Remember the acronym "AIDA" as you compose the message – Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. Your subject line needs to get their “attention” so that they’ll open the email. Once they’ve opened it, spark their “interest” so they’ll want to continue reading it. Create “desire” by providing them with a motivating offer. Finally, they need to be moved to “action” – which can be clicking on a link, calling your business, buying something from your website, and so on.  For example, a dance class instructor who teaches couples could effectively market via email by offering a promotion for a free one hour introductory class. This offer would create desire, which could be further solidified by including a positive testimonial from a current student. Since the primary targets are couples, a subject line like, “Do you want to take your relationship to the next level?” would be an effective way to get the attention of a prospect. Always remember the risk of being flagged as spam. A good subject line can diminish that possibility. It's best to write a subject line of less than 40 characters. 20 to 30 is probably optimal.  Tell your recipients what’s new in terms of products, services and relevant business information. Using the words “how to” is a great way to get your email opened; connect your solution to the recipients' needs. Make a compelling offer that will interest the recipient. Offers are usually discounts or special pricing. For example, a good subject line that a POS software company could use when marketing to restaurant owners would be, "Our new security feature will eliminate internal theft" or "How to eliminate internal theft." Avoid obvious sales pitches. Instead of immediately pitching your product, make the email about your readers. Instead of long-winded descriptions of your products and all the amazing services you provide, write about problems that might be afflicting your readers, then introduce solutions that include your products and services.  Just as the subject line should prompt them to open the email, your intro needs to do one thing – get them to read the rest of the email. To capture interest, try telling a story, building mystery, and/or including a relevant and compelling image in the email body. For example, instead of announcing a new feature by describing it in technological terms, you could instead talk about the benefits of the feature that will directly and positively affect a prospective customer. Focusing on a customer's needs will get their attention. You could make key statements using bulletpoints, which would succinctly convey information while also emphasizing it. People receive a lot of emails every day and you probably aren’t going to have their undivided attention. Make sure the email is easy for the recipient to scan through quickly. Break the content up into short paragraphs. Stay on point and be clear. Include relevant images to break up the text.  If you have an offer that requires a good deal of information, provide a “Read more” link. If they’re interested, they can click that link and be taken to a web page that provides additional information. Start with the most important information at the top of the email. Your email should entice and prompt the recipients to take some kind of action. However, action does not necessarily mean getting them to buy something immediately. The goal could be getting them to reply to the email or even just getting them to click a link that brings them to your website. While people do manage to sell in their emails and drop people straight onto a credit card page, you will have more success getting people interested in reading more about your offer.  Make sure the action goal is something that you can track – like a click, reply or a phone call – through platforms like Google Analytics. It’s important to monitor the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns, and the only way you can do that is by providing a call-to-action that you can track.
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One-sentence summary -- Have clear and specific goals in mind. Write an effective subject line. Provide interesting content. Keep it simple and easy to read. Create an action-oriented goal.


At Starbucks, they use two tablespoons, or 10 grams (0.35 oz), of ground coffee for each six ounces of water. A member of Starbucks' Coffee Education Team says that "Too few coffee grounds result in over-extracted or bitter coffee. Too many grounds result in under-extracted coffee that does not achieve the full flavor of the blend." This step implies that you are, in fact, grinding your coffee. If you want to make your brew taste just like Starbucks, don't buy pre-ground coffee. Grind it yourself just before brewing for optimum freshness.  Depending on your brew method (see part 2) you will need a different level of coarseness for your brew. Pour-over brewing requires a fine grind (like granulated sugar), traditional drip coffee is best with a medium grind (like sea salt) and coffee presses require a coarse grind.  Over-extracted coffee tends to taste considerably worse than coarser, under-extracted coffee, so when in doubt go for an under-extracted (coarse) grind.  To make it taste like Starbucks coffee, you might want to use the blends available for purchase at Starbucks franchises. This may seem like a silly point. Water is just water, right? Wrong. To make Starbucks-quality coffee, always use fresh water, filtered of impurities. Additionally, be sure to heat the water to "just off boil," i.e. between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit (90 to 96 degrees celsius). As alluded to in Step 3, it's important to use fresh coffee. This means grinding it yourself immediately prior to brewing, but also keeping your beans in an airtight container. Be sure not to keep your coffee in refrigerator or freezer, even in airtight containers. Another Starbucks' coffee educator says these two appliances are "“not the friend, but rather the enemy of good coffee." This is because while being stored in refrigerators and freezers, moisture develops which damages the flavor.
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One-sentence summary --
Use the right proportion of coffee to water. Choose a good grind method. Use quality water. Use fresh coffee.