YNOT – Do you ever get emails that really annoy you? And other emails that you look forward to reading? How can you make sure your readers look forward to your emails and don’t hit the delete button faster than you can say “spam?”

Succes in email marketing, as well as in marketing in general, often comes down to the “know, like and trust” factor: You need to make sure your subscribers know, like and trust you.

How can you accomplish that?

Know
Ensure your subscribers feel like they know you. You can accomplish that by coming across as a “real” person, not hype personified. In addition, be consistent in what you tell them in your emails and what you market to them.

You have a “voice,” and people learn to recognize that voice. If you suddenly use a very different voice, readers will wonder what the heck happened to you. They might even begin to doubt your legitimacy.

Pick an email persona and stick with it. If you usually write friendly, chatty emails starting with “Hi [firstname],” and suddenly you send one that begins, “DUDE! I’m really pumped about…,” readers may wonder whether you’ve been invaded by a body snatcher. Worse, they may suspect you never were who you pretended to be.

Like
In addition to making sure people feel they know you, you need to make them like the you they’ve gotten to know.

Be friendly. Give your email readers valuable tips and perhaps an occasional gift — with no strings attached. Ask readers what’s going on in their lives and how you can help them … and then take action if they answer.

Trust
If your readers know and like you, they’ll also likely trust you — to a point. The trust factor is crucial in any kind of marketing, because all the knowing and liking in the world won’t do much for you if your market views you as a shady businessperson.

Keep these tips in mind when building and maintaining trust:

• Be consistent. Send emails regularly.
• Deliver what you promise. If you promise to send a gift, be sure to do just that.
• Don’t ever recommend a product that is any less than outstanding. Yes, commissions are nice, but the refund requests and the unsubscribes aren’t.

When you recommend a product, make sure you have checked it out personally. If you promote disappointing products you’ll lose the trust factor, and no amount of revenue can make up for that.

Elisabeth Kuhn is an online marketing expert and a professional copywriter who provides coaching and consulting to help new businesses and solo entrepreneurs develop strategies and optimize their marketing plans.