The VAT increase to 20% will cost you. That is the one certainty of 2011. However it will cost those engaged in email marketing less than high street shops, at least according to sales reports and predictions. Do not despair. With the right techniques you can increase your email lists and sales figures.

It is difficult to envisage a way of putting over an increase in a positive manner. However, there are ways to massage the facts whilst being truthful. The first thing to do is ignore 20%. That is a very bad number.

It means one in five and many people think of it as a quarter. That is a considerable hike and you need to change it for something more acceptable. The one essential in email marketing is not to tell lies to the subscribers on your email lists. So let us look at what it actually means.

Something that cost £117.50 before the 4th January will now set your customers back £120, a percentage rise of less than 2.13. This is a massive difference from the headline figure of 20% and one that should be emphasised. Many will, if they are less than mathematically astute, forget figures the wrong side of the decimal point and think of 2% or, to put it another way, ten times less than first proposed.

Despite the ease with which email marketing deals with figures you might feel it beneficial to point out that, in order to cut the costs to your customers, you have decided not to pass on the full costs of the increase and instead have limited it to just 2p in the pound.

To someone seeing 20% on all the news outlets this will be a relief.

There is an alternative option. How about not mentioning the word increase at all? All the media is focused on the VAT increase. There are some horrendous figures, threats and predictions. You need to protect the integrity of you email lists and, indeed, increase the figures. So ignore the negative.

The future for email marketing is strong. All predictions are for a significant increase and that is without any massaging at all. You have a reason to be confident.