Just think about the emails you receive and how you are treated as a recipient. What do you do with those unexpected emails, the ones that are not relevant to your interests and offer no value to you? Exactly. The tips and best practices on this page will help you build and retain your subscribers and generate better results.

Get permission first
The most important principle is to make sure you have received explicit permission from your recipients to send them your eNews messages. Developing a positive relationship with your subscribers is critical. People appreciate being treated with respect. Don’t risk damaging that relationship with overly aggressive tactics.

When communicating the email subscription opportunity to customers and prospects it is important to stress that they will NOT be overwhelmed with emails, their email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else and will be used only for their benefit with respect for their privacy.

The second most important principle is to offer immediate value.
Make sure your messages are highly relevant to your readers. Include tips or an engaging article on a hot topic, offer a free white paper, send coupons or entertain them. In short – send something readers want. And, be careful not to overwhelm your audience with strictly promotional content. Otherwise, your email open rates will suffer and people will unsubscribe, delete or ignore your mailings.

Make sure recipients know the message is from you
This may sound simple, but if your recipient doesn’t recognize the "from" label on the email they may unsubscribe, or worse, report it as spam. The recipient has a relationship with you or your company, so be sure the email is clearly labeled so they recognize who it is from right away.

A misleading subject line will work against you
If readers feel like they’ve been deceived or tricked into opening your email they often become resentful and will unsubscribe. Nor do you want to damage your reputation by being labeled as a spammer. Just make sure your subject line honestly reflects the content of your message.

Obey the laws governing email marketing
Provide an easy and obvious way for recipients to opt-out or unsubscribe from your messages and promptly remove those that do. Not only is it the law, it reflects favorably upon your company when you act in a responsible manner. You don’t need to create an angry customer and you may be surprised by how many will re-subscribe later.

Include an easy way for recipients to contact you by providing a valid postal address in each email message. This helps to build a sense of comfort for the recipient and provides another opportunity to communicate with them.

Be consistent to build stronger relationships
Send your emails out on a regular basis. This allows recipients to anticipate receiving it and builds confidence in their relationship with the sender. It takes time to build mutually beneficial relationships and dependability is a major factor.

Run a spam filter check before sending your email
Replace any words or phrases that trigger a poor spam filter score with alternatives that pass the test. This will prevent your messages from getting sidetracked to a junk mailbox.

Test. Test. Test.
Test the effectiveness of your messages by reviewing the statistics reports and resulting sales activity. Try different kinds of content and different types of offers. Changing newsletter elements and measuring performance allows you to constantly refine your newsletter and optimize response rates.

Co-op dollars will help pay for your campaign costs
Manufacturers and other strategic partners often will contribute to or cover the cost of your email message when their logo/brand is presented or included with an offer. Non-competitive companies that complement yours may be interested in advertising to your audience.