Email marketing is beneficial for any business and company, but it needs to be executed correctly in order to generate positive results. There are many articles about the design structure of your email, how you can analyze the results through A/B testing, and data on their open or engagement rate. However, many businesses and marketers neglect an important factor for your email campaigns: the time in which you're sending them.
I wrote a post about the best time to send an email in March 2014, but now I have a better understanding and grasp of this concept. After dealing with more email marketing campaigns for clients that fall under various niches, I realized that every niche’s timings are different. This means, sending an email to your audience in the real estate industry will not be the same as it to a dentist's patients.
In this post, I will discuss the best time of the day to send emails, which can encourage higher open rates and ensure your target audience doesn't simply trash your email or mark it spam.
According to a study, the best days to send emails are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The open rates during those days of the week tend to be higher than any other.
If you are sending emails on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, the ideal open rate of the email marketing campaign should be more than 15 to 17%. However, in reality you might feel differently and think that you have not hit enough open rates for your campaign.
The time of the day in which you send out your email campaigns is a very significant factor that can affect the open and engagement rate. For instance, if you are sending emails about gym and personal growth at 9:00 AM in the morning, what are the chances of your customers opening the email? Rather low, right?
A number of people do check their emails in the morning, however, they wouldn't be focusing on promotional emails coming from companies. Rather, they are looking at any important emails that pertain to tasks that they will need to address during the day.
So, What is the Best Time to Send an Email?
Every niche is different and there is a high possibility that one user can be a target audience of two or more niches. If you want the user to pay heed and adopt responsive actions towards your emails, then you need to make timing a focal ingredient.
Note: Before we discuss the best time to send an email; these two aspects needs to be taken into consideration:
- Email marketing software: No matter which email marketing software you choose, always make sure it has the ability to track your emails and other important details for you to analyze or monitor your results. This way you can use the data to optimize your emails according to your audience and performance.
- Every case is different: If you are sending emails at the right time but conversions are not increasing, try different time zones because in every case, audience backgrounds and preferences may vary from one to another.
10:oo PM to 9:00 AM
This is the worst time to send an email and the reason is quite obvious.
Most of your target audience will be sleeping at this time or on their way to work. If you send your email between these hours, your email may end up at the top of the email inbox, but will be skipped right away.
When your audience is checking their email first thing in the email, they won't be focusing on promotions. They'll be looking for important emails that need their attention from work, family, or friends. Therefore, your email will most likely be ignored or deleted before they even open to see what the content is.
Regardless of diverse niches, this is not a good time to send promotional emails.
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
The second most popular time to send a promotional email is in the morning, at the start of a working day. At this time, your customers would have already gotten to work and are slowly reading through emails. Chances are, they may be finished browsing through all the work emails and taking the time to review any personal emails they have.
If your promotional email hits the audience at this time, it’s possible they will not only open your email, but act on it too.
However, the email sent during this hour should be focused on providing your customers with strong visuals and something for them to browse. You want to send them promotional offers that will encourage them to visit the site later and browse through your latest items and services. Basically, anything that doesn’t require extra work will yield a higher response rate.
10:00 AM to Noon
Never, I repeat never send a marketing email at this time! This is because it is the most productive hour of the day and almost everyone wants to complete their tasks, duties, and to-do list before lunch. If you annoy people with emails at this time, there could be a high bounce-back and unsubscribe rate.
Regardless of the type of content you're sending, I would refrain from sending an email during this time of day.
Noon till 2:00 PM
During this time frame, people are often having their lunch break or about to head to lunch. Often times, this is when they have the opportunity to view any personal emails or promotional emails that might have landed in their inbox.
If your marketing emails contain news and blog posts that you want your audience to read and get inspired by and shared with inner circles, this is the best time for you to hit that send button.
2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
This is the immediate post lunch period and people are focused on work. They prefer to receive and respond to emails that are related to their work.
If your company is sending emails that pertain to the person's work field, say you're a company offering writing services for a content company, then I would definitely reach out. However, anything that is deemed as a sale or promotional email should not be sent during these work hours.
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
I like to think of this time slot as a ‘life changing afternoon’. According to a study, people mostly open emails related to financial services and property at this time.
If your promotional email contains similar kinds of services, this is the time for you. You will not only see an exponential open rate but your conversion rate will also increase.
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
At this hour, most people are ready to head home from their work day. Chances are, they will check their email for anything before they get on the road.
If your business contains promotional emails related to sales or any other offer that you think will attract recipients, this is the best time to email them because the likelihood of their response will be greater. In fact, if you have any urgent promotions that are pertaining to a sale for the next few days, this may encourage them to visit the store right away or within the next few days.
7:00 PM till 10:00 PM
People are usually done with their office by this time and look forward to personal indulgences. If you have a personal development business or provide services like clothing, gym membership, travel tour services and much more, then you should approach the recipient’s inbox.
However, you will need to keep in mind that your audience will be at home at this time of day. Chances are, they may not be on their phone or computer to constantly check on their emails. If you're in the entertainment or goods industries, this may be a good time to send out a promotional email because people are more likely available to do some online shopping.
These are a few things I’ve learned from working in different businesses and interacting with a range of niches and customers. Other factors also play a role in sending emails, for example, the sender name and subject line. The smartest thing to do is be continuously involved in A/B testing, this harnesses and outlines effective strategies for your business.
