When you pay for a rented list, you need to make sure the emails on it are actually people who have opted in to the list . . . and who are willing to receive emails from you. Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, published a list of email addresses on his blog, from people who have sent him not spam, but actual newsletters and press releases.

According to one of the people listed, he bought a list with Chris´ name on it. According to the rented list owner, all emails were for people interested in receiving information on stock photos. The grave mistake this email marketer made was not checking the list to make sure it really was opt-in.

There are a few ways to make sure you don´t destroy your reputation with rented lists. You could talk to other people who have rented this list, to find out if the leads are high quality. You could also ask for information on where the emails are taken from and once the rented lists are in your hands, send out an email introducing yourself and your services and asking anyone not interested to please unsubscribe.

Take care of your reputation since you only need to appear on a list like Chris Anderson´s once and you could be blacklisted.

Part of getting a high clickthrough rate involves strategic placement of your links within the email. There is no magic formula for link placement, unfortunately. It’s all about experimenting, what works for a health email might be completely useless for a newsletter on blogging.

If you start the newsletter off with a link, most people won’t click on it because they don’t yet know what you’re talking about, so try to place your links below the first paragraph, at least.

To make your experiments effective, you’ll need to keep track of the data. Tracking how many clickthroughs you get one week as opposed to the next should give you a pretty good idea of which positions work best for your subscribers. A tracking code can be added to the end of each link so you can actually experiment with different placements in the same email.

You’ll notice that many email marketers place more than one link in emails. Usually, there will be one in the article, placed contextually. These will often have fairly good clickthrough rates. Another link at the end of the article or email allows the reader to click when they finish reading, without having to scroll back up through the newsletter, looking for the link they missed.

Try moving your links around to see where they perform best. The links with higher clickthrough rates should be left where they are and you’ll know for future editions where to add links for the best clickthrough rates.

In order to reach your subscribers, your email has to get past the dreaded spam filter. While a spam filter can be very useful in keeping ads for Viagra out of the inbox, it isn’t foolproof. There are precautions you can take to make sure that your newsletter gets through to your subscriber’s inbox.

Certain words tend to trigger the spam filter, so you are better off avoiding these. Words that are commonly associated with spam include free, limited time, performance, buy now, and spam. Most spam filters look at the content of an email, as well as the subject line, so it’s a good idea to eliminate spammy words and phrases from the entire newsletter.

Asking your subscribers to add you to their email list is the best way to ensure that you get into their inbox. Since they may not bother doing this, you might want to try offering a bonus that will arrive in a later email and tell them, “Make sure you receive this free report by adding companyname@emailaddress.com to your address book”.

Excessive punctuation, particularly in the subject line, will also trigger spam filters. Avoid using any exclamation points in the subject line and keep them to a minimum inside the email. Using three or four question marks or exclamation points is a sure way to get your email sent straight to the black hole of the spam folder.

One last thing to avoid is all caps. Even one word in all caps is enough to cause a spam filter to remove you from the inbox. If you want to make a point, do it with small letters instead. Using these tips, you should be able to avoid complaints about your content being spam and keep those spam filters happy.

It can be difficult to write subject lines that will grab people’s attention and get them to open your email, but just as important as what to write is what NOT to write. Some subject lines just beg to be deleted and might even warrant an unsubscribe, something you definitely want to avoid. Here are five commonly used subject lines that make readers hit the red X.

Sorry, I sent you the wrong link. Maybe you made a mistake and sent out the wrong or a broken link in your email. Apologizing for it in your subject line is not a good idea, though you can certainly do so within the actual email. A subject line like this will undermine your reputation, particularly if you use it more than once. Double check your links before sending out an email and avoid this problem.

“Name”, are you ready for this? Really, after the “Name”, anything could be written, but people will only look at the fact that you don’t know their name. If you are going to use a personalized email template, make sure the name section is functioning by signing up for your own newsletter and sending a test version. Otherwise, stick to generic greetings.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU DON´T WANT TO MISS! First of all, this type of subject line will most likely land your email in the Spam folder, but if you do make it through, most people will just delete the email without opening it. Why? Because using CAPS makes it look like you’re shouting and who wants to open an email that screams at them?

There are plenty of other subject lines that can drop your reputation, but these three mistakes are the most common of the bunch. Avoid them and you boost your chances of getting subscribers to open the email.

Looking for ways to boost your email sign ups and build your list fast? While you are probably already advertising your newsletter, there are a few other opt-in techniques that you can use to get even more people to hand over their email addresses.

1. Including an opt-in form on every article page allows you to capture emails from people who may not click back to the home page to sign up. This also is a good technique because most people are ready to take action at the end of a good article, so if they finish it and see the sign up form, they are more likely to give you their address.

2. Add a signature to the bottom of all your outgoing emails. For non-newsletter emails, the recipient may be tempted to sign up, while those who are already subscribed may forward a particularly good article, resulting in a new potential subscriber . . . provided you have a way for the other person to sign up, of course.

