What would you say is the difference between an email that offers no value (junk) and one that does offer value (quality). It isn't necessarily the difference between a promotion and something that is pure information. There are more signals that can help you indicate whether you are sending emails that belong in Junk City, or ones that have enough value to further solidify your relationship.

What is the JUNK that I am referring to?

(1) Email after email promoting something - There is nothing worse than getting an influx of shameless promotions. Unless you are operating a groupon or coupon style website, you should not be sending people promotions every day. It is a surefire way to break any trust and relationship you had worked to create.

(2) Promoting something that you have no idea about (and it will show) - Over the years, I have seen this many of times. People promoting products they have no product knowledge of. This is particular evident within the info product world, but it can also apply to real products as well. If you are not a product user or haven't taken the time to fully understand exactly what the product is, do not promote it.

(3) Emails with little or no substance - By this I mean, you are talking to your audience, but nobody is really benefiting from it. Do you have a friend or family member that talks your head off, but you leave the conversation without really gaining anything? You don't want to be this person to your list. If you don't have a reason to contact your list, then don't waste their time or yours.

What Someone Really Wants to Receive From You!

You have an idea "what not to do", however, I want to show you what your subscribers are HUNGRY for! These are ways to offer quality. Remember, quality leads to solid relationships, trust, and ultimately people that buy from you.

(1) Put yourself in their position and HELP - You are not going to be able to do this if you don't understand your audience...however if this is the case, you are probably within the wrong niche. What you want to do is seek out things that people are having issues within in your niche, for example, if you are in the dieting niche, things like putting down the fork, snacking help, and when and how to eat would likely be subjects that this audience needs help (and would be interested in reading about). Help people!

(2) Provide them with niche news - People want to feel informed, they want to feel like they are also becoming industry experts. You can do this by keeping a close eye on the news and delivering timely information to your subscribers. To do this, you may want to set-up Google Alerts in your niche. You can do that here:

http://www.google.com/alerts

Then set up search terms that are relevant to your niche and the news will be sent directly to you as it happens.

(3) A way to communicate with you - Email marketing does not have to be, nor should it be, a one way communication. There are definitely times where you should reach out to people if they have any questions or need help. Knowing that you are is big...and if someone does get in chance with you and you get back with them, chances are this may be a lifetime relationship. That is above and beyond what they have typically come to expect within the online world.

(4) An email that can spur "thought", the "holy cow" or "aha moment" email - People like to be tested through imaginative or creative thinking. Provide people with these aha moments. Imagine telling a dieter that losing weight is as easy as the placement of their fork (putting it down in between mouthfuls), and then giving them the reasoning behind it. This is the sort of thing that I am referring to here, aim to give your readers regular "a ha" moments.

(5) Proof of your credibility through stories or experiences - Give them proof and they will have that much more trust in you. Tell them a story about you, offer them your social profiles (Twitter, Google +, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn), and offer them insight into why you should be a trust worth source within your niche. It could be as simple as you stating that it is your passion and why, or perhaps you have had years of training within that niche. Either way, offer a "personal story" email before you get too far into the relationship, or it may be tough to create the relationship in the first place.

If you offer regular value through these techniques, when you do promote something it will carry that much more of an impact and convert that much higher. Offer value before promotions, in other words, give before you receive. You can also feel good about yourself in the process! :)

The Ratio in which JUNK is OK

Some marketers tend to say the old faithful Pareto 80% value, 20% promotion applies to email marketing, however I disagree. I think if you want to run the optimal email marketing "relationship" campaign and set yourself up for long term success I believe it should be closer to 90% value, 10% promotion.

This doesn't necessarily mean that you can't promote something until every 10th email, it means that 90% of your content is valuable. You could write a highly valuable email that subtly promotes something, just make sure that it is 90% value. Every 10th email you could do a blatant promotion.

I always think that self-assessement of anything you do can help you avoid almost any issues when it comes to content quality. It is very easy to get lost in processes, forgetting that a human is on the other end. If you don't like your own content and don't find it intriguing (would you truthfully enjoy reading your own email), then chances are others won't.