This is a guest post by Anita Brady who is the President of 123Print.com, one of the foremost suppliers of customizable business cards and other items for small businesses and individuals. She is an industry veteran who has managed strategic marketing and other efforts for companies small and large.

E-Newsletters are one of the best online marketing tools today, but -- let's face it -- there's a lot of junk out there to sift through. In a time where inboxes receive hundreds of emails in a day, you need an effective communique that will stand out amongst the spam and make impressions on your potential clients.

A 2009 survey of ad executives by Datran Media showed that email marketing was the most effective channel for direct marketing. While that market share has likely slipped with the advent of Pinterest, Tumblr, and other social media options, email still holds a lion's share (http://www.datranmediasurvey2010.com/start.php?showtype=page-1).

Email marketing allows you to connect with clients in a truly unique way. You can create a custom layout with personalized headers, a variety of design choices, and incentives like coupons and specials.

No other online marketing gives businesses as much impact for such a small investment. Email advertising is truly one of the best marketing investments you can make. A 2011 study by the Magill Report puts email marketing's ROI at $40.56 for every $1 invested (http://www.magillreport.com/Email-Remains-ROI-King-Net-Marketing-Set-to-Overtake-DM/). In terms of direct marketing options, you can't afford to NOT use email marketing.

However, the key to successful e-Newsletters is to actually get impressions and call clients to actions. Here are a few thoughts on how to do this.

Your subject line. Unique, catchy subject lines are the first visual cue that a potential reader will see. This moment is where your email will be opened and actually read, or simply deleted and sent to the trash box. So make the subject line count. Try to avoid using the same, generic subject lines week after week. Capitalize keywords, mention your special offers, or tease interesting content from within the email. You goal is to lure potential readers into opening your newsletter!

Inspire action. After readers have opened your email, the next key ingredient is a call to action. Set a goal for each newsletter. Whether you are advertising a deal, trying to increase web traffic to new parts of your website, or promoting a new product or service, let that goal be the focus of your newsletter.

Keep your newsletter short and simple. It's easy to go overboard with graphic design, photography, and image heavy designs. While good images and design definitely strengthen a newsletter, there is a fine line between tasteful imagery and graphical overload. The best designs keep text streamlined in one or two columns under a well-designed header, with an image or two to support each story or content section.

Encourage interaction with your clients. Polls, calls for product reviews, and testimonials are a great way to connect with and empower your customers - these also make for great content in your next newsletter. You will be amazed at how readily your recipients will offer up feedback on your products or services, or participate in a poll or survey - especially if you can incentivize their participation somehow.

Provide plenty of links. One of the biggest perks of email marketing is being able to drive web traffic directly to your website. Take advantage of this by providing as many relevant links as possible, especially to new or low traffic subpages on your site. This is your opportunity to showcase a new product or service, and create a one-time surge of traffic to your site at any given time.

Finally, make sure your email newsletter is the best it can possibly be. Don't settle for amateur photography or sloppy graphic design. Your emails are a direct reflection of your business, so make sure they are perfect. The preview button is there for a reason. Send the email out to coworkers, friends, and trusted clients, get their feedback and incorporate it. There is no excuse for typographical or grammatical errors, so proofread carefully!

In closing, remember that this is your newsletter and you can customize it as much as you want. Just because your competitors use a two column format with a few pictures, or an entirely graphic based layout, doesn't mean that you have to do the same. Separate yourself from the competition by spending the time to create new content every week and adding new, relevant images as much as possible. Using unique and entertaining content week after week is the best way to avoid the delete button and keep your clients interested in your business.