Email marketing is getting tougher and tougher.Gmail and Apple have been upgrading their filtering algorithms to make sure spamming acts aren't allowed in their systems.

If you think that just because people opt into your form and open your confirmation email, your following emails will automatically land in their inbox—think again.

Email management systems are now much more sophisticated than before.Their algorithms can track user behavior every time emails are opened.

If it notices that people don’t spend much time reading or don't engage with your emails, your future messages might end up in the spam folder.

I send a lot of emails to my subscribers.

Over the years, I’ve observed that only around 30% of my messages get opened.To boost my open rate, I’ve tried many services like Mailchimp, GetResponse, AWeber—you name it.

I even hired a developer to build my own autoresponder, but the results were still disappointing.

Eventually, I realized I had been wasting time and money focusing too much on the technical side.

A secret I’ve learned from experience and from others:People who run serious businesses care about missing opportunities from losing touch with others.

They’re not afraid to kiss frogs.If their business is big, they’ll even assign someone the job of checking the spam folder—just to make sure no important messages are missed.

For smaller businesses, the owners often spend their spare time scanning the spam box.

Your message might not be read the day it’s sent—but maybe 2, 3, or even 7 days later.That doesn’t matter.

What matters is that it’s eventually read.

So what can you do about it?

Let’s say your message lands in the spam folder, where most emails have goofy icons or tricky subject lines.

Use honest and eye-catching subject lines that stand out, like:"I want to confess" or "I need your opinion on this."

Focus on your email’s content by offering value upfront.

When you give something first, somehow the universe finds a way to return the favor—directly or indirectly.

That’s a fact.

What’s your typical email open rate?

What have you done to improve it?