So how do you get your message to stand out from the crowd?

By grabbing attention with a well-crafted headline/subject line.

To help draw attention to your email, the first step you should take is to use your name in the 'From' field. Never use Admin, Support or your website name. Your emails are always 'from' your name.

For example, whenever somebody receives an email from me, the 'From' always says 'Glen Hopkins.' I do this because I want to brand my name and when people see my name, they recognize it immediately. It also tends to make the email personal, like you are a friend and a good start in developing a one-to-one relationship with your customers.

The other thing you should do is put a hyphen on either side of your name, like this: (-Glen Hopkins-)

By doing this, the hyphen forces your message to be displayed at the top of all other email messages, assuming of course, that subscribers view their inboxes by sorting messages using the 'From' sort.

Use your subscriber's name in the subject line. The more personalization you can use in the subject line, the greater your open rate will be for messages that you send. In fact, whenever it makes sense, include your subscriber's first name and if possible, include other personal information, such as the name of their city, the product they purchased from you and the date of the purchase. This is an excellent way to build trust and to get the subscriber to know you.

You will also want to make the subject line as intriguing as possible. Peak the reader's curiosity. The goal is to get them from reading the subject line to opening and reading your email.

One of the greatest ways of doing this is to ask a question. People naturally want to know the answer.

Here are some examples:

Hi Joe, It's me, Glen

Joe, did you hear what's happening tonight?

I shouldn't be telling you this Joe..

Did you get your copy Joe?

Can you make it to New York, Joe?

I don't normally do this, Joe but..

Joe, this is your last chance.

Joe, do you know the secrets of building a huge list?

You're not going to believe this Joe.

It's important that email recipients view your emails as valuable; otherwise they won't open them in the future. Even if customers don't buy right away, they may do so in the future, especially if you keep in contact with them in a personable and friendly way and with an interesting subject line.

Always keep in mind when writing subject lines that curiosity may kill the cat, but it gets your subscriber to open emails.