Tip #1     –   Keep it short. Long copy will typically go unread in the realm of E-mail marketing.  Keep your copy under 500 words.  Use plenty of white space and simple formatting with underlines, dashes, and asterisks to make your message more readable.

Tip #2     –   Use your subject line to peak interest and sell.  Analogous to the outer envelope of a direct mail piece, the subject line can be the determining factor for the reading or discarding of your message.  Make it spark interest.  Keep it under 40 characters.  Personalize the subject line if possible.

Tip #3     –  Check for selection criteria.  Many E-mail lists now offer selection criteria, allowing you to refine your targeting.  Inquire about the availability of demographic (age, income), psychographic (buying habits, interests), or business (industry, job title, job function) selects. 

Tip #4     –   Consider a two-stage sales approach.  Instead of asking for the order right up front, consider collecting an E-mail and/or postal address for a follow up campaign designed to sell your specific copy or service.  This will help build your prospecting database while also giving you multiple opportunities to convert the prospect into a customer.

Tip #5     –   Ask when the list was updated.  It is easy for an E-mail list to fatigue and for its performance to spiral downward.  To maintain optimal performance, an E-mail list needs to be updated on a monthly or quarterly basis, purging out bad data and suppress requests while also adding NEW names to the file. Check on the update frequency of a list, especially if you are returning to it for additional names.

Tip #6     –   Specify US, Canada or Foreign Countries.  Remember that E-mail is global, containing addresses from individuals in the US, Canada, as well as foreign countries.  If your offer is suited for a geographic region, make sure you select it.  In some cases, state as well as ZIP code is also available, if you are marketing within a tight market area.

Tip #7     –  Test Text vs. HTML.  There is no correct answer of what works best – a simple text based message or a robust, graphically enhanced HTML message.  Bottom line: take two Nth name samples of the same list and perform a test on a text message vs. an HTML message to see what works best for your particular offer.

Tip #8     –   Send AOL Enhanced if available.  On many of the consumer-oriented lists, AOL users constitute a high percentage of the file. Inquire if your message can be enhanced with AOL-compliant tags, so that URL links will appear underlined and, most important, clickable.  This makes it easier for novice users to get to your web page, avoiding the ‘cut and paste’ operation into the browser.

Tip #9     –   Deploy tracking. The better E-mail transmission services will offer tracking either free or for a nominal fee.  With tracking, the target URL imbedded in your message will be changed to their URL used for tracking purposes, which, when clicked, will track the ‘click action’ and redirect the user to your URL. It will provide you with statistics to evaluate the performance of the list by knowing how many recipients clicked and went to your page.

Tip #10   –   Create a fast web page supporting your offer.  Don’t simply send prospects to your home page! Send them to a fast-loading landing page that supports the special offer presented in your E-mail. It is your final chance for a call to action. Either ask them for their E-mail and/or postal address for follow up purposes, or present them with a fast and easy way to place an order.

Tip #11   –   Keep your imbedded URLs on a line by themselves.  Instead of integrating a click-through URL tightly into your copy, consider having it stand alone on a line by itself.  It will look better, be more compatible with Email software (making it automatically ‘arm’ as a clickable link), while also accommodating changes by vendors who want to integrate a long tracking URL.

Tip #12   –   Keep the line length to 65 characters.  Consider putting a ‘hard’ carriage return on each line, keeping the maximum line length to 65 characters.  This will make your message more compatible with the default window width of many email programs (including AOL), while also giving you absolute control on where a line will break.

Tip #13   –   Place promotional offers at the top of the message.  If you have a sweeps, giveaway, raffle, heavy discount, free download, or a special ‘teaser’ that is designed to induce a response, consider placing it at the top of the message.  Some individuals do not read to the mid-point or end of the copy.  If there is a chance at grabbing their attention, do it at the very top of the message.

Tip #14   –   Sell benefits.  This is a basic rule of thumb in any sales situation.  What does your product or service do to help the individual or their particular organization?  Benefits should be clear and to the point to provide a solid infrastructure to support your offer.