Email Marketing — Best Practices
Six practices, each proven by Two Boots, Da Andrea and Boqueria’s own send history — what moves opens and clicks, and the deliverability risk to fix first.
Evidence base
Two Boots + Da Andrea · Flodesk
Boqueria · HubSpot · 2026
Competitors · Owletter
Dec 2023 – May 2026
Two Boots + Da Andrea · Flodesk
Boqueria · HubSpot · 2026
Competitors · Owletter
Dec 2023 – May 2026
Two Boots
Sent
487.8K
Open
18.1%
Click
0.7%
16 campaigns · mixes seasonal, event & targeted-catering sends · opens peak afternoon · currently paused by Flodesk (Gmail rejecting).
Da Andrea
Sent
135.6K
Open
26.9%
Click
0.9%
9 seasonal newsletters to the full list · higher opens, but no segmentation · opens peak at night · list shrinking 16.5k→14.1k.
Boqueria HubSpot · 2026
Campaigns
35
Top open
35–42%
Best click
2.7%
Booking & offer sends lead; top sends hold 35–42% open — the 16% blended is dragged down by high-volume restaurant-week & holiday blasts to 90–160k lists.
The six practices
1
Lead with one timely, single-theme hook
42%open · Boqueria “DC Restaurant Week is Coming!”
Single-moment, time-bound sends win across all three: Boqueria’s “DC Restaurant Week is Coming!” hit 41.6% and its “All Day Happy Hour” 38.7%; Two Boots’ Mardi Gras 29.5%; Da Andrea’s seasonal newsletters average 26.5%. Generic blasts lag (Two Boots’ “10% Off” 12.9%). Freshness matters — the same “Mardi Gras” fell 29.5%→11% a year on. Tie every send to a real, current moment.
2
Segment — small, targeted lists convert far harder
2.3%click · 216-person targeted send
Two Boots’ sub-5k targeted sends clicked ~2× the mass blasts (1.17% vs 0.64%); its 216-person “Catering Offer” hit 2.3% — the best of all. Da Andrea sends every newsletter to its full ~14k list with no segmentation — its biggest untapped lever. Relevance beats reach.
3
One clear call-to-action drives clicks
2.7%click · Boqueria “Happy Hour” to 12k
Boqueria’s “All Day Happy Hour Jan 24–26” — one concrete offer — drove 2.7% clicks at 12,000 recipients, the best at-scale click of all three clients. Two Boots’ single-CTA film invite hit 1.8%, Da Andrea’s focused Thanksgiving send 1.6%. One obvious, time-bound ask out-clicks a multi-topic newsletter every time.
4
Don’t fatigue the list with rapid repeats
both clientsopens fall on re-sends
Two Boots’ “No Picnic” 1→2→3 (12 days) declined 15.4→13.7%. Da Andrea re-sent its Mother’s Day newsletter four days apart and opens dropped 13.9→13.2%. Re-sends to the full list have diminishing returns — vary the angle, or re-send only to non-openers.
5
Send for YOUR audience — timing isn’t universal
afternoon ≠ nightthe two lists peak differently
Two Boots opens peak in the afternoon (45%, 10am–4pm) and best day is Tuesday; Da Andrea’s audience opens most at night (32%, 10pm–4am). Don’t copy a generic “best time” — schedule to each list’s own behaviour. (72% of Two Boots clicks are desktop — design wide.)
6
Protect deliverability — and it’s fixable
↓ ~½opens, both Flodesk accounts
The two Flodesk accounts are falling: Two Boots 23%→15% YoY (Gmail now rejecting — Flodesk paused it); Da Andrea 44%→13–24%, list shrinking. Boqueria proves it’s reversible — its top 2026 booking/offer sends still hit 35–42%. Before any mass send: prune inactive subscribers, verify SPF·DKIM·DMARC, and re-warm with an engaged segment.
