So you’ve decided on a new email marketing platform for your business. Congrats! Whether you found a new solution out of need or due diligence, navigating today’s landscape and picking one of many email service providers is a big part of the battle. But your job isn’t done…depending on the history with your previous service, there are several important pieces you’ll want to include in your transition to the new platform. Here are 3 things to keep in mind:
1. Your assets:
Images
When it comes to your email images and templates, starting fresh with a new platform gives you the opportunity to get rid of stuff you don’t need and refresh assets that are out of date. If you host your images in your email marketing platform, you’ll want to download those which you plan to continue using. If they’re hosted somewhere else, on your website for example, you may be fine leaving them there and making note of their location (URL) for use with your new service.
Code
Be sure to save the code for all of your email templates as well. While some solutions do add sections of code that are platform-specific, the bones of the code will be re-usable across platforms. Original code would be preferable if it’s available, but in many cases the code in your platform is the most up to date. You can get the template code by checking the source of your templates and pasting it into a text file.
Finally, be sure to organize and name your assets in a way that will make sense when you go to upload them into your new email marketing platform.
2. Your data:
Perhaps the most irreplaceable component living inside your email service is your contact list. And while you may have your contacts backed up in a CRM, certain data associated with the list is specific to your platform. Subscription preferences and engagement data should be downloaded with your list on the individual contact level. You don’t want to lose data associated with performance of your emails, either. Take your learnings from design, content, and subject line testing with you to the new service so you can pick up where you left off in your email marketing efforts.
3. Your sender reputation:
When transitioning to a new email platform, you’ll want to consider the impact it may have to your deliverability. You can’t take your old IP address with you, so you’ll want to work with your new provider to warm up your new IP address as quickly as possible. This is less important if you’re simply switching from one shared IP to another, but deliverability is something you’ll want to track regardless (and was hopefully a factor you weighed while picking your new solution!).
Transitioning to a new email marketing platform doesn’t have to be a monumental task. The main things to protect are the assets, data, and reputation you’ve built throughout your email history. By doing so, when the time comes to close your old account, you should feel comfortable knowing that you’ve completed a smooth transition.
So you’ve decided on a new email marketing platform for your business. Congrats! Whether you found a new solution out of need or due diligence, navigating today’s landscape and picking one of many email service providers is a big part of the battle. But your job isn’t done…depending on the history with your previous service, there are several important pieces you’ll want to include in your transition to the new platform. Here are 3 things to keep in mind:
