top 9 things to do in email marketing.

1. Keep it simple. There should be two call to actions at the most. Most of the time there are too many calls to action. For example: There are two that offer hotel reservations, four social networking options, one phone number to call, one offer to see a show at the resort, and one to join a loyalty rewards program. That makes for a total of nine. 2 should be the MAX.

2. Optimize your images for email- Make sure the images you send through email are formatted (size, file size, file format) so they don't clog up the recipient's inbox. Here is a good article on how to properly format your images for your website and email.

3. Avoid creating messages that are entirely images. Use images sparingly, if at all. Commonly used open rate tracking technology uses images to calculate opens. You may choose to disable open rate tracking to avoid being filtered based on image content.

4. Distribute newsletters at least once every quarter.

5. Branding. Remember, not all the time is the goal of an email to sell your product on the spot. The goal most of the time is awareness, it is to get the decision-maker to respond.

6. Newsletters should be educational and non promotional. This means no selling. There should be a call to action in the byline with a simple statement like “Call Dave Lorenzo for more information on law firm marketing: 888.

7. Make it clear who the email is from. In my emails, for example, they always start with [Mike Miller]. Because then as soon as people see this they know it's from me. Now, not to toot my own horn here, but my readers love my emails in the main (I know this because they tell me). And that's the key to email marketing anyway -- writing interesting and informative emails people actually want to read. So by adding my name there, even if the rest of my email subject line is below par, my name alone is enough to get many people to open the email.

8. Never send more than once every 72 hours.

9. Move the call to action to the top of the email. Most all direct marketing experts agree that a call to action should be at the very top of your emails — “above the fold” in direct marketing terms.