3. Submit your newsletter to ezine directories. This is often overlooked by webmasters, but ezine directories can actually bring you quite a bit of traffic and some new subscribers. There are literally hundreds of ezine directories, get into as many of them as possible to expand your potential subscriber base.

4. Do an ad exchange with another newsletter in the same or similar niche. You can each have a small ad in each other’s email, allowing both to reach brand-new audiences. This is a great opt-in technique to build your list on a tight budget.

5. Google Adwords is a good opt-in technique for those who have a little extra money. You can start with a budget of just five cents, if you like, and increase it as you begin to earn more with your list. Set up a page specifically for your newsletter and use the ads to drive traffic to that page where people can sign up for your newsletter.

There is plenty of free content out there and it can be tempting to use it in your newsletters. Before you start using free articles in your newsletters, here are some points to ponder:

Pros of Free Content

• It’s readily available.There are plenty of article directories full of free content for the taking.

• It’s a no cost method of adding valuable information to emails. Especially if you find yourself struggling to write about a topic you know little about, there is bound to be a free article covering the topic. Just because you can’t personally write the article doesn’t make the information any less useful to your readers.

• There are some very well-written free articles. They may be difficult to find, but it is possible to get high quality articles this way.

Cons of Free Content

• It’s nothing new, the same content is already all over the internet. Most free articles are submitted to dozens or even hundreds of content directories, so the chances that your readers will come across the same info elsewhere is pretty high.

• You usually have to include a link to the author, directing people away from you and your product. If you are selling in your emails, you really want to avoid giving readers another place to go.

• Most free articles aren’t good quality. You get what you pay for and it might not be worth your time to search through a dozen lousy articles to find that one gem.

There are times when free content can and should be used. We’ll be discussing that later on this blog, as the topic warrants an article all to itself. For now, you can go over the pros and cons and leave a comment. What do you think of free content? Do you ever use it?

Which email would you rather open? One from an old friend who always has a useful tidbit for you, or one that is from a complete stranger with a subject line promising instant wealth? Successful email marketers get high clickthrough rates because they are considered to be old friends by most of their subscribers.

The first step to boosting clicks is to get more people to open your email. That can be done by becoming the old friend we mentioned above. Here are a few guidelines you should use if you want to build a lasting relationship with your subscribers.

Include a little (but not too much) personal information, it will help your subscribers see that you’re a real person.

Be consistent. Always send your newsletter on the same day of the week, keep columns in the same place, let people know what to expect.

Follow through on your promises, it builds trust and with trust come higher clickthrough rates.

Ask for feedback. You don’t have to reply to each and every email, but you might try answering some of the most common questions in your newsletter.

Give them unique content. Don’t send out the same exact offer and copied article, ever. Take a minute to write your own headline and review the offer yourself.

By offering consistency, top quality information and making yourself a real person, you’ll find that not only do more of your readers open your emails, they will also recommend you to friends. Relationships are what set the gurus in this industry apart from the flash-in-the-pan marketers and you can easily increase clickthrough rates by doing the same thing.

When you put together your next email marketing campaign you might consider a list rental company. But how do you choose the right one?

In general, you choose select a list rental company that has some expertise, or at least experience, in the area that you need a list for. In other words, if you can find a list rental company that specializes in your particular niche then they will be better equipped to serve you than a company that specializes in general lists.

You can find such a company by using your favorite search engine and searching for “list rental” plus your niche keyword. If that doesn’t return any results for you then try searching for “list rental” in general. Ask around. Perhaps you know people in your particular niche that will recommend a list rental company for you.

Bear in mind, though, that if you rent a list, it’s a one time deal. You get one shot so make it count. If you encounter a list rental company that appears to be out to make a quick sale rather than find the right list just for you, run the other way. What you really want is a list rental company that will take the time to find the right list just for you.

You want people to opt in to your newsletter, right? Well, it helps if you offer them something. You’ve got to provide a clear benefit and one way to do that is to offer them something in return.

People will not just opt in to a newsletter for no reason. They are giving you something valuable - their personal information. They are afraid to pass out their e-mail addresses to just anyone. Just look at the dangers fraught with doing so:

• E-mail spam
• Virus downloads
• Tracking cookies
• Come ons and trash offers
• Loss of privacy

People really are on guard. And well they should be.

So how do you get them to opt in to your newsletter? Offer them something valuable for something valuable in return. You get a valuable e-mail address, something you can use over and over again. So what should you offer your prospects?

How about a free download of some kind. It can be an e-book. It can be a podcast, or it can be a video. But by offering something of value in return for your prospect’s email address, you are building trust and giving your prospect a reason to opt in. That’s the least you could do.

