This is a summary of a Merkle whitepaper on consumer Email preferences and behaviour published in March 2009. In my summary I have highlighted the main implications of their findings using an example of a great new Enewsletter format I have recently received from the Cancer Research charity:

1. Time spent with permission email

Similar to previous year. Fifty-nine percent of all email users spend twenty minutes or more with permission email weekly, with just over one quarter spending an hour or more weekly. Permission email accounts for about a quarter of all time spent with email, second only to its primary function of communicating with friends and family. Implications for email marketers: This isn't much time, so ensure main information or offers are clear in subject line (of course) and headings of Email.

2.  Adding senders to address books

More common than previously thought. Just over half of all permission email recipients have…