I do scan mail in the junk folder, especially because postings to my school forums often seem to end up there. “Thought you might be interested in this” is almost a classic spam line, so it’s only because the sender’s name was vaguely familiar that I opened this piece. I won’t embarrass the sender by identifying him, but let’s just say he’s in the PR business and should know better.

Email marketing experts at MarketingSherpa say, “When done right, email can be one of the most effective tools you have in your marketing arsenal.”

So what is “done right”?

1. Make it descriptive and inviting.

In a February 2011 study, email newsletter specialists MailChimp analyzed the open rates for over 200 million emails. While factors like the sender, the frequency and nature of the message all affect whether the recipient will open the message or not, the best email subject lines provide the reader with a reason to explore the message further. “Put yourself in your recipient’s shoes,” MailChimp says. “People are flooded with spam and increasingly pressed for time.”

2. Keep it short

Try to keep to 50 characters or less. Many people will be reading your message on a mobile device, which will cut off much of it anyway. So will many email programs.

3. …unless length adds value

For newsletters, including something about what’s inside can encourage opening the issue. The emailguide.com says shorter is better for click-through rates, but the line must be long enough to convey your message. Describe the content, use a deadline, appeal to the emotions.

4. Focus on the benefits.

What’s in it for the reader? emaildesignreview.com says  “use pyramid writing,” where you put the key point or offer right at the start. So instead of “Buy a new toaster and save 50%” make it “Half off toasters.”

5. Avoid spammy sounding words

Words like free, help, hello, special offer, percent off and reminder all act as red flags to email programs. So do using all caps and exclamation marks.

6. Test before you send

A company described in one of MarketingSherpa’s many case studies tested a longer, stronger “call to action” and a shorter, less-direct phrase. The call to action significantly beat the shorter line, which made the reader think too much.

In the case of the message from the PR guy, the content actually mentioned an interesting webinar. THAT was information that should have been in the subject line.

Have you seen any subject lines worthy of the Hall of Shame? I’d love to hear about them.

A few weeks ago, I managed to live through a day where no e-mail messages made it to my in-box. It took a while to find out, because I could send messages; but the replies didn’t make it through.

Of course, I had a satisfying chat with Bell’s customer service folks in another country:

Me [after visiting the Bell web site, which proclaimed its e-mail service was "available"]: I am not receiving e-mail.

Bell: Please do not worry. This is a problem on our end. Our server level technicians are already working on the problem and it will be fixed as soon as possible. We really appreciate your patience.

Me: Oh, then why does it say “this service is available” on the Bell site?

Bell: I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. [Notice question not answered.] You will be able to send emails but there is a server issue which is causing a delay in receiving emails.

The problems lasted just the one day, but I feel compelled to add “as far as I know.” Because now, when I don’t receive a prompt response to an e-mail, I begin to wonder if the person sent it weeks ago, and is now getting cheesed off with me for lack of response.

All of this to say, please be sure to respond to people. If you don’t have the answer, a short note to acknowledge that you got the request and are looking into it is perfect. Even saying “I’m crazy busy, will answer some day” works for me. And if you didn’t get a reply within a day or two from a person who usually gets back to you quickly, there’s no harm in calling; sometimes that’s when you’ll find out he or she is away.

Or am I expecting too much?

So what the heck happened to me a couple of weeks ago? I hit a spell where I just could not focus. I was distracted by e-mail and spent too much time reading blogs and following alluring URLs posted on Twitter. True, it was high season for vacations and I had a hard time reaching people I had to interview. But really; I had to do the equivalent of grabbing myself by the scruff of the neck to get my own attention.

If you get caught by the same lack of focus, here are some ideas to help:

1. Write out a list of everything you must accomplish. Rewrite it each night to be ready for the next day.
2. Don’t even open Twitter until you’ve crossed something off your “to do” list.
3. Turn off the sound so you don’t hear incoming messages.
4. If you leave your mail program open, block the view of your in-box so you can’t see incoming messages either.
5. Only allow yourself certain times to check e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc. and STICK TO THEM.
6. Get a timer and be disciplined about how much time you spend checking all those online funhouses.
7. In extreme cases, take your laptop somewhere where you don’t have access to the Internet.
8. Give yourself a reward for the tiniest of achievements, such as staying focused for a set amount of time, and for bigger successes like finishing an article or submitting a project.
9. Know that this, too, shall pass.

Having just completed two last-minute projects (quick turnaround of about a day from interview to finished article, something I like to call “pulling a rabbit out of a hat”), I think I’m recovered. At least for now. But if you noticed that I haven’t said much on Twitter lately, this is part of the reason why.

