• Use a template – this helps maintain consistency and your readers will start to recognise your brand
• Make sure the first half of your email gets the right message across, and draws people in
• Use a grid format – don’t be afraid of white space, and let your words have room to breathe
• Don’t use lots of typefaces, bold text, underlines and colours – it’s confusing to the eye. Keep it simple and just use one or two styles (e.g. one for headlines, one for text)
• Use images carefully – many email clients automatically block images. Make sure your email works without them, just in case they don’t download when your email is received
• Write for the web – keep it short and to the point. Cut out any unnecessary words
• Direct people to your website to read more – this way you can keep the email succinct, and you can use pictures on your website if they are crucial e.g. product images

Image credit:  

For genuine businesses, this means we can inadvertently get caught in spam filters, meaning that our messages never reach their intended recipients. Avoid the following, all of which can increase the likelihood of being caught in the content-based spam filters:

1. Spam-like words – Free, guarantee, earn ££££, etc.
   
2. Too much… punctuation!!! AND WHAT ABOUT capital letters???- Only use the punctuation you need. Using all capital letters MAKES IT LOOK AS IF YOU’RE SHOUTING and makes your email look like spam.
   
3. Excessive use of “click here” – Use words to describe what they will see, rather than saying “click here” too often. E.g. “for more information, look at our help page” rather than “for more information click here”
   
4. Too many symbols ££££££ – Another favourite of spammers, especially lots of currency signs. Keep your text in written form where possible.
   
5. No “From:” address – Firstly, this is rude, and secondly it looks like spam and will increase the likelihood of your email being filtered. Make sure all the fields are complete and correct.