We have all received email where this absurd line appears: Please do not reply to this email, bla, bla, bla… Surely a VALID reply address, where SOMEONE would receive AND read email is as mandatory in a marketing email as it is with an “Unsubscribe” link. Seth Godin, the “Yoda of marketing”, recently reminded us in his post: “If you don’t want to get email…don’t send email”.

Here are some of his pearls of wisdom:

1. Send the email to your permission list, an announcement that’s anticipated, personal and relevant.

2. Set up a “reply to” that’s a different address.

3. In the email, at the bottom, give people a web address where they can go to give feedback, or give them an email they can write to that will be read by a real person.

4. If they hit reply, the reply to will automatically send the note to the right person.