12 Feb 08 Email Marketing Is Like Sex
Okay, I’ll give you a few moments to get those images out of your head, and we’ll continue.
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Better? Okay. Now, let’s answer the question on your lips; (No, not “Have you flipped your gourd again, Dave?”) how is email marketing like sex?
Sometimes, whether it works or not, and whether or not it’s good for everyone, is all about the timing.
If you ask ten email marketing professionals when the best day of the week is to send your newsletter, you’re likely to get more than ten different answers. Of course, that’s understandable…every newsletter is unique. Your newsletter is addressing a different problem to a different readership in a different way. However, there are some basics you can use:
- Don’t send your newsletter on Monday, especially if it’s aimed at an “at work” readership. Their inbox will be clogged from the weekend, giving your message a greater chance to be overlooked or simply deleted.
- Likewise, don’t send your newsletter on Friday. If your readership leaves early for the weekend, or spends a greater amount of time finishing up the week’s work to leave, then your message may not be looked at until Monday…if at all.
- Don’t send your newsletter just before or after a work holiday. A fantastic newsletter with excellent content and a strong marketing message won’t do you much good if you send it the day before Christmas.
People also like to debate the best time of day to send their newsletter…early morning? Midday? Late in the evening?
In my opinion, this question is somewhat overrated.
One of the advantages of email marketing is that it is a worldwide marketing method. If you send your newsletter at a time to ensure that it reaches inboxes at the start of the day, the question is “Who’s day?” You likely have subscribers in quite a few time zones.
To me, it’s much more important to be consistent. If you’re going to send a newsletter weekly, choose the day of the week you want your newsletter to be published and stick to it. This alone can make you stand out from the crowd.
No one can decide the perfect time to send your newsletter, because no one knows your subscribers like you do.
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Tags: email newsletter, when should my newsletter be delivered
