Secret #1:  The 40-40-20 Rule

Never break the 40-40-20 rule. It's the most powerful secret for successful email campaigns every time. 40-40-20 means that direct marketing success depends:

• 40% on a great list or
  the right media buy

• 40% on a hot offer

• And just 20% on creative

What this all adds up to is:

• If you have a great list, hot offer and good creative, you win!

• Good creative alone won't make you rich, when 80% of your success depends on list and offer.

• A hot offer won't make you rich, when 60% of your success depends on list and creative.

• And, a great list alone won't make you rich, when the other 60% of your direct marketing success depends on offer and creative.

I think you might start to see the underlying trend here. The secret to the 40-40-20 Rule is that you need all three aspects: list, offer, and creative working in concert. The reason this is a hard and fast rule is that it applies to every single direct marketing campaign regardless of whether it uses email, postal mail, radio, or television media.