The founder and principal of BrightWave Marketing answers typical questions posed by prospects and clients.

With 2006 off to a fast and furious start in the email marketing universe, now is as good of a time as ever to answer some typical questions we field from prospects and clients, both experienced and novices to the email game. Feel free to print this out and hand to your boss who doesn't know an open rate from a hard bounce.

How many fields/questions should I have on my email signup form?
I think the magic number is five. Of course, this varies greatly on the company and usage of the data you are collecting. When creating your email signup form, remember what the goal of your data collection is. If you are only going to use this data to publish an email newsletter, than it's probably best to only collect email address, first name and zip code. If you are a multi-channel retailing behemoth, than asking demographic and behavioral (e.g., when do you plan on purchasing) questions is imperative. Consider making some questions optional and throw in an incentive for the subscriber to complete all fields.

Takeaway-- The more you ask, the more of a chance you have to lose that subscriber. At the same time, collect the essential data points you need or may need down the road to segment or market to. Promotions can entice the folks on the fence.

What's more important for obtaining a high open rate? A good subject line or strong brand name in the From Line?
Forrester Research stated 52 percent of U.S. internet households are compelled to open emails based on sender recognition. This means the long-held theory that subject lines drive open rates may not be accurate. While one should never discount the importance of creating and testing a good subject line, the point here is that email is a relationship-building medium. This means, the stronger brand and bond you have with your recipient, the more likely they are to open and read your emails-- no matter how good or bad your subject line is. 

Takeaway-- A strong and trustworthy brand and relationship trumps crafty subject lines for engaging users.

Should we rent email lists?
I think this is turning into an easier question every day. The answer is no, and it still may be controversial. Nevertheless, why sink good money and resources into a questionable list rental where your legitimate offer may be seen as spam and your brand and offer both are spurned? Moreover, most list rentals fail miserably. With the low cost and equally measurable and targeted platform of paid search engine marketing available, the smart money is moving here to acquire leads and increase their email database size. Of course, don't forget to add an email signup form on your landing page so that if they just browse, you still have the opportunity to continue the relationship.

Takeaway-- List rentals are risky and deliver poor ROI. Search engine keyword buy programs (Google Ad Words, Yahoo! Search) deliver leads for low costs and often in a quicker fashion and compliment your retention email programs.

What's a good open and clickthrough rate?
While this depends on your industry and your type of email campaign, the general benchmarks are around five to 10 percent for clickthrough and 25 to 35 percent for open rates. Keep your eyes on a new industry trend report from VerticalResponse (see their Q1-2006 report here). For more information on metrics, please see my previous column-- Email Metrics Demystified.

Takeaway-- Pay attention to the trend reports and shoot for exceeding the industry averages. However, these mean nothing if they don't help achieve your bigger, more concrete email goals.

How does email affect your brand?
Big or small, every company represents something to their customers and prospects. Email is one of the most personal forms of communication and as a result can enhance or hurt this relationship. A poorly executed campaign with typos, broken links and excruciatingly frequent campaign schedule can often undo bonds consumers have with brands and sever the relationship that took a great deal of time and money to develop. At the same time, well thought out, compelling and innovative emails can create real value for all parties and deliver customer loyalty with the push of a button.

Takeaway-- Don't diminish the value email can offer your company and your recipients. At the same time, don't overlook the power a negative email campaign can have on your brand.

We want to start or step up our email marketing efforts, how do we start?
The first and potentially most important decision is who and how will you manage your email marketing program. Small companies often look to low-cost, self-service email software to handle their minimal needs. Midsize or large companies with resource restraints often partner with an Email Services Firm to help tackle the program together or outsource all of it. Large enterprise organizations with large budgets and staffs usually select an Email software company or full service agency and attempt to integrate the management of the software and program in-house or collaborate to establish a robust campaign management process that works.

Takeaway-- Of course, there are no rules or formula to follow and every company should seek multiple solutions and find the right partner and platform before they seek to achieve email nirvana.

G. Simms Jenkins is founder and principal of BrightWave Marketing, an Atlanta-based Email Marketing and Customer Relationship Services firm. Read full bio here.