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.