Leah Messinger offers practical advice backed up by real-world email success stories from a variety of sources. Among her tips: be direct; highlight a benefit; beware of spam filters; consider mobile devices; and, if appropriate for your audience, use alluring keywords such as “tips,” “tricks” or “secrets.”

As marketing trends go, social media is hot right now. It’s changed the way we do business and communicate on the internet. And while companies still rely heavily on organic search and email as their main forms of advertising and communication, they’re missing out on an opportunity to embrace one of the oldest and most powerful forms of advertising there is – word of mouth.