According to Constant Contact, industry average for email newsletter open rates is 37%. The average click through rate on links within email newsletters is 8.9%. If you are beating these numbers, congratulations; you are above the average. But what if you fall below these rates? Can you increase your click through rates?

Yes, you can. There are a number of ways you can increase your email newsletter click through rates. Among the ways include:

• Writing better subject lines
• Attention-getting article titles
• Using graphic enhancements
• A short summary of articles that appear in your email newsletter
• Keep regular columns in the same location every time

Take a look at your subject lines. Do they say “Read me?” If not, why not? A good subject line is the No. 1 factor in determining whether your email newsletters are opened or not. Your article titles are the No. 1 factor in determining whether your articles are read. Improving these two areas alone will increase your open and click through rates.

Another thing you can do to increase click through rates on your articles is to add a graphic icon beside them. Graphics do not make people click, but graphics do enhance your content and that might encourage more readers to click the links.

Article summaries are something else many new email newsletter publishers don’t think about. If you include an article summary with your article links then you will increase your chances for getting the click through.

Finally, if you have regular columns that you run. Be sure to include to keep them in the same place in every issue of your newsletter. If readers have to search to find the information they want then they will stop reading - and they will stop clicking.

Subject lines are hard to write. You’ve got to think about them. For one thing, people will read your email based on that subject line. One mistake many email marketers make is to put their business name in the subject line when the business name isn’t all that well known. To be honest, your business name is one of the least important aspects of your email message. Most people won’t care and those that do won’t read the email just because it’s from you.

So why will people read your email? Here are a few ways to get their attention with your subject line:

• Promise a necessary benefit
• Make them laugh
• Give them something they can’t get anywhere else
• Provoke an emotional response (fear, greed, lust, etc.)
• Tell them something they don’t know
• Ask a question that begs an answer

These are just a few of the techniques you can use in your subject line to get people to open your email and read it. Can you think of any more? You’d better because if they don’t get past your subject line you won’t make the sale.

Renting an email marketing list is only a one-time shot at success. If you are serious about email marketing then you need to think about developing your own list. Here are some basic guidelines for starting your email marketing strategy:

• Think about who your target market is and ask yourself, “What can I offer them?”
• How do you see your relationship with your email marketing recipients playing out?
• Decide on a format for your email marketing mailings
• Will your email messages be sent in html or text?
• Who will write and design your emails? Will you do it yourself?
• How often will send out email messages?
• How long will your emails be?
• You’ll also need to think about how big you want to grow your list; where do you see it in six months or 1 year?
• What methods will you use to collect email addresses?
• Ensure that everyone who receives your email messages have opted in to receive them
• Give your email marketing recipients a chance to opt out in every email message
• Build trust with your email marketing recipients; there is no substitute for trust in an email marketing relationship

Should you design your own newsletter or use a template? There are pros and cons of each.

First, let me say that you don’t have to do your newsletter all by yourself. You can use a service like Constant Contact If you do decide to use Constant Contact, let me know because I can get us both a $30 credit by referring a friend. I’ll send your e-mail address to Constant Contact and they will contact you. When you sign up for their service we’ll both be credited $30.

It’s proven that if you go too long without staying in touch with prospects that they will forget about you. That’s why email marketing is so important. And it’s also simple and inexpensive.

You don’t have to send out huge emails with every marketing effort. Sometimes a simple little email message like, “Have you thought about how to water your garden lately?” can have a tremendous effect.

The bottom line is, stay in touch. But don’t overdo. If you send out too many emails then people will forget about you and pay you no attention. They’ll just delete them. Then you’d be defeating the purpose.

Yesterday I asked whether you should design your email marketing campaigns yourself or use templates. Instead of answer the question directly with pros and cons, I gave you some useful things to think about before you decide. Most of it was against, or con. Today, I’d like to give you a few benefits to designing your email campaigns.

The first benefit, of course, is the pride that you’ll feel as a proud email designer and owner. Not many people can design their own email newsletters and brochures. For one thing, most people who go online with their business these days do not know html. But there are several programs on the market now that allow you to design your documents in html or other applications without knowing how code them yourself. Some programs will convert the documents for you.

And you don’t have to stick with html. Many successful email designs have been done in .pdf.

The second benefit to designing your own email products is that you can brand your email newsletters, brochures, and other marketing collateral to suit your business. You can take your print materials and convert them to digital products with relative ease and carry your off line branding over to your online business.

Benefti No. 3 to having your own email design strategy is control. You control the medium and you control the message. I can’t say enough about that. Since you control whether, when, and how to create your email designs, you must take full responsibility for their success and failure.

Custom email designs to better overall than templates. They make the companies they represent more money, convert more sales, and achieve more overall results than some pat digital product that looks like everyone else’s. That’s benefit No. 4.

If you design your own email campaigns, how about sharing some of the benefits you’ve realized because of your decision to do all your own emails, design and all.