Does your email conversion funnel narrow and clog prematurely? Is it wide at the brim and then quickly constrict with low open, click and conversion rates? If it does, then you have email sclerosis. There is no instant cure that we know of, just sure and steady steps:

1. Delivery:

Make sure you reach the inbox - Open and click rates have declined steadily over the past 2 years, and much of this is due to deliverability issues. Why is it harder to deliver a message today versus then? Because everything has been a massive reaction to spamming - spam filters, blacklist services and email authentication processes such as Sender ID and SPF records. Maintaining deliverability now requires daily attention. If you're not actively managing this there is a 100% probability you are being blocked by various ISPs. The problem will only worsen the longer you delay. Solution: hire a competent internal email manager trained in using deliverability services, or outsource to a reputable email service provider.

2. Opens:

Perform routine subject line tests - Still the biggest determinant of open rates, the subject line is where you can have the most immediate improvement and simple A/B testing can have dramatic and surprising results. Sometimes, the subject line you least suspect is the clear winner. General tips in writing subject lines:

• It helps to include your company name in the subject line (or at least the From line) because people look for a trusted source;
• Keep the subject line under 45 characters (including spaces) because many email programs such as Hotmail truncate after this length;
• Don’t use too much capitalization in your subject line or exclamation marks or words like Free, Offer or Money. Spam filters love them.

3. Clicks:

• Design for the preview pane. Although survey after survey shows that the vast majority of us (70%+) view our emails in the preview pane, few email marketers take pains to design their messages so that important offers and calls to action appear in the upper 20% of the template - the part visible in the preview pane.
• Test your designs at least annually. Readers change and so do their preferences, and there are few designs that can't benefit from a regular tune up - just look at the Wall Street Journal! At Inbox, we conduct email optiimzation for our clients where we test one design element at a time vs. a control group and evolve to the winning creative. A typical improvement is 50% in both opens and clicks.
• Personalize the content. The more you can personalize content according to a recipient's preferences, the more engaged they will be and the higher the clicks. It comes in degrees. Simple personalization starts with addressing them by name vs. 'Dear Customer'. Latter stages include switching lead articles and offers as per individual needs. Each level will bear fruit.