New laws like CAN-SPAM and the increasing effectiveness of spam filters mean that it's harder than ever for companies to be successful at e-mail marketing. When campaigns fail, however, most e-marketers point the finger at the creative, though in fact copy and design are rarely the main culprits.

If results from your latest e-mail campaign fell short of expectations, here are the top list of suspects:

1. The List

   One of the oldest truisms of direct marketing is: "Bad creative to a good list will always outperform good creative to a bad list." 60 percent or more of the success of any campaign is tied directly to the quality of the names you broadcast to. Did you choose lists based on their ability (using select criteria) to target the ideal audience profile for your product or service? Did you target the ultimate decision-maker, even though that individual may not be feeling the relevant pain, and therefore is unlikely to respond to your message?

2. Offer

   Unless your call to action is "buy now", the reason prospects respond to your e-mail (or not, as the case may be) is the offer, not your product. These days, information is cheap, so your offer had better be worth the effort. How enticing was the information you offered to send? If you were marketing an event, did that event promise to help solve a relevant business problem, or was it simply offering reasons to buy your product? What could you have done to increase the perceived value of the offer?

3. Creative

   Did your copy sell the offer, or did you spend most of the time droning on about your product? Did the subject line offer a strong, immediate incentive to open the message? Could the reader identify the offer, key benefits, and call to action without scrolling? Were there relevant benefits (save money, increase productivity) throughout or simply a list of features? Did the design support the copy and make it easier to read, or was it simply distracting?