Posted in Email Marketing Tips	April 26, 2007

Adjusting the time your emails are sent can save your customers from sifting through spammy subject lines to find your content.

By Adam T. Sutton, Managing Editor, Mequoda Group LLC

Variety, the bible for show biz insiders, has provided Hollywood movers and shakers with the industry news they need for over 100 years. The company has been around the block when it comes to print publishing, but even the wisest publishers make mistakes when transitioning online.

Variety’s free email newsletter, Variety Headline News, is the newest addition to Mequoda’s email newsletter reviews, earning a C+ overall. That may misrepresent VHN’s mountainous content, but it is an accurate judgment of the daily email’s execution.

VHN needs work in Deliverability, for example. Although the newsletter was consistently delivered, it’s usually sent around 1:00 or 2:00 a.m., which helps knock its Deliverability grade down to a C.

All publishers should avoid sending out email in the twilight hours. A large portion of spam slithers into mailboxes during that time, and you don’t want your email sandwiched by that garbage.

Most publishers try to reach their audience as they are getting into the office, long after the sun has been up. To do this, you should

• Find your readers’ most common region
• If it’s the west coast, send the email around 10 a.m. eastern and 7 a.m. pacific time
• If it’s in the east, send the email around 8 a.m. eastern and 5 a.m. pacific time
• And always send your newsletter at the same time everyday

Now your readers will know when to expect your emails and they won’t have to search through lewd offers and shady scams to find it.

VHN’s footer also provides a valuable lesson for publishers. It earned an A on our score card for having “everything that should be there,” said the review’s author, Mequoda Library contributing editor and Clickz email marketing columnist Jeanne Jennings. That includes:

• An unsubscribe link,
• A way for users to manage subscriptions and personal information,
• A United States postal address, and
• A copyright notice.

Does your footer have all the required information?

To learn more about what Variety’s email newsletter is doing right and what needs work, read Mequoda’s Variety Headline News Email Newsletter Review. It is loaded with valuable tips that can be immediately applied to your email newsletter.

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