• The HTML email pages should be set to about 500-600 pixels wide.
  
  
• A lot of your recipients will be checking their email in their web browser, They’ll strip out your < HTML >, < HEAD >, and < BODY > tags, in order to keep your code from interfering with their web pages.
  
  • CREATE A 100% WIDE TABLE. .Any background colors you specify in your < BODY > tag will be lost. So wrap your entire email inside a larger, 100% wide table, and set a background color to that table.
    
  • USE EMBEDDED CSS. Any CSS that you place inside the < HEAD > tags will be lost. So don’t try to link to CSS files on your server. Use embedded CSS instead, and make sure it’s below the < BODY > tag.
    
    
• Code “absolute paths” for the email images. (Instead of "Img1.gif", use "http:///www.octopusjuice.com/Images/Img1.gif"
  
  • Use alt text in your email template for a better user experience.
    
  • Always specifiy the width and height of your images, toi ensure that blank place holder will nopt trhow yoiur design out
    
    
• Don't use JavaScript, or ActiveX, or embedding movies on your email campaign templates..( does not work)
  
  
• Include an opt-out link. It’s not only unprofessional not to allow recipients to unsubscribe from your list, but also it’s illegal.
  
  
• The Subject line of your email campaign should be 40 to 60 characters in length. For PDA users, .the length should be around 15 to 20 characters in length.
  
  
• Add a text-based link to a web version of your design at the top of your email.
  
  
• Ensure your most compelling content is at the top (and preferably to the left).
  
  
• Ask your subscriber to add your From address to their address book at every opportunity.

In email marketing, it’s the consumer who pays the price. They pay through monthly ISP fees. They pay for bandwidth. And when ISPs spend the majority of their time managing incoming spam to their servers, you know that someone has to pay the price. Never forget the number one rule of email marketing: Since your recipients must pay for every email they receive (through monthly ISP bills, bandwidth costs, etc), you must obtain their permission before you email them.

If you’re sending “commercial” email (where you’re selling or promoting stuff), here are just a few rules you should know about:

• That unsubscribe link must work for at least 30 days after sending your email.
  
• You must include your physical mailing address in the email (PO Boxes are not sufficient)

Let me save you the headache of dealing with sending mass emails, the “Remove Me”s, and all of the other problems that go along with email campaigns.