Five Tips for Effective Email Marketing

2. Put newsletter contents and promotional offers up top and on the left. You want readers to see this portion of your email in the preview pane. Now how do you entice them to read more and take action? Reduce your newsletter's header space by putting the content links at the top of the screen and moving other, less-critical information, like administrative details, further down. Put a promotional campaign's main product, benefit, offer and promise up top along with your call to action. You have just a few precious inches to entice readers to open your email to full-screen size and click through on your offer. Use it to your best advantage.

3. Create text-only versions of your email communications. Send subscribers using handheld devices text-only versions of your emails. Use a professional email marketing service that sends HTML and text versions so the right version shows up in the right place. Keep text-only readers in mind when you write, and ask yourself, "Does this campaign work when it's stripped down to bare-bones text?" Remember, your subject line and first few lines of copy are more powerful than any snazzy graphics.

4. Don't let your pictures do all the talking. Sure, a picture's worth a thousand words, but these days, those images could be blocked. Make sure your HTML version still looks good and makes your point even without the images.

5. Get to the point. Well-chosen words can cut through any medium -- even the small spaces of preview panes and BlackBerry screens. Think about your campaigns, and choose your words wisely. Don't make your readers work to figure out what your email's about. Do make it fun and useful. The goal of any email marketing campaign is to get customers clicking through to your world. That's where your relationships can grow big.