The following is a suggestion from Denise in Minneapolis – top tips for sending email (or email newsletters).

1) Do not send one email message to more than 10 people at a time. Many email filters will throw that into the junk bin because it is going to too many people and often that is a sign that it’s junk. If you need an informal list, you might check out Bravenet (http://www.bravenet.com/webtools/elist/). They offer free lists; their pro version is pretty good too. If you’re going to pay for a list, I’d consider Constant Contact (http://www.constantcontact.com).  

2) If you send one message to multiple people, be sure to put their addresses in BCC (blind carbon copy) field. That way you don’t share the addresses with everyone and it makes it easier to forward the message. (With Outlook you can get to the BCC field by double clicking on the TO box of an open message.

3) Be wise with subject lines. Clever can be fun if it’s still meaningful but we’re all busy. We all judge an email by the subject – so make it easier for the recipient and your messages will get read more often.

4) Include contact info on your email. The easiest way to do this is by adding a SIG (or signature) file. Get info on setting up a sign file here (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/help/email-signatures.htm).

5) Keep it short. Again, we’re all busy; a concise note is a gift to the reader.

6) If you’re replying to a message, be sure to leave enough of the original message in tact so as to give context. Some of us get more than 100 messages a day and a little context is always helpful.