What is Manual Testing in Email Marketing?
Manual testing in email marketing involves the process of manually checking various aspects of an email campaign to ensure it performs as expected. This type of testing can help identify issues related to design, content, deliverability, and user experience before the email is sent to a larger audience.
Why is Manual Testing Important?
Manual testing is crucial because it helps identify potential problems that could negatively impact an email campaign’s effectiveness. These issues can include broken links, spelling errors, rendering problems in different email clients, and incorrect personalization. By catching these errors early, you can improve the overall quality and effectiveness of your campaign.
What Should You Test Manually?
Subject Line: Ensure that it is engaging and free of any errors.
Content: Check for spelling and grammatical errors, as well as overall readability.
Links: Verify that all hyperlinks work correctly and lead to the intended destination.
Images: Ensure that images load correctly and have appropriate alt text.
Rendering: Test how the email appears in different email clients and devices.
Personalization: Ensure that personalization tokens are working correctly and displaying the right information.
Call-to-Action (CTA): Verify that CTAs are clear and functional.
How to Perform Manual Testing?
Step 1: Review the Subject Line and Preheader Text
Check for typos, grammatical errors, and overall effectiveness. Make sure they are compelling and aligned with the email content. Step 2: Test All Links
Click on every link to ensure they direct users to the correct landing pages. Make sure UTM parameters are correctly set for tracking purposes.
Step 3: Verify Images
Ensure all images load properly and have appropriate alt text. This is especially important for users who have images disabled in their email client.
Step 4: Check Rendering Across Different Clients and Devices
Use tools like Litmus or Email on Acid to see how your email renders in various email clients and devices. Adjust your design as needed to ensure a consistent experience.
Step 5: Personalization Tokens
Test emails with different data sets to ensure personalization tokens (like first name, company name) are working correctly.
Step 6: Review the Content
Read through the entire email to check for any typos, grammatical errors, and overall flow. Make sure your message is clear and compelling.
Step 7: Test Call-to-Actions
Ensure that all CTAs are clickable and lead to the intended destination. Verify that they are prominently displayed and easy to interact with.
Common Tools for Manual Testing
Litmus: Helps in rendering tests across different email clients and devices.
Email on Acid: Another tool for checking how your email appears in various clients.
Grammarly: Useful for catching spelling and grammatical errors.
Broken Link Checker: Helps to ensure all your hyperlinks are functional.
Best Practices for Manual Testing
Create a Checklist: Having a comprehensive checklist ensures you don’t miss any crucial elements during testing.
Involve Multiple Team Members: Different people can catch different issues, so involving multiple team members can be beneficial.
Test in Real-Time: Send test emails to actual email accounts to see how they perform in real-world conditions.
Document Issues: Keep a log of any issues you find and how they were resolved for future reference.
Review Analytics: After sending your email, review the analytics to identify any additional issues that may not have been caught during testing.