If you're just ramping up your small business email newsletter, you might be wondering what day you should send it to your opt-in list. After all, you want it to get opened and read and you know your prospects may be weeding through a ton of email clutter. What to do?

There is no magic bullet to figure out the science behind when your small business prospects will open your email. But you can help yourself along by doing some up front legwork. And the answer is right in front of you.

Don't do what I see so many other small business owners do. They ask their friends and colleagues what day is best and then move forward on that advice. Bzzzzzzzt -- wrong answer. Unless those friends and colleagues fit your target market, you will be wasting a lot of time with this approach.

One of the best ways to determine the day to send your newsletters is to think about the details of your target market. Do you get emails from them on a regular basis? What time of day are their emails written? What day of the week? Do you feel comfortable asking your current subscribers? By assessing the habits of your market, you can figure the best day and time to send.

Test it out though. The decision is yours and it's not cast in concrete. That's the beauty of owning your own business. It's in your control.

Denise O'Berry

With more than two decades of operational and management experience, Denise O'Berry has developed a sharp eye for how businesses get bloated with inefficiencies, cross-purposes and miscommunication -- and how they can retool for a sleeker, smoother, strategically focused organization.

An entrepreneur who quickly built her own successful consulting business, she helps other small business owners set priorities, take action to grow their business and create the balance they want between life and work. Her clients have ranged from telecommunications giants like Verizon to Mom-and-Pop retail shops with a primary focus on those having 10 or fewer employees and up to $2.5 million in annual sales.

Denise frequently speaks to professional organizations, is the author of three booklets, and several "how-to" manuals. She writes a weekly small business column, hosts an online small business owners forum and is called upon regularly by publications such as Entrepreneur, Bank Rate Small Business, Florida Trend, Inc., various newspapers, radio and television to provide expert comments on small business issues.

Business Management and Fair Compensation

Where Do I Find The Best Affiliate Programs?

In Pursuit of Excellence

The Birth of a Successful Internet Business: Part Nine of Ten -- Developing Your Credibility

Shopping Systematically for an Internet Home Based Business

Internet Home Based Business: Technique To Quickly Achieve Better Than 1000 Mini-sites

The Basics of Selling - Hunting and Farming

I Love Teleclasses!