When a company sends an email, whatever the purpose or goal--from promotional one-offs, to account-related information, to reminders and follow-ups the customer requested--that message is fighting with every other message appearing in the inbox.

Here's a simple test you can apply to your finished message to see if it will get the attention it needs and deserves. The precise formula is this: SMCCIP. Or, Some Mail Can Cause Instant Pleasure. Let me explain.

S = Simple
The simpler, the better. If you can condense your messages down to a single goal, you're already steps ahead of everyone else.

Not only are you dealing with a limited amount of space for your message and contending with every other message, you're fighting against your customer's schedule. They're expectation is that the message is going to deliver something they want (assuming they subscribed to it) and give it to them in a manner that's fast and easy to digest.

That doesn't mean chocolate coating. It means bite-sized. Define the single goal of your message, and do not deviate from it or elaborate too much upon it. Use your website for that--keep your message simple.

M = Meaningful
Most consumers view email as a completely disposable commodity. We already know they toss most of the “junk mail” they receive directly into the trash without ever opening it. How much easier is it, then, to hit the delete key or, easier yet, to filter the email out of the inbox before it ever gets there?

The information you're presenting has to be meaningful to the customer or they simply won't care. If you're sending something even you don't care about, you probably shouldn't send it. Learn what your customers want--the easiest way to discover this is to ask them--and then deliver on that expectation. They'll soon learn to trust your messages and open them because you're giving them what they asked for.

C = Compelling
So, you're making simple and meaningful email and people have started opening it--but they aren't doing anything else. Where are the click-throughs? Where is the subscriber growth?

You also need to have a compelling message, one that delivers on your brand and solidifies the relationship between your customers and your company. But how do you do that? What makes a compelling message?

C = Curiosity
You may think that getting your customers' attention once they've opened your message means you're going to keep it for the whole message. Sadly, that's just not the case.

For example, if you're providing several offers--say, five of them--and they get used to that, which ones do you think will get the most attention? If you said they'd read them in order, you're almost correct.

The real story is more interesting and telling than that. Usability tests on lengthy emails of this type reveal that readers sample (and click) offers in this order: 1, 2, 5, 3, 4.

Why? Because when they get the email, they read the first offer, then they notice they have a lengthy email on their hands and they scroll all the way down to see just how long it is. While they're down there, they notice the “next” offer.

People are naturally curious. Use this to your advantage. Don't provide all the information in the email if the object is to get them to perform another action. If all you want is for them to read the email, you've done that. If you want them to take the next step, give them a reason to do so.

I = Immediacy
Shelf life for email messages is worse than milk. Nearly 70 percent of customer action takes place on the day of send. We can attribute some lag time to the fact that not everyone opens his or her email every day. Sometimes people feel an email is important enough to “set aside” and come back to it. Chances are, they never will.

Make your offers of immediate importance. Put a deadline on them. Create an expectation in the customer's mind that if they're at all interested in the offer, they need to take advantage of it now, while the email is still open and they're thinking of it. Just as the message itself is disposable, so are the offers it contains.

P = Personality
Think about your company's brand identity for a minute. How are you conveying that with your messages? When your customers open your email, do they identify with the information or offers differently than they would with your competitor's messages? If you received your message, could you make a distinction between how that message speaks to you and every other message in your inbox?

Defining the personality of your brand and conveying it through a tone of voice, choice of color, and use of images that meld with that personality--and do not conflict with it--are essential ingredients to making your customers feel good about choosing your brand. It will also help them to have a deeper connection with your company.

Identify the relationship (Are you their friend? Their concierge? Their trusted business partner? A member of their family?). Identify the personality (Playful? Reserved? Funny? Grave? Youthful? Wise?). Then Deliver your brand consistently.

There are, of course, many other elements involved in creating great electronic messages. But thinking about these six simple ingredients when you're reviewing your own messages will help you decide if you're creating original, interesting, vital email your customers are happy to receive, or just another message bound for the trash.