• by Stephanie Miller , December 7, 2009

Hotmail product manager David Barlin does a quick two tiered survey of the audience in his keynote this morning. He first asks if we as consumers use email to talk about subjects like social arrangements, cars, fashion, travel, electronics etc. Lots of us do. Then he asks if we send marketing messages about those topics. Not many hands raised.

Then he asks if we as consumers tend to use personal email in the mornings or throughout the day. Response varies in the room. That's consistent with Hotmail research showing that consumers have widely disparate patterns around access time and frequency. This varies by age and geography as well as by subscriber status (if they are an active user of Hotmail or occasional).

Not quite apples to apples surveys, but the point is well taken.

We must send messages that are relevant to our subscribers - at the time when they will be most welcome. What do our subscribers want? They want us to help them. They want us to show how our products and services can help them be more beautiful, smarter, better at their job, get a promotion, get a raise, look cool in front of their kids, eat more healthy foods, etc.

That is absolutely the first and last rule of email marketing. It's always a good idea to remind ourselves of this every day.