Oh, and I should add, we need to cut ourselves some slack. As long as you are meeting your commitments, it’s OK to work at a slower pace once in a while!

“For encouraging customer (or donor) loyalty, e-mail newsletters remain the Internet tool of choice.”

The link from this comment takes you to Nielsen’s June 12, 2006 Alertbox, “Email Newsletters: Surviving Inbox Congestion.” Lots of good advice, and this statement:

“Our main conclusion remains the same: Email newsletters are the best way to maintain customer relationships on the Internet.”

I share Nielsen’s love for newsletters. The best ones are warm and familiar. They contain interesting and/or useful information. They arrive often enough to build a relationship, but not so frequently that the reader starts to get annoyed. (What? Another one already? I haven’t had time to read the last one!) They keep in mind that the reader wants to know “what’s in it for me?” and go easy on the sales pitch.

Nielsen notes that readers have different expectations of newsletters compared to web sites. Newsletters create a highly emotional reaction, a bond between the reader and the company. Web sites are all about usability.

“Even a website that you visit daily will feel like a tool where you simply want to get in and get out. The negative aspect is that usability problems have a much stronger impact on the customer relationship.”

Nielsen has lots of advice about writing and designing for scanners, crafting subject lines, opening lines and headings, and making it easy for readers to get on and off subscription lists. Find much of it in the free summary and even more in his full Email Newsletter Usability Report ($398).

Set priorities and allocate most of your time to tasks that are crucial to meeting your goals. (Surprise! Updating your Facebook profile probably isn’t one of them.)

Nielsen’s tips include ignoring email, except for a small amount of time each day — say, once per hour — that you specifically set aside for this activity:

“The majority of the workday should be allocated to big blocks of uninterrupted time where any outside influence is banned and you focus on your own priority tasks, one at a time…People who have the discipline to work this way accomplish immensely more than interrupt-driven slaves of real-time updates.”

Some of you will know by how promptly I usually reply to email that, ahem, this is an instance of “do as Nielsen says, not as I do.” However, when I’m working to a deadline, I’m all about uninterrupted focus.

To subscribe to Nielsen’s Alertbox, send a blank email to join-alertbox@laser.sparklist.com.

“…the best way to boost your productivity is to switch off IM, Twitter and the like and refrain from checking your email more than once per hour. Even the shortest interruption costs you several minutes of productivity as you switch your brain back into gear for your main task, particularly if you have a knowledge-intensive job.”

(Of course, I share that as a good idea, knowing full well that I’ll continue to keep my e-mail program open and check it more often. I do, however, keep the sound off.)

Nielsen’s 10 steps for cleaning up what he calls “information pollution” include writing informative subject lines and avoiding “reply to all.” He reminds us that “Better prioritization, fewer interruptions and concentrated information that’s easy to find and manage helps people become more productive and stop wasting their colleagues’ time.”

I also encourage people to update the subject line when you have a long string of e-mails that go back and forth, morphing into a discussion about something completely different from the original note. And please, when those back-and-forths start growing in length, cut off some of the unnecessary earlier comments, keeping only the most recent ones needed to make sense of your reply. A telephone call might also save time!

I was reminded how much time email can waste take up earlier this week, when I took my laptop on the road. Son #2 had a lactose tolerance test at a hospital half an hour from home and we had to be there at 8 a.m. The test itself is pretty non-invasive, compared to most of the tests related to Crohn’s disease. However, it involved hanging around for three hours while the nurse took intermittent breath samples to see if his body can digest a type of natural sugar found in dairy products. So while he was in the room with a surprising number of other people being tested, I hung out in the hallway working.

It was an interesting experiment that pointed out to me how much time can be consumed in my usual morning check for mail, answering mail and cleaning out the in-box. It’s even more time if I start checking other blogs and posting to my own! There was no wi-fi available so instead of going online, I got right to work turning five pages of interview notes into a 400-word article for a client. Since I had two other similar notes-to-articles jobs that I like to think of as “spinning straw into gold,” it was a good way to get one into a state that was pretty close to complete. (I’ve since submitted it and was pleased to hear “It’s exactly what I was hoping for.”)

Of course, it’s always easier to stay disciplined with a looming deadline!

“Imagine your email was a telegram and that you were paying by the word.”

In Dr. Larkin’s Page #78 mailing, Multitasking Lowers Performance, he says we can reduce interruptions by a whopping 92% if, during certain times of the day, we stop interrupting ourselves:

• by not checking emails, standing up and moving around or beginning a casual conversation (49%)
• by asking others not to interrupt us (21%)
• by not responding to new emails (13%)
• by not answering the telephone (9%)

I dunno; sounds like quite a bit of discipline is required! Now excuse me while I go check my email.