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Of course the subject line, overall attractiveness, and offers are important according to this survey, but significantly less important than "know and trust the sender" (56%) and "previously opened and thought valuable" (51%). I learn two lessons from this.

1. E-Mail as Relationship Building

First, effective e-mail marketing is about building relationships of trust with the recipients. These are not "mass" mailings, but e-mails to individuals whom we respect and with whom we are building a relationship. E-mails sent to exploit, deceive, or take advantage of recipients will immediately decrease opening of further e-mails.

You have one good chance to build this relationship. When someone signs up for your newsletter or regular e-mail, he will probably remember your company name as it appears in the "From" field and open it to see what you have. If he likes it, he may open it in the future. If he doesn't he may or may not unsubscribe, but he certainly won't open it henceforth with the same positive attitude.

If he does like what he sees, he'll be likely to open it in the future, since 32% of respondents said "I only opened the e-mails I normally read." You may become one of the select few whose e-mails get through not only spam filters, but also the recipient's "trust filter."

Three action steps seem evident:

A. Help the recipient to get to know you. You need to e-mail regularly enough that the recipient gets acquainted with your e-mails. Too infrequent and she won't remember you. Too often and your e-mail will remain unopened. For many companies that frequency sweet spot is one to two times per month, though you'll need to determine this by testing open rates and revenue generated.

B. Help the recipient to trust you. In Walt Disney's 1977 movie "The Rescuers," Madame Medusa says famously about the child she has captured, "I force them to like me!" You can't force recipients to trust you, but you can be trustworthy. You can temper your claims so they are believable.

C. Offer a consistent, personable "voice." The third-party corporate voice doesn't build a relationship except with a brand. But a consistent corporate spokesperson is able to build a relationship with readers, especially if he or she writes in a personable way.

2. E-Mail as a Value Proposition

Second, e-mail recipients must view your e-mail as valuable or they won't read it in the future.

I subscribe to and scan e-mails from Staples, Tiger Direct, and CompUSA. Why? Because they seem to have good offers. Even if I don't need what they offer right now, they may have what I need next time. When I'm convinced that they no longer offer what I might need at good prices, I'll stop reading them.