One of my clients inadvertently violated MailChimp’s (email marketing provider) terms of service and was sent an email stating they had suspended the account and my client needed to find a new provider. There was no “shame on you; do not try this again” just a “Hit the road, Jack.” email.
I subscribe to all of my email client’s lists so I can make sure the emails are delivered properly and I have a copy of the finished product for their file. I had already programmed ahead the next eight or so emails so I did not have a final copy of those emails. I had backed up the subscriber list the week before, however emails had gone out since then and there were a few unsubscribes.
Fortunately, even though MailChimp kicked my client to the curb, MailChimp did leave the account open and accessible. (I just could not send out any emails.) I was able to export the updated list and copy the preprogrammed emails to enter into the new email provider.
We live and learn and I combed through several terms of service pages while shopping for a new email provider. My client has a new provider which I do not like as well as MailChimp (or Constant Contact), but a few weeks from now I will have used it enough to be pretty comfortable working with its positives and negatives.
Although it took several hours to get back on track, it was a much less painful and time-consuming experience than it would have been if I had not been backing up as I had.
Spend some time checking to see if you have adequate backup systems in place. Create a schedule for when you need to backup different types of data. I have days scheduled on my calendar for exporting email lists, copying my computer files to a backup hard drive and other such tasks.
A few years ago I had my computer crash and my backup hard drive fail… at the same time. I even sent the backup drive to some super techs (you know… the ones that cost a bundle) to try to retrieve the data… to no avail. I lost several years worth of files and photos. In my case a single backup was not enough.
There are many online services you can use for general backup of your computer in case of fire or other disaster that would destroy your computer and backup hard drive at the same time. Check around for one that meets your needs.
Until next time...
Have a great day,
Susanne
I offer brainstorming sessions to help you find ways to create multiple streams of income. Click here to find out more.