Are your marketing e-mails landing in spam folders or finding their way immediately into virtual trashcans? Or are they actually serving their purpose—bringing new traffic to your website, new calls to your office, and new customers into the fold?

E-mail marketing can be an invaluable tool for small business growth, but it can also frankly be a waste of time. As with anything else marketing-related, you’ve got to do it consistently and strategically if you want it to offer a real return on investment.

So how do you make those marketing e-mails count? How do you turn the e-mail list into an actual money maker?

Consider a few basic rules—some dos and some don’ts.

DO personalize your e-mails. Because really, when’s the last time you opened one that started with Dear sir or madam? Generic e-mail openings are immediate turnoffs, and so are subject lines or offers that don’t make sense for the recipient. For example, you may be marketing for a restaurant, and you may have a brilliant idea to send an e-mail promoting your new steak entrée—but how are your vegetarian customers going to respond to that? That’s what makes it essential to target your e-mails to different segments, each with custom offers or subjects. Use whatever information you have—basic demographics, subject interests, past purchase histories—to create meaningful sub-sects of your customer base.

DON’T end e-mails without seeing how they look on different browsers and devices. The last thing you want is to waste time on an e-mail that’s going to display improperly for Android users, or look wonky on iPads. Remember that people check e-mail on myriad devices these days. Check a sample e-mail on as many platforms as you can to make sure the look is consistent.

DO promote company assets. Remember that e-mail is a great vehicle for sharing company blog posts, e-Books, or other lead-capturing collateral. People who don’t regularly check your company blog may click through an interesting blog headline they see in your e-mail.

DON’T make your headline an afterthought. Speaking of headlines, your subject line is the most important part of your e-mail—because without a catchy and compelling headline, even the best e-mail in the world is never going to be opened. Pick a headline that conveys value and specificity. If you’re making a special offer, include it in the headline. If it’s more informative, put some attention-grabbing statistics in the headline: Something like “Learn how to cut your HR overhead by 50 percent!”

DO include calls to action. Your readers should see a clear, succinct call to action without having to scroll down the page. Make sure to include a specific prompt, along with whatever links, e-mail addresses, or phone numbers are pertinent.

DON’T e-mail blindly. A/B testing is an invaluable part of e-mail marketing: Sending different headlines or using different formats for different groups, then evaluating which methods get the most results, will help you make more informed decisions about future e-mails. As with anything else in marketing, metrics are paramount.

By following these parameters, you can make your e-mails more than just virtual junk mail: You can make them useful, not just for your recipients but also for your brand.

And of course, if you have any further questions about e-mail strategy, we invite you to call our team of experts right away.