An email marketing checklist

Email marketing generates the highest ROI for most businesses at $40 for every $1 spent (on average). I’m sure you see a ton of content regularly that shows you different ways to build your email list. Great. But, what's even more important than building a list is building an engaged list.

• How do you send emails that generate high open rates?

• How do you make your emails ridiculously engaging?

• And what should you do if your email list goes stale?

Whether you're just revving up or already sending email newsletters to your subscribers, you can get even better results by following some proven best practices.

1. Focus on micro-conversions to simulate conversation

Your email subject line only has one job: to create an open. Your first sentence has one job: To get your reader to the next sentence. And your email has one job: To drive your reader to a landing page. These are micro-conversions that make it easier for people to take action.

2. Use email to simulate conversation

Email works best as a conversation channel. Add some personality to make your emails more enjoyable to read. Talk to your reader as an individual, not as a group of people. Loosen up and show there's a human being on the other side.

3. Use a checklist

Sometimes, you just need to follow a simple checklist to create an engaging email. Here are a few best practices to check for:

✓ A compelling subject line

✓ Case studies or stats to show results

✓ Personalization (e.g. First name)

✓ A clear, single-focused call-to-action

4. Personalize send and reply

Which are you likely to read? An email from "noreply@thecompany.com" or an email from sally@mycompany.com"? Like you, customers prefer an email from a human being.

5. Clean your email list

No matter how great your email, if the contacts are no longer engaged your campaign results will take a hit. Avoid this by regularly purging people who are no longer interested or engaged.