You are using email as a marketing medium because you want to increase your sales using a low cost, instant communication tool. Unfortunately, so too do a lot of other businesses. Your next challenge is getting through the clutter so that your emails are read by your intended audience.

The single best way to be read is for your customers to want and expect to receive your communications. Different customers will find varying levels of value in your communications and it's up to you to determine what that value is. The following sections will help you identify the best content strategy for delivering the most value to your customers.

Some of the most successful email content includes:

• Information relevant to their needs
• Special offers and discounts
• Information about product developments and new services
• Industry news
• Information specific to your area of expertise
• Case studies and examples of work you've done with other clients

Email marketing will work best for your business if you can offer something to your customers which has value to them, but does not hurt your profitability.

Some examples of value include:

• Relevant information
• % Discount
• Free gift
• Free trial period
• Buy 2 get 1 free (or other variation)
• Increased/bonus rewards points
• Flexible payment terms (eg 90 days no repayments interest free)
• Free/discount refills
• Free/discount upgrade
• Free/discount audit or needs analysis
• Free reports or advice

Balancing act
Include an even balance of images and text. The email campaign that is sent as one image tends
to end up in a Junk or SPAM file.  With images turned off a one image email will look something like the invisible man.  You know he is there, but just can't see him.

No Gimmicks
Avoid gimmicky phrases like "Act Now" and "Special Clearance" in your emails.  Spam filters look for these key words when diagnosing a potentially unsafe email.  Here is a great link to words you should steer clear of in your email body and subject lines Click Here

Avoid invisible text
This is another trick spammers use and has become an instant flag for spam filters.

Make it compelling
A no-brainer, but often overlooked. The more compelling your text is, the more your recipient will ignore possible design problems, be less likely to hit the delete button, and more likely to click your call-to-action.  If your emails rely on the images to make a sale you might be dissapointed.

What do you like?
Sounds simple, but if there are emails you like then you will probably find other people do too.  If you hate emails that you have to scroll for days to get to the bottom then there is a fair chance other people do too.  No one has a patent on great email design so learn from the emails you receive that you like.  We are not cureing cancer here even though some companies might make you think they are.

1. Don't use images for important content such as headlines, links, or call-to-action
   If you do, make sure there is a link to view the html version online. Chances are images may be turned off making the key elements of your email useless.
   
   
2. Use alt text for your images
   Include alt tags with your images and make it say something compelling about the subject matter like "see this motorcycle in action". 
   
   
3. Use image widths & heights
   This way you design is not thrown off too bad if blank placeholders are used in place of your images.
   
   
4. Optimize your images
   Make sure your image file sizes are as small as you can get without losing their visual integrity.  Large images should be cut up into smaller, more downloadable sizes. No one wants to wait 10 seconds to see your 1000kb jpeg.
   
   
5. Background Images
   Avoid using them. Many email clients do not display them anyway.  If you do use them make sure you can read your email without them being displayed. Make sure the table they are being displayed in has a background color added as well.

1. Keep email width under 650 pixels
   You need to design for the preview pane and it doesn't get much wider than that.
   
   
2. Design above the fold
   Make sure your key elements are at the top (logo, call-to-action, navigation, primary subject matter, etc.) and by top we mean, the first 300 pixels.
   
   
3. Keep it short 
   Don't overload your email with content. Use it as a tool to drive recipients to your website or landing page. Most people prefer to read large amounts of text in a web browser as opposed to their inbox. Give them a taste and a "Read more here..." link.
   
   
4. Keep it simple 
   Don't try and design a complex html masterpiece and expect everyone to see it the same way you do. The more difficult your email is to code, the more difficult it will be to see across the many email clients.
   
   
5. Test it before sending to "ALL" 
   Need we say more???