Email and direct mail are dead.

Not true Email has become one of the primary ways that people communicate. According to a Google search, more than 183 billion email messages are sent every day.

What about direct mail? Well, the credit card companies seem to feel good about direct mail. Their volume is up 47% in the fourth quarter of 2009 over the prior quarter.

The bigger question is whether or not your emails are being opened.

There are many forces at work to prevent your email from reaching its intended target. Spam filtering is big business and spam filters are in wide use. Spam filters look for key words and phrases in your subject line as well as in the body of your email.

Marketers are turning to anti-spam content checking software programs. These applications can help you find spam trigger words that are contained in your email marketing message. You can search Google for Spam Words and come up with an extensive list but going through your email message looking for keywords can be tough so these content checkers are a good place to start.

The keys to any successful marketing program is consistency, frequency and follow-up. Most businesses use a marketing system that can automate your email marketing program. Your marketing system should also help you automate the process of creating products and include a shopping cart function so you can sell your products and services online. Make it easy for your customers to buy from you.

Once your message gets through the spam filters, your email message has maybe milliseconds before it hits the trash pile. What makes the difference between an email that gets opened versus one that doesn't? Look at your own email box for the answer.

It all starts with the subject line followed by the first one or maybe two sentences of copy. If these don't deliver a compelling message, DELETE.

People buy your products and services for the benefits that they deliver to solve their problems and address their fears. Your email and direct mail copy has to address these problems and fears.

Look at your direct mail message. Is it personalized? Does it make a compelling offer? Does it present the promise of a benefit to your reader? Does it address the pain that they are feeling?

People buy products and services to solve problems and to avoid pain. Your email subject line should be designed to grab your reader by the ears and pull her into your message. Subject lines are the entry point. You use it to persuade people to open your email. To persuade people, you should be aware of the 12 most persuasive words in the English Language. A quick Google search and you can find numerous references. Here they are: You, money, save, results, easy health, safety, love, discovery, proven, new, guarantee.

You probably won't be able to use all 12 of these in a subject line, though it might be interesting to try. Certainly, if you used one or two, your could improve the chances of your email getting opened.

Now all you need to do is practice writing compelling, persuasive subject lines using the persuasive words along with the fabulous benefits that your products and services deliver. Put all of that together into a great sales letter and get your message into the hands of your customers and prospects.

If you are not marketing your business, you may have no business to market.

Did you know that there are 200 low-cost, high impact marketing weapons at your disposal? Many small businesses don't take advanage of many of these powerful marketing weapons because they are unfamiliar with them.

If you consider that marketing is every contact that you and your business has with your clients and prospects, you can begin to sharpen your marketing eyes and ears. You can downlaod tools to help with with six of these weapons now. With the mini e-Book Marketing plans that create profits: 6 Marketing plan quick tops on how to create a powerful marketing plan in under an hour you can quickly evaluate your current marketing arsenal and identify opportunities for deploying new weapons.

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