1. Copywriter Robert Bly urges common sense in e-mail practice: (a) The "From" line must indicate a known and trusted source, (b) the

subject line conveys the message payload and it ought to be refreshed

periodically, and (c) start with the reader's needs and problems

before spewing information about the service or product.Print two

promotional e-mails to yourself or a business marketing professional and measure them with Bly's criteria.

2.Precision Valve Corp. was about to initiate a new program directed to municipal water utilities. With 12,000 utilities in its target market, some debate among the managers developed over whether the safety or economy should be stressed in the program. Using 400 labels printed in zip code order, Precision Valve sent letters emphasizing safety to the first half and emphasizing economy to the second 200 utilities. Is this a good experiment? Does it allow Precision Valve to attribute differences in response rate to the appeal in the letter? It's not unusual for companies to test program A against