1. Only send emails to people who have requested them. Rule number one of becoming an intelligent email marketer is to never send unsolicited email.  Unsolicited email is, of course, called spam. Sending spam will ruin any legitimate organization’s reputation and brand value very quickly.

2. Include only relevant content as it relates to your segmented group and what they requested. As long as you provide value –whether by providing content on a topic a recipient is interested in or a discount or special offer on a relevant product—-people will allow you to continue to contact them.

3. Timing is key with B2B Communications. In most cases it is best to send B2B emails after 9am and before 3pm Tuesday through Thursday. 

4. Be consistent with your frequency. Pick a schedule and stick to it.  Decide what frequency is right for your customer base, whether it’s weekly or monthly and stick to it. This way, your customers will come to expect and anticipate your company’s communications.

5. Familiarity Encourages Opens. Make sure you include your company name within the “From” name. Once you decide on a From name, keep it consistent. During the seconds it takes for subscribers to make the decision whether or not to open your email, the most important factor is whether the From Name is familiar to them.

6. Include both Plain Text and HTML. Be sure to include both a plain text and an HTML version of your email message. Most web-based email automation tools will automatically detect which subscribers can view the HTML message and which can only see the plain text message. If you don’t include a plain text message, around 5% of your recipients will see a message with nothing in it.

7. Add a Message about Deliverability. To improve email deliverability, add a message at the top of your emails that says something like: “To ensure receipt of our emails, please add something@yourcompany.com to your Address Book.”

8. Avoid Excess Punctuation or Capitalization.  Don’t use ALL CAPS or multiple exclamation marks within your subject line or body. Doing so will trigger spam filters.

9. Build Your List at Every Opportunity. Build your list at every point of contact. At conferences or events, ask everyone you speak with if you may add them to your list after you exchange business cards. When speaking with a prospect on the phone or face2face, ask if you can add them to your inhouse list to receive updates and/or promotions. And of course, add your newsletter sign-up form to “every page” on your web site. 

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