If you are already working with email marketing, or planning to in the near future, you must be aware of one simple truth about the medium: People Don't Want to Open Advertisement Emails. It's sad, but true. We all get vast amounts of SPAM on a regular basis, and our basic nature has been to delete first and ask questions later.

Every morning, when we turn on our computers, we begin the task of being our own human information filter. When we see 50 emails awaiting us in our inbox, all we want to do is get to the meat and throw away the fat.

Delete - Delete - Skip - Delete - Delete. Read later.

If your email campaigns are getting dismal 10% open rates, you must be wondering what is going wrong, and what can be done to make things more successful. In advertising, it has been said that the headline is 80% of the ad. In email marketing, the headline is a combination of two things: the From line and the Subject line.

Here are a few hints to help you make your headline as interesting as possible.

• Check your FROM line - Your clients will react much more positively to an email ad that comes from someone they know. Make sure that your FROM line says that name of your company, or your own name. Some studies have indicated that people also respond well to FROM lines that have words such as "team," "group," or "associates."



• Ask a Question - People are drawn to intriguing questions. Ask the right question, and people will open your ad to find the answer. Can you resist a subject line like "Is your webpage costing you business?" or "Why is this April the best time to invest?"



• The Numbered List - Despite being bombarded by them, people still LOVE top 5 or top 10 lists. This blog entry is no exception. But, be specific to your client base. "8 tips for getting better pricing on cameras" or "5 ways to make money from your overstock."



• Use Your Data - If you collect data on your clients, use it to your advantage. Consider how appealing the following headlines can be to the right recipient. "Attention women 30-45" or "Job searching tips for new college grads."



• Ask for Referrals - If you can, use a mailing system that will allow your existing customers to forward the mail to a friend. People are happy to open emails from people they know, and you will get an extremely high open rate on email sent this way