Have you ever received one of those forwarded emails that relates a nice story or some inspiring pictures and then lays on a guilt trip if you don't immediately send that email to a million other people in your sphere of influence, complete with the same guilt ridden message? Some of these messages even indicate dire consequences or simple bad luck of the recipient somehow breaks the chain in this email link. I'm never certain who exactly monitors this situation and how they know to exact consequences dire or otherwise.

If you're like most computer users you have developed a low tolerance level for this type of email. In fact, if observation is true many of these emails are immediately deleted without even looking at the ?inspiring? material within. Alas the chain is broken and beyond the scope of repair.

For some web users there is a heightened sense of frustration because the sender of this material simply uses these methods to attempt to communicate with the recipient. There are no original words and no questions about the family or job. All the recipient sees is an email that indicates the sender only cared enough to send junk mail.

This mentality contributes to making email marketing so hard for online businesses. If it weren't bad enough that spammers already abuse the system enough now the average email user is sending junk mail to family and friends and honestly believe they are positively connecting with the recipient.

Is it any wonder that those receiving email would almost rather click the delete button on an email they don't recognize than to open spam?

Some web users have gotten to the point where they will only review emails that are not forwards and from individuals they already know. Junk mail and the potential for viruses make delete our favorite key.

If I might offer a suggestion for those who participate in email marketing, make sure you name your business and the primary purpose of the email in the subject line. You may think that you need to make your email subject line extremely creative, but the more straightforward the subject the greater the possibility the email will be reviewed. You don't want your recipients to have doubts about what is in the email.

I would also suggest that you remain completely focused on the primary purpose of the email and offer as many quality reasons as possible for your recipient to not only review the email, but also drop by the site and take a look around.

Email marketing can be a daunting task because there are so many variables that make this type of marketing harder than it really should be. Spammers created some of these problems and others were created by well meaning individuals who substituted junk mail for meaningful and personal emails.

Try to make each email marketing attempt just another attempt at redeeming email marketing as an honest way to reach out to customers and prospects in a cost effective and personally directed way.