How many times have you seen it? You get an email that starts “Dear <$first_name>.” Or the subject line reads “(TEST) 20% Off Until Sunday.” Or how about the link that doesn’t work?

Keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of email clients and software is a constant challenge for any marketer.

To help you stay on top, we’ve compiled a quick list of best practices to keep your campaigns error-free, legally compliant and optimized for delivery.

• CAN-SPAM compliance: This one’s really important, especially since there are potential financial and legal implications if you get it wrong. Key questions: Do you have an unsubscribe link? Does it actually work? Is your physical address present? Is there a link to your privacy policy?

• Pre-flight checklists: Don’t leave errors to chance. Build a comprehensive checklist to complete prior to launch. Are the links going to the right pages? Is the “friendly from” correct? Are your subject lines under 50 characters? Does the personalization work correctly? Has the text version also been proofed and tested? Do all the images load?

• Test your message in multiple email environments: Set up test accounts in all the major email platforms and ASPs including Hotmail, Yahoo!, Gmail, AOL, Outlook and Apple Mail. Not only will you catch any formatting and presentation missteps, you can also make sure your message isn’t getting dropped into a “Junk” or “Spam” folder.