According to new research 69% of consumers are willing to provide their e-mail address if asked, say E-Dialog. But only 10% of consumers said that a retailer had asked them for their e-mail address on a catalogue order form, and only 6% had ever been asked via direct mail. MI's own survey of major brand websites suggests that nine out ten sites that take orders DO ask for the email address - but very few seek any form of marketing permission, with a little over 30% offering a newsletter or offers by email.

However, if you want your customers to give up their email addresses to you AND consent to use them then you have to offer something in return. For example the survey found that  76% were worried about getting spam  and 37% said they would be reluctant to share their e-mail address with brands if they can't see what they stand to gain. So what do you have to offer? Interestingly the one thing the Internet is full to overflowing with - information.

Information or money off
Half the people who are prepared to give their email address will do so in return for information of specific interest to them, while 45% would do so in return for money off future purchases or if it increased their loyalty points. So half the people can be bought with something that costs you nothing and the other half can be bought via self-liquidating offers against future purchases. In other words people's worries about spam are easily bought off! But don't be too fooled by this - web consumers are very savvy consumers and they know that a) they can unsubscribe at any time and b) just by dropping your lovingly crafted email into their spam folder they can effectively destroy their side of the bargain and you will never know!

So don't offer too much to get email addresses or you may end up fooling yourself that you have a huge email database, but in reality no-one is seeing the emails. Make sure you offer something that is genuinely useful and then don't abuse the permission you have gained. To find out more about what does and doesn't work, download Tim Beadle's E-book on Email marketing.

We all want our recipients to open our email campaigns. But what really matters is that they click-through! Here are seven suggestions that will enhance the number of clicks you get:

1. Text Links - Instead of  "Click Here"try linking the words within the text. It is a "softer" but often more effective.
2. Link Your Headlines - headlines are triggers to point people in traditional media to interesting articles - so why link on the headlines?
3. Give a time limit - email communication is meant to be timely communication, so make it so. Comet are experimenting with 48 hour web-only sales, in the US two-hour sales are becoming common!
4. Include a Table of Contents - especially in newsletters.
5. Tease Them - Include half the story in your email and link off to the other half. But make sure there is enough to inform because increasingly people read off-line or via their mobile phone.
6. Link Your Offer - If you've discounted a product make sure you link either the text or the image you use.
7. Free Gift - everyone loves the word Free!