We know that email marketing is a cheap method to reach our customers, prospects and subscribers. However, the increasing amount of unsolicited commercial email is clogging up the inboxes of everyone.

So how do you improve the chances of making your email stand out from junk mail? (And I?m assuming you?re not sending out unsolicited email. If you are, shame on you.)

First, you want to make it easy for your subscriber or prospect to quickly identify that it?s from someone they know -- ?you.?

• Make sure that your ?From? line uses your full name rather than something generic like ?Webmaster.? You want to burn your name into your prospect?s mind. A webmaster could be anyone.

• Never use ALL CAPS in your subject line

• Don?t use an exclamation mark ?!? either.

• Use the same phrase repeatedly in the subject line whenever you send an email. For example, in my ezine, I use my initials DC in the subject line: ?DC Web Success Ezine.? So if you?re creating an ezine make sure you use the title consistently.

• Put your prospect or subscriber?s name in the subject line, e.g. ?Susan, Get This Special Report.? (This is easy to do if you use an autoresponder. Get one at http://www.GetResponse.com

• Spend time on creating an attention grabbing subject line that will entice the reader to open the email, it?s as an important as creating a headline for an ad. But be careful not to use words (such as Free) that could target your email by anti-spam software.

• Write two or three compelling subject lines. Then divide up your ?Opt in? mailing list and test to see which subject line gets the most response or clickthroughs.

Apply these techniques and you stand a much better chance of having your email read, not sent to the prospect?s ?trash? folder.