Email marketing has become a vital asset to any company, whether they’re a multi-million dollar company or a fresh start-up. The majority of your communication with your customers typically happens using email. Hitting the inbox is essential; otherwise, you run the risk of having your emails be missed.

Furthermore, knowing how to utilize email marketing fully can help maximize your average customer lifetime value. Below are five essential starting points that all email marketers should incorporate in their email marketing efforts.

• Subject Line – The subject line is the first impression to your email. It determines whether the recipient will open or move on to the next without even taking a second to glance. To create an effective subject line, keep the following things in mind: Keep your subject line short (50 character limit); avoid using special characters (?!@#$%&); do not write in ALL CAPS or LiKe ThiS; and lastly, see what phrases work or don’t work with your list. For example, studies show that starting your subject line with the word “get” is likely to increase your open rate.

• Call to Action – The secret to having an effective email template is always to remember the following: Once an email is opened, you have less than two seconds to catch the reader’s attention. You then have about five to six seconds to keep their attention. Lastly, you want to have a clear and visible call to action button. The combination of informing the recipient of something and telling them what to do with the information they just received is always a good thing to keep in mind when designing an email.

• Personalization – Personalizing emails with some relevant information about the customer gives your email a more “human” feel to it, which will then result in a higher response rate. This is also a great strategy to use in your subject lines. For instance, a subject line that reads “[RECIPIENT’S_NAME], Check Out This Week’s Upcoming Events” is likely to outperform “Check Out This Week’s Upcoming Events.”

• Quality Over Quantity – When it comes to email marketing, more is not always better, especially as your list size grows. Creating strategic segments in your list will help maintain a healthy IP reputation while allowing you to market to certain groups in different ways. For example, it’s always a good idea to create a segment of new members who might benefit from more informative emails. On the other hand, having a segment of your most active users (those who open/click your emails), will be a better choice to use for more frequent email blasts.

• A/B Test – Put simply, A/B testing involves sending out different versions of an email campaign to your existing subscriber list. Typically A/B testing includes changing only one element at a time and could be anything from a completely new email design to a small one-word change to your headline or call-to-action. A/B testing is the most important step to improving your email metrics and learning about your list. You should always try and learn something from every A/B test you do.

Email marketing can make a significant impact on your business if handled with care. Using the steps listed above will get you headed in the right direction but won’t necessarily mean the job is done.