Everyone knows that getting people to open emails these days can be a challenge, especially when we are getting inundated with dozens of messages a day. Make sure you are using these 5 basic rules and you can ensure that your message will get read and your open rates will improve leading to more sales.

Send it from a real person

Make sure your emails are coming from the appropriate department. If your sales team is sending out an email, have a specific address for their department. Even better, have separate addresses for specific people on your team to give your emails a personal touch. If you can’t get that specific, consider adding a customer service or info address to your emails so that people know they can hit “reply” if they have questions and expect to get answers.

Keep the message first and the “small print” last

The most important parts of your email should be the subject and the first few lines. Remember what your message is, and send it in the very beginning. Don’t waste your time (or your customer’s) with a message that starts off with, “Having trouble viewing this message,” “View this email as a web page, or the worst, “If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter, please add AnnoyingNewsletter@newsletter.com to your address book!” Keep the small print at the bottom of the email. Also remember to always include the unsubscribe link at the bottom as a good email practice. The unsubscribe link should go to a page on your website to better define what they want to be unsubscribed from (newsletters, promotions, etc.) that way you don’t loose the contact entirely.

Get to the point

Attention span and time is short these days, so don’t write an entire paragraph about something you can break up with bullet points. If people want to read a book they will download one from Amazon. Be sure to use bold or italic text for important statements as well.

Limit your call to actions

Use ONE call to action! Too many calls to action is like your three kids trying to get your attention all at the same time when you are on the phone with your boss and trying to make dinner.  Give the reader something to focus on and they will more than likely take action.

Give the reader a chance to spread the word

Make sure you have social media links in your email so that if someone wants to spread the word about your 15% Off promo they can. If they are interested enough to download your offer, why not invite them to share your content and encourage more people to do so? Give them an easy way to spread the news about the offer with their Facebook friends, Twitter followers and LinkedIn connections. The more prospects you drive to your landing pages, the more leads you’ll be generating.