So you've made the decision to go ahead with your e-newsletter. You've found a permission-based distribution solution and you can't wait to send out that first issue.

Not so fast. Before you even start writing, here are two things to consider that can have a major impact on whether your newsletter gets read or trashed.

Who's your target audience? If you're hoping to distribute your newsletter to a large number of people in the hopes that at percentage of recipients will open it (the shotgun method), you may want to rethink your strategy. It's much better to distribute to a select audience. This will allow you to craft your message to serve their needs (the sniper method), ensuring the greatest response.

The subject line. This may seem like a very mundane thing, but remember this: In order to elicit a response, you have to encourage recipients to open your e-newsletter. No matter how tempting, don’t use subject lines like "Open now for your free reward" or "Your membership benefits are waiting inside." If these aren't quarantined by spam filters, recipients are probably going to hit the delete key very quickly. Instead, craft a subject line that will invite readers in. Something like "Your personalized update from XYZ Company" should do the trick.

Once you've thought these two items through, you should be ready to start writing. I'll tackle content-related issues in my next entry.

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