Sometimes, being able to do things ‘right this second’ isn’t always the right thing to do.
We live in a world were instant gratification is the norm. It used to be that if you wanted to watch a TV programme, you had to make sure you were in. ‘Appointment viewing’ wasn’t a phrase we’d ever used… because everything was appointment viewing… whether it was Dallas (I still remember Bobby Ewing in the shower after Pam’s season long ‘dream’), Coronation Street, or just the latest episode of Macgyver (or was that just me?).
Nowadays, with digital recording, you never miss anything… and the ‘on demand’ world delivers what you want, when you want it. You can even order online with Amazon and have your package on the same day… or even in a couple of hours (I did this when I forgot my mouse for a training course… the mouse was delivered 90 mins after I ordered it and I was able to complete the training!)
The problem with this demand for now, well… if you’re not careful it can backfire on you… especially when it comes to your email activity.
At a recent 121 training session, I discussed with a client the process of creating a campaign. We went through all the steps in MailChimp that matter… working out who to send to, what to say, how to use a template and actually do the email. We then got to the last page where MailChimp does a check of everything to ensure that we’d not forgotten anything. It all looked good.
…but before I could say anything else, they’d pressed SEND, assuming that it was good to go.
They certainly got that rush of endorphins that you get when you press the big red button (it could have just as easily been “buy”, “confirm” or “agree”), but the problem was that 5 minutes later… they remembered there was something else they needed to put in the email.. but alas, it had already been sent.
It’s like when you go shopping…and suddenly remember something you wanted to get… but you were already halfway home!
That’s the problem with the big “send” button… you get the instant rush when you press it… but it leaves you a bit exposed if you decide there was something else (and there’s ALWAYS something else!).
Fortunately, MailChimp gives everyone an alternative – the schedule button.
Positioned next to the send button on the final page (in grey as opposed to the bright blue of send), it opens up a new area where you can decide to send it at a specific time.
You’ll want to click the schedule button… not the send button
Even if you’re on the free version of MailChimp, you can schedule your email for a later time – and in my view you should ALWAYS do this.
There are certainly times when sending the email at a specific time might get you more benefit. Anecdotally, business emails work best in business hours, where as personal emails are better outside of business hours.
However, even if you’re not sending out a time based email (i.e. sale closes in 1 hour), you need to be thinking about giving yourself some breathing space.
When it comes down to it, there’s no difference between clicking send and scheduling for 15/20 minutes in the future.
Yes… you get the rush of knowing the email is done by pressing send now… but wouldn’t you rather give yourself that breathing space to step back, breathe… and then remember what else you need in the email!
That’s why instant gratification isn’t all it’s cracked up to be… especially when it comes to sending email!
Never press send again… just press schedule – you’ll be glad you did.
