• by Kara Trivunovic , Op-Ed Contributor, January 6, 2011

It's January -- our time to turn over a new leaf, conceive and commit to a better version of ourselves, and to accomplish big things. Typically, we make these resolutions as midnight strikes, but who says we can only resolve to be better at the beginning of the year? This year, I resolve to not resolve on Jan. 1 -- but on the first of EVERY month this year! I have my personal list tacked to the wall in my office, and if you come to visit, you are welcome to peruse it, because I am keeping it under wraps. But, I will share an email marketing version with you. Since Jan. 1 is here and gone, we can take it easy this month and kick off February right!

Feb. 1: Resolve to do something different with your email program.  If there is one thing I have learned throughout my years in this space it is that we tend to say a lot of the same stuff. That holds true in marketing messages, value propositions and subject matter expertise. So in February, I will resolve to come up with something completely different to talk about in my MediaPost blog, and I welcome you to join in the fun by committing to do something drastically different with your email program. Try something new, think outside the box -- challenge the paradigm of your email messaging and really wow the crowd. You may just find that this "something different" ignites your subscriber engagement and raises your program to new heights.

March 1: Listen to your subscribers. Hey, maybe listening *is* your something different -- but if it isn't, use March to really listen to what your customers and subscribers are saying. Search the social sphere for conversation, review blogs, product reviews, customer support -- and the inbox of your "reply-to" email address. Even if you have "do not reply" language in your message, the reality is that people are likely hitting "reply" -- and if you aren't reviewing that information, you could be missing out on some really valuable (and very candid) feedback.

April 1: Say something compelling. If you have spent the month of March listening to your subscribers, you now owe it to yourself and your subscribers to rebut with something compelling. After all that listening you should have a new perspective on your program. It could be that you take a different tone, address a consistent message from your subscribers, incorporate recommendations or even give your subscribers a voice within your message. Whatever it is -- make it worthwhile.

May 1: Tackle the competition. Now is the time to pick a fight with one or more of your competitors. Analyze what they are doing, how they are doing it, what makes their email program better or different than yours -- and use this analysis to your advantage. Now is the time to differentiate your brand from theirs -- and challenge them for a bigger share of the inbox. I know you've got it in you!

June 1: Inspire your team. You're halfway through the year; have you thanked your team for all their hard work, commitment and terrific ideas? Email marketing can be a thankless job -everyone notices when the email "doesn't" go out, or it goes out wrong - but when things are humming along and all in order -- little is said. Inspire your team - let them chime in on what they think could be better or different with your email program. You won't likely find anyone internally than knows more about the programs then they do.

You get the idea. C'mon -- you didn't really think I was going to just give you resolutions for the whole year, did you? I am sure there is something unique and specific to your business that you can resolve to for the remainder of the year. What will you do in July? Post your comments, I'm listening... Oh, wait! That's not until March.