Do you hesitate to send email to your subscribers and customers?

If you're one of the people who worries that your customers will think you're spamming if you send them email, no matter HOW useful the information is, I urge you to reconsider.

The truth is, when you do your email marketing right, not only is it an excellent source of income for you, but your subscribers and customers will actually appreciate hearing from you!

Here are three tried and tested ideas for successful email promotions:

Damaged or returned stock promotions: Offer damaged or returned stock for 50% off! Everyone gets returns, it's a part of doing business. And of course damaged stock is unavoidable.

Why not take advantage of email to clear out your stock that's otherwise going to take up space, while at the same time offering your customers deals that they're sure to appreciate?

Limited time offer: By offering a great discount on your products for a limited amount of time, people who receive the email feel like it's urgent they respond, so there's less chance they'll close the email to "think about it" and never come back.

Limited quantity offer: Similar to the limited time offer, the people who receive this email will also feel a sense of urgency.

If you go with "limited time or quantity offer" stick with the offer. If you write in your email that a product is available for a .... time, stick to it.

Sometimes you see that a product is available till midnight, 14 days later it's still available till midnight. Doesn't look right to me.

And those are just a few to get you started. Use your imagination, and I'm sure you'll come up with all kinds of things to send your list that they'll really ENJOY having.

Do you panic at the thought of writing your own promotional email?

Here's something you should know: writing an email is 95% rules, and only 5% creativity.

So as long as you stick to the rules, you'll write an email that's suitable for sending to your customers every time!

Hypnotize the reader with compelling benefits: The most effective email promotions grab readers' attention with compelling benefits that speak directly to the readers' deepest desires and greatest fears.

Benefits build the value you need to drive people to act when presented with your call to action.

Write your email like you were talking to a friend.

Be informal, use contractions, and don't be afraid to start a sentence with "and" or "but."To transfer ownership, you want to make sure your reader can actually picture themselves using your product.

Use automation to create personalized offers: Nothing is more appealing to people than the 'sound' of their own names, and nothing grabs someone's attention faster than something that affects them directly!

We don't recommend you try to get yours subscriber to purchase directly from your email. Instead, you should ask them to "click here now to learn more," or something similar.

How it LOOKS makes a big impact on readers, too. Here is how to format your email.

Width: Be sure to format your email message in a table that is not over 60/65 characters wide. If you exceed that, your message may be cut off on the right side of the screen or, at the very least, not print properly

Images: Try to avoid using graphics whenever possible. People with slow connections will have trouble downloading them, and people reading your message offline won't see them at all.

Bolding: Use bolding just to emphasize the biggest and best benefits in the offer. You should be able to scan the message and instantly understand the biggest benefits

Bullets: Using bulleted points is one of the best ways to break up your copy and make some of your key points really stand out. As will all formatting techniques, make sure to don't swamp your email with bullet points.

Finally, once you've written the letter, give it a final "scan test." Set it aside for an hour, then return to it with fresh eyes BUT don't read it word for word. Scan over the letter and see which sections jump out at you. Make sure that those sections contain the key benefits.

Stick to these few simple rules, and you'll have no trouble turning out emails that get a response, because your customers actually WANT to receive them!