3. Subject line length – Research has shown that most consumers base their decision to open an email on the first 45 or so characters of its subject line. Word choice and word order are also key factors. “Shorter is better”, although very targeted or niche audience emails can be exceptions to this rule. This is not just because time-poor consumers want subject lines that match their attention spans but because some email service providers display only the first 38 to 47 characters of a subject line in a recipient’s in-box, (mobile devices display even less of the subject line). Testing, re-writing and re-testing are crucial as this factor has been shown to be the strongest determinant of email performance.

4. Content – Eye-tracking studies show that 60% of readers make it to the bottom of those emails with images. Images are therefore key but they must be relevant. Also remember they must be visible on devices which have different screen sizes – iPhones, Blackberrys etc. Refrain from too many pictures, as image intensive emails are often large files and as a result can often be blocked by corporate email systems.

5. Email Strategy – Match your email tactics to the relevant lifestyle stage of customers. Analysis of email behaviour is vital to retain clients, for example, shopping trolley abandonment emails are a very effective tool for recovering lost sales opportunities. After initial contact campaigns, testing and segmentation based on email activity is vital to build long term, profitable email relationships.

6. Communication – Emails have evolved from a simple sales tool to a sophisticated relationship management device. A good email relationship can help convey key company information through to building corporate branding. It is important to successfully manage campaigns in terms of frequency and type of communication. Companies who utilise email marketing in this way can reap long term benefits from such strategies.

7. Relevancy – ‘Irrelevancy is the new spam’. No matter how strong a client relationship, research has shown it only takes a very few badly targeted and badly personalised emails for a customer to start ignoring future communications. It is imperative to use well developed data analysis tools to segment and tailor emails. This will ensure highly targeted messages are sent to those who want to receive them in the first place.

A recent Epsilon survey revealed an overwhelming customer preference for personalised direct marketing. Two-thirds of respondents that receive email marketing

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