You work hard to create emails that inform and engage your customers. You write, design, proofread, edit, and—proofread again. Then press Send. What happens? Some are bounced, some simply vanish. All that work, and still some email never gets delivered.

You love your new website. Really, really love it. You love it so much you want to base a targeted mailing piece on the graphic design. Or you want to create a leave-behind when making a sales call, and you need a sales sheet or brochure that reinforces your branding. With each, you want to create a specific message in print, and draw people back to your site.

Open source software can provide a lower-cost option to incorporating certain features into your website. The costs associated with open source are based on the complexity and quantity of custom programming and coding necessary beyond the basics of the open-source program. Typically, an open-source software program provides a basic shell that programmers worldwide are voluntarily (and continually) coding into a better and better product. From this shell, we can customize the program for each client. One of the best things about an open-source option is its community of support.

Anyone who calls themselves a designer (or strives to be one) should know the basics of typography. Even if you’re not a designer, you may be asked to proof a letter, review a brochure, or make a design decision. Take your work to the next level by using  “smart” quotes—that is, quotation marks and apostrophes that are curly and point in the correct direction.

Despite the great attention to social media, the answer to the question of whether email is still relevant to your marketing arsenal is YES.