Email marketing is here to stay.  Marketing automation is hotter than ever.

You have access to the engine, you’ve prepared the best fuel possible (built your targeted contact list or cleaned your in house lead data), now you are ready for a great performance.  Here’s 8 tips to ensure the best performance email marketing can buy!

• Your audience is more important than any word, sentence or paragraph you write.  Consider what your prospect or customer WANTS to HEAR, not what you want to tell them.
• Don’t beat around the bush – get to the point FAST.  Remember we live in a 140 character world now.  There’s no time to set up the perfect call to action.  Skip straight to it and tell your audience why they should care.
• Make sure call to action is above the fold (and in the preview pane).  Even more of a reason to skip to straight to the point.  Even simple scrolling effects results.  Make it easy for your contact to engage.
• Your prospects, leads, customers and partners are smart (or you wouldn’t be doing business with them, right?)  Be sure your offer or call to action are related to the content.  No tricks please.
• Get to the point – use 1 idea per sentence and make sentences punchy and easy to scan.  Bullets, lists and numbers usually drive better results.
• Do not use catch phrases, clichés – use real data to make key points and don’t forget to reference your source.  In fact, link back when you can, link love is appreciated by all.
• Before you hit send, ask yourself – “So what? “– This will help you get to the real message and the real response you want.
• Don’t forget your destination.  People are no longer sitting at a desk to read email.  Be sure to test your email on a mobile device.  Does it give the impression you want when you open it?

Email experts out there, am I forgetting anything?  If so, please share!