A picture catches your eye long before words do, so pick an eye-catching one that will make people stop, look, and click to open your e-mail. Get your logo, corporate colors or slogan in front of them, making sure to achieve that same fine balance in your marketing materials and on your web site that you deliver in your services or products.

The beauty of your message is found in its simplicity. Whether it’s "click here for a 10% discount" or "Join our Preferred Customer Club for exceptional savings," keep it simple and easy to follow. Don’t clutter your e-mail with too much copy or too many images.

While it’s a good idea to spend time creating your e-mail blast, it’s a bad idea for people to spend a lot of time reading it. You want them to move quickly to your web site and the opportunity to become a customer. Get them to your web site link fast, and make sure they land on a page that relates to your message.

Invest the time and creativity to create a special landing page for people who click through from the e-mail. Be sure to have a link on that landing page so they can easily access your home page.

Pay attention to where you look first in an e-mail. It’s most likely the same place everyone else looks. The top four inches in the message are seen first, so be sure they’re well designed and interesting. Move everything BUT your enticing offer away from the top of the page. Encourage people to click on the link and go to the landing page.

If your message doesn’t make it into inboxes, it doesn’t stand a chance. Avoid using symbols like "$$$" in your subject line because spam filters will immediately route that message to the trash.