Lisa Seals, a Definition 6 Technical Project Manager, discussed an article she read on ClickZ with the team...

Sometimes it can be frustrating to keep up with e-mail best practices. Regardless of the constant changes, though, there are some tactics and techniques that consistently drive a high ROI. 

Lisa presented three best practices to keep in mind while email marketing:

1. Use Forms: If you want to reduce the churn between e-mail clicks and conversion, one of the best tactics you can use is to put a search box or form in your e-mail.  In test after test, e-mail marketers have found that the ROI outweighs the usability issues every time. What is the most frequently used form in an e-mail? A search box.
2. Use Rich Media: The debate over rich media's effectiveness and purpose has been a source of constant discussion.  The best-performing rich media campaigns start with a frame and creative shot that entices you to click and ends with a frame of directions, such as "Get more," "Try it," or "Go to companysite.com."
3. Use Apologies: Nothing drives stronger increases in open rates (and future readership rates) than the apology e-mail. A subject line saying, "Oops, we goofed," "Our apologies," or anything else that relates to potential issues will stand out in an e-mail box and drive a tremendous amount of readership.  Whether sincere or a gimmick, apologies drive closer e-mail relationships.

Lisa's final thoughts was that this is a great time to evaluate the effectiveness of your current year's email strategy and implement some additional best practices to really turn up the ROI you're getting from your email campaigns.  The full article can be viewed at: http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3630124