
• An imperfect email sent today rather than a “perfect” email sent in the future.

It’s so easy to delay. But delays are contagious, and can be unpredictable. Don’t be too hard on yourself — consistency over perfection wins my vote.

That’s it (but don’t stop there…)

You don’t always need to do a big overhaul. Just a few small changes can make your email marketing feel simpler, easier to maintain, and potentially more impactful.

And consistency is where the real results come from — if you want one extra tip for free: pop a recurring event in your calendar to go through these steps once a month.

Go on, do it now — I’ll wait…

Done? Nice one.

Enjoy the sunshine ☀️

James

Co-founder, EcoSend

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