Performance by email — ranked by open rate
Two Boots
16 campaigns · 18.1% avg open| Type | Sent | Open rate | Click | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mardi GrasFeb ’25 | Seasonal | 39,047 | 29.5% |
1.4% |
| HalloweenOct ’25 | Seasonal | 37,185 | 26.5% |
0.5% |
| Catering OfferFeb ’26 | Targeted | 216 | 23.0% |
2.3% |
| Yerba MadreAug ’25 | Seasonal | 37,471 | 22.6% |
0.4% |
| Vegan MonthNov ’25 | Seasonal | 36,704 | 22.5% |
0.6% |
| CateringApr ’25 | Catering | 38,299 | 18.8% |
0.3% |
| Catering · Review · SpotifyJun ’25 | Catering | 37,788 | 18.5% |
0.3% |
| Catering OutreachMar ’26 | Targeted | 648 | 17.8% |
0.9% |
| EV NoticeMay ’26 | Event | 9,278 | 15.6% |
0.5% |
| No Picnic – 1Apr ’26 | Event | 42,855 | 15.4% |
1.8% |
| March MadnessMar ’26 | Seasonal | 42,884 | 15.0% |
0.6% |
| Catering OutreachApr ’26 | Targeted | 644 | 14.0% |
0.3% |
| No Picnic – 3Apr ’26 | Event | 42,652 | 13.8% |
0.7% |
| No Picnic – 2Apr ’26 | Event | 42,744 | 13.7% |
0.4% |
| 10% Off – Direct OrdersMar ’26 | Promo | 42,973 | 12.9% |
0.5% |
| Mardi Gras 2026Feb ’26 | Seasonal | 36,392 | 11.0% |
0.3% |
Da Andrea
9 campaigns · 26.9% avg open| Type | Sent | Open rate | Click | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newsletter – LunchFeb ’24 | Seasonal | 16,102 | 44.4% |
1.6% |
| Newsletter – GraduationApr ’25 | Seasonal | 15,327 | 36.8% |
0.5% |
| Newsletter – ThanksgivingNov ’25 | Seasonal | 14,853 | 32.0% |
1.6% |
| Newsletter – Mother’s DayMay ’24 | Seasonal | 15,655 | 29.6% |
0.3% |
| Newsletter – DecemberDec ’23 | Seasonal | 16,537 | 26.6% |
0.9% |
| Valentine’s Day NewsletterApr ’26 | Seasonal | 14,351 | 24.5% |
0.8% |
| Valentine’s Day NewsletterFeb ’26 | Seasonal | 14,477 | 17.3% |
1.3% |
| Mother’s Day NewsletterMay 1 ’26 | Seasonal | 14,182 | 13.9% |
0.8% |
| Mother’s Day NewsletterMay 5 ’26 | Seasonal | 14,140 | 13.2% |
0.4% |
Boqueria — top campaigns
HubSpot · top 5 of 35 · Jan–May 2026 · 16% blended open| Type | Sent | Open rate | Click | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC Restaurant Week is Coming!Jan ’26 | Event | 2,138 | 41.6% |
1.0% |
| All Day Happy Hour (Jan 24–26)Jan ’26 | Offer | 12,090 | 38.7% |
2.7% |
| Chicago Restaurant Week is Coming!Jan ’26 | Event | 4,910 | 35.4% |
1.5% |
| Mother’s DayMay ’26 | Seasonal | 4,563 | 31.3% |
0.3% |
| All Night Happy Hour & Cava ToastMar ’26 | Offer | 2,082 | 24.3% |
0.9% |
When subscribers read — and where
Two Boots peak
Afternoon
45% of opens 10am–4pm · best day Tuesday · 72% desktop clicks
Da Andrea peak
Night
32% of opens 10pm–4am — a different rhythm; schedule to each list
Both clients
Opens ↓ over time
2024 peaks 30–44% → 2026 sends 11–24% — deliverability is the throughline
What the competition is doing
A year-long Owletter capture — 1,814 emails from 104 senders across Boqueria’s 11-metro footprint (Apr 2025 – May 2026). What the competitive inbox actually looks like — and why the practices above hold.
Busiest window
Tue–Fri · 11am
306 sends hit 11am — the single peak hour — with a second wave 3–5pm. Weekends are near-empty. Beat the crowd, or own the quiet hours.
Do they discount?
~1%
Just 19 of 1,814 subject lines mention a price or deal. The field sells occasion, not discounts — exactly practice #1.
How often they send
1–2× / week
The norm — but a handful blast far more (Lettuce ~7×, Max ~3.5×). High volume is the exception, not the standard.
Most active competitors
by weekly cadence| Sender | Emails | Per week |
|---|---|---|
| Lettuce Entertain You | 238 | 6.9× |
| Max Hospitality | 181 | 3.5× |
| The Union Kitchen | 104 | 2.0× |
| Independent Collection Hotels | 81 | 1.6× |
| Vin sur Vingta Primidigital client | 80 | 1.5× |
| Sunda New Asian | 78 | 1.5× |
What they email about
subject-line themesHoliday / seasonal
149
Wine & sommelier
138
Gift cards
99
Brunch
72
Valentine’s / Easter
58
Happy hour
24
Occasion and experience — not price — dominate, with wine and gift cards the recurring levers. Takeaway: Boqueria’s booking/offer sends (35–42% open) already play this game well; the edge is timing around the 11am crowd and owning a moment competitors aren’t. Note: Vin sur Vingt — a Primidigital client — is in the captured set (80 emails, 1.5×/week).
⚠ Deliverability is the priority before the next campaign
Both accounts are declining: Two Boots 23%→15% open YoY and Gmail is now rejecting its mail — Flodesk has paused the account; Da Andrea has fallen from 44% (2024) to 13–24% (2026) with a shrinking list. Before resuming mass sends: prune inactive/bounced subscribers, verify SPF·DKIM·DMARC authentication, and re-warm with a small engaged segment. No best practice above matters if the email never reaches the inbox.