You know the drill. You sign into your email account and see a host of emails. “I must be popular” you think to yourself. Unfortunately, it ‘s just another day of email blasts in your world. And if the same people keep sending the same blasts, it won ‘t be long before you give them the giant “B” for blacklisted.

Now, imagine you ‘re on the other end of the spectrum. Do you really want to be blacklisted by the people that matter most to your company, one painful click at a time?

The question of whether or not email blasts are effective marketing tools depends on how this type of marketing is used. When you put thought and effort into your web blast and make certain that it includes useful information, email marketing can be a great tool. But overstep your boundaries, and you ‘re bound to be on the naughty list.

Here ‘s what to avoid:

Don ‘t spam. This means you don ‘t want to send out unsolicited emails to people who didn ‘t sign up for them.

Daily emails are not necessary. Your target audience doesn ‘t need to be reminded of your existence as many times a day as they brush their teeth.

Don ‘t rely on mass emails. You want to develop relationships with your customers, so make your emails genuine and personal.

Now, onto the more positive points. You CAN make email blasts work for your company, and you can actually develop good rapports with your customers this way. There are a few key points to keep in mind:

How valuable is the content? Keep your customers in the loop by sending out informative articles, a press release or a fun fact sheet in addition to your exclusive offers.

Add in incentives. There should always be some type of incentive that the reader gets from the email. Whether it ‘s a free item for stopping in, a member-only discount or free shipping, give your readers a reason to buy your product or service.

Build rapports with your target audience. Don ‘t just send the same emails to everyone. Customers who recently made a purchase should be sent a different email than those who have not made a purchase.

Have attention-grabbing headlines. You have a just a few seconds to grab your readers ‘ interest, so make your headline is nothing short of dazzling.

Always be sure to test your email blasts using dummy addresses. This will allow you to get a good peek at your message before it goes viral. If you find the blast enticing, engaging and just plain great, your readers will too.