Regularly supplying your email newsletter subscribers with content that is both interesting and relevant is one of the biggest challenges that email marketing professionals face. Opt-in email marketing provides you with the opportunity to have the kind of input that affects the choices that consumers make.  Your goal is to share the right information at the right time.  The trick, of course, is in the timing of your delivery.  Much as the punchline of a joke needs to be delivered with sublime comic timing to have the entire audience engaged, so must marketing communications arrive with the kind of timing that empowers the recipient to take immediate action.

Some of the factors that marketers look at include seasonal opportunities, demographic and behavioral factors.  If you are in the business of renting out vacation homes, for example, it would be important for you to determine when your target audience starts planning their vacation.  Are they looking to make a reservation a year in advance?  Six months in advance?  Three months in advance?  How much last-minute business do you see?  With this information in hand you are empowered to reach people just before they start to plan and make arrangements, planting the seed of inspiration that will entice them to rent from you by creatively presenting your list of amenities and services you provide and the advantages of doing business with you.  However, you shouldn’t stop there- include local attractions, events, and complementary businesses that will sweeten the deal provide some extra incentives. Almost everyone is looking for the “value added” for almost everything- from basic needs to vacations.

No matter what you are offering, don’t think your email marketing newsletters have to be all or nothing, either.  Plan on marketing to those who plan ahead and to those who love a last minute bargain. The secret to success is in knowing enough about your audience that you can be timely and relevant with what and when you send.