Every day I receive email that is terrible when it comes to trying to sell me something or even follow up. It seems that most marketers write emails haphazardly, and do it almost as an afterthought. They think of it as a secondary way to support the sales objective, or as a vehicle for customer service. Not much thought is put into what is being said to those they are emailing. The truth is your email copy matters!

There are a few points which need to be covered when you are writing emails to your subscribers and customers. If you don't take the time to compose good email, the people you send them to will eventually unsubscribe and report your email as spam.

The first element you need to consider is your subject line. You should make this so irresistible it begs to be opened! You shouldn't use hype or any "commercial language" or lie, but it needs to be so compelling that your recipient will want to open it immediately.

Make sure your subject line doesn't look like an advertisement. You've got to remember people are bombarded every day with all sorts of TV, radio, and billboard messages. The last thing they want to see is another advertisement when they open their email. If it does look like an advertisement, it will have the same effect as asking your readers to watch a commercial!

The second point or element you want to need consider, is the first sentence of your email. It needs to identify who you are and build good rapport. Your email must have the flavor of a real person behind it.

You can start by saying something that you would say to a friend. You could tell them about your day or something you just got done doing, like "I just got back from successful trip. Follow that up with a short description of where you went and what you did. Don't write a novel. A couple of short sentences are enough. You want to have the opportunity to bond with your readers and gain rapport so they will look forward to opening your mail.

The third element is to stay on point. You want to put the most significant, newsworthy information in the beginning of your email. The least important information goes to the end. Make sure you get right to the point. Your subscribers are busy and don't want their time wasted.

Number four is to have just one message. Don't fill your email with a whole bunch of different subjects and topics. Stick to a single message so you can take your reader down your intended sales path.

When your average reader receives a lengthy email, they don't read it in sequence. They scan through it looking for points of interest. If there are a number of different topics which grab their attention, they will make a mental note of it and start reading what is most interesting. As they start reading that part of your email, their brains can't pay full attention to what they're reading. Other ideas start fighting for attention, and this can work against you. If you just keep it to one message, you will have your reader's full attention and you'll be able to keep them on the sales path you intended.

Element number 5 is providing value. Always provide value. This will keep your readers around and they will look forward to hearing from you. Give them good information that they might normally have to pay for, or a valuable free product, or a large discount to a product of yours. You can't ever give enough good value!

Element number 6 would be called "the benefit." It's not enough to just explain to your readers what the benefit of purchasing it is. You must demonstrate how it will benefit them. A good way to do this is to state an offer and follow up with-"so that you can...(fill in the blank)." Always show the benefits of why it would do your reader well to purchase your offer, or click on the link, or get the free incentive.

Last but not least, we have element number 7 which is "Call to Action." Many marketers write excellent emails which make a compelling selling argument about the product or service they're offering. The problem is that the marketer "drops the ball" at the last minute and doesn't tell the subscriber what to do! It could be to sign up, or purchase, or click on a link, or register. Whatever it is, you must make sure you tell the reader what you want them to do next! If you don't, you will find they don't do anything.

As you write your emails, try to go by each point I have made, and your emails will have a much better response from your subscribers.