I don’t know about where you live, but around here, it gets pretty quiet in August. Nobody driving on the roads, nobody calling on the phone, nobody sending e-mail.

E-Newsletter open rates drop like a rock during the summer, and the truth is, with so many people on vacation, you might wonder if it’s even worth publishing.

As you might imagine, I think you’d be a fool not to. Here’s why…

First of all, all that “nobody’s around” stuff I mentioned earlier isn’t really true (sorry, I was deliberately misleading you). Because while there is certainly a greater proportion of Northern Hemispheric humanity on vacation during the months of July and August than during any other time of year, on any given day, there are still more people at work than not.

The illusion that everybody’s on vacation is exactly that, since for most people, two or even three weeks off out of a possible eight or nine still adds up to more work than play for the population at large. So yes, less people working, but still plenty of us – the majority of us – around.

Second, for those of us who are stuck in the office on a beautiful summer day, there’s a lot less to do. Fewer meetings to attend, fewer prospects to call on, fewer e-mails to respond to, etc.

The fact is, as E-Newsletter senders, summertime publishing means that you and I have a much better chance at breaking through the (reduced) clutter, standing out from the (thinned) crowd and catching the eye of the (less) busy person.

It’s like arriving at a party on the early side: fewer people certainly, but it’s much easier to talk to the ones who are there, because frankly, there ain’t a whole lot of options (my kind of social setting).

So while it’s true that a smaller percentage of your mailing list will read your newsletter during the summer than at any other time, you’re more likely to have a greater impact on those who remain – and who may be looking for something new or interesting to read.

Bottom Line: I understand the temptation to skip publishing during quiet times, and the lower-than-average open rates that you’re sure to see only serve to reinforce the apparent wisdom in doing so. Do yourself a favor however, and keep the summer issues coming. As quiet as it is, it doesn’t require a lot of noise to be heard above the vacationing crowd.