Here's what we've found works best.  Use these tips properly and your results will skyrocket.

1.  Your email "from" sender line should be your brand name or company name and stay consistent.  Use your own personal name only if that is your brand image. 

2.  Send emails only when you have something to say that will benefit the reader.  No fluff.  No filler.  You must be relevant.  If you can't be, don't send an email until you have something beneficial to say.

3.  Start your emails with the specific benefit the reader can get from your message.  You have no more than 3 seconds to pass the crucial "what's in it for me?" test.

4.  The copywriting tone and language should be personal and conversational, instead of stuffy and "corporate".

5.  Make a specific offer to the reader and, if possible, include a short deadline by which he must respond to get it.

6.  Use as much copy as is needed to fully pile on all the benefits the reader will get by ordering, answer objections, create urgency, and close the sale.

7.  Test your subject lines and offers on small segments of your list before you send the email to your entire list.

8.  Include "Email this to a friend" service in all your communications for pass along and viral marketing.

9.  Tell your recipients to "white list" your email address so your future emails don't end up in the "spam" filter.

10.  Remail non-opens again one week later.  This works great if your email service can pinpoint this information.

11. Copywriting of your emails and online marketing is your #1 key to much higher leads, sales and profits.   So don't entrust it to anyone other than an experienced successful copywriter and the best one you can afford. This is not the time to be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

     There are many other email and online copywriting topics that are too variable to give you hard and fast answers to.  They need to be studied first by a professional based on your specific business.  These include text vs. html and best days to email.