Wouldn't it be great - just tell me exactly when you read your e-mail and how often you want my messages so I can plan to meet you in your Inbox on your terms and of course with your permission.  How perfectly efficient!

Personally, my best time for reading e-mail is -- well, it varies.  First, I don't read e-mails that are not relevant to me.  I read short notes at any time on any day on my computer or my cell phone, and I usually read newsletters during lunch or in the evening.  And this is exactly the point: Your best time to send e-mail depends on what you are sending and to whom.  It may also depend on what season it is, which holiday is coming up, and what the weather is like.

"In short, communications should be sent everyday!"
Morgan Stewart, Dir. of Strategic Services, ExactTarget

A casual study of various WinM@il statistics shows that no matter when you send your e-mail, count on 65% to 75% of the total e-mails to be opened the day you send it.  So think about your goals and study your audience behavior.  Increase total opens by responding to your recipients' schedules.

Changing Times
Best Time to Send Permission-Based E-Mails
A year ago we most often heard that the best time to send business-to-business e-mail was Tuesday through Thursday.  But recent reports show that weekends and Mondays are winning the game for "Click-Through Rates" (CTR's).  View Graph >> (published by ExactTarget).  So today, you may want to consider your motive.  If your motive is to trigger a click to your web site, then Sunday or Monday by the evidence is a good bet.

Note, however, that since this information has been available to marketers for months now, the current click-through trends could change as inboxes begin to fill up more on Monday afternoons.  So stay tuned!

Choose HTML
Unless...
I have read many arguments for creating e-mail campaigns in HTML (which includes pictures and/or design elements).  The open rates are better and the click-through rates are better because readers are visually enticed.  A September, 2004 ClickZ article by Kirill Popov and Loren McDonald stated that "An estimated 95 percent of all commercial e-mail messages are sent in HTML or in a multipart (combined HTML and text) format."

On the other hand, one marketing guru Guy Kowasaki, author of "The Art of the Start," argues that attractive design is not necessary if you have something important to say.  He says he auto-deletes all HTML e-mails.

So test it.  For starters, look in your own junk folder some day - are the e-mails you classify as junk delivered as text or as HTML?  My junk box is filled with e-mails that are mostly formatted as text.  So when I see a message formatted as plain-text, I am instantly suspicious.

But there are certain audiences which prefer or require plain text e-mails. If you have a segment of your list such as this, then be sure to send them the text version of your message.  For example, the Pella Opera House sends WinM@il press releases throughout their season.  To attract attention and present the house with flair and pizzazz, we have built a full-color e-mail campaign ( View Here>> ).   However, after some investigating, we learned that the local newspaper staff ordinarily receives only plain-text messages, so we have changed the e-mail type for each of those subscribers to text.

The Law
Best Practice vs. The FTC
We know that time is a changing variable, but what about the legal environment?  How is this changing?

The e-mail marketing industry is completely focused on getting permission for e-mail deliveries.  This IS the best practice, because it increases success and reduces chances of complaints.  Whereas you are very unlikely to run into trouble with the law, you are most definitely likely to run into complaints, and this can cause snags with your ISPs and e-mail hosts.  Last month the American Marketing Association's special interest group for Internet Marketing put out a string of e-mails about "email prospecting and CANSP*M act compliance."  I hadn't seen this many participants in a topic since I signed up for the group.  Everyone talked about permission.  However, NOT ONE of the e-mails dealt with the definition of "commercial."

The law spells out how the government will deal with "commercial" e-mails.  The parameters of the still-new legislation regulating commercial e-mail are not all etched in stone.  (Reminder: The Summary of the CAN-SP*M Act 2003 can be found HERE>> ) 

Recently I sat in on a teleconference with a representative of the Federal Trade Commission who helped write some recent clarifications in the definition of "commercial" with respect to e-mail.  For two hours, Michael Goodman, Esq., Staff Attorney of the FTC outline how to determine whether your message is commercial.  The point being, if your message is commercial, whether it is sent to one or one thousand, it is subject to regulation. 

"'Bulk' has nothing to do with the CAN-SP*M Act."
Michael Goodman, Esq., Staff Attorney, FTC

Also, whether your subscriber has requested to receive or not to receive your mail, if it is commercial, it is subject to regulation.  The FTC attorney made the point repeatedly that getting permission has but one advantage: If you are sending a commercial message to a confirmed opt-in list, then you do not need to label it an advertisement (or some such word). 

According to Goodman, an e-mail whose primary purpose is non-commercial includes:

Boesen the Florist 
grabs your attention with a sleek design, encouraging you to order ahead of time.

  ZOOM>>

See how
AmericInn of Grimes 
uses e-mail and segmentation to attract guests! 

  ZOOM>>

Summerset Winery 
no longer uses
"e-scratch paper" to send their news. See how a subscription to WinM@il Priority Service improves their online presence.

  ZOOM>>

Reminder: The Summary of the CAN-SP*M Act 2003 can be found HERE>>

TIP of the Month:
Ask subscribers to add your e-mail address to their Address Book or Safe Sender List.  This will improve your delivery.

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