When asked about the best time to send an email, email marketers have often replied, “Tuesday through Thursday morning, between 8 and 10 am.” It’s been common knowledge throughout the industry that people tend to open their email in the mornings. But as customers become increasingly mobile, email opens occur at all hours, on all devices. Let’s visit some current email marketing trends that create shifts in open rates and how they’ll impact your next email send.

The timing of your email campaigns’ delivery significantly impacts their open and click-through rates. If you send an email at busy times, it may get buried under a mountain of others sent simultaneously. It’s the worst scenario for every marketing professional. There’s no denying that sending emails is the most efficient way to communicate with your target audience, but the big question is, when is the best time?

Not everyone would prefer to get emails simultaneously. Because of this, timing an email campaign properly might be difficult. Have no fear! For maximum business impact, learn when to send emails from this handy guide.

AdWeek Infographic based on Experian study

Timing isn’t everything

Other factors may contribute to the decline if you notice a dip in your open rates. Here are some additional email marketing tips to help with your open and click-through rates:

1. Test your email to make sure it’s rendering properly in multiple browsers and email service providers (VerticalResponse’s easy email editor offers multiple previews of your emails in different browsers and email service providers.)
2. Review your email list. How old is it? Are there emails that should be removed? How can you grow your email list effectively?
3. Are you effectively rocking your subject line? The subject line is your one brief opportunity to get someone to open your email. Be sure you know the best practices when creating this magic line. Check out how you can use A/B testing to boost the effectiveness of your subject lines.
4. Frequency. Are you sending it too often? Be sure to play it cool and segment your lists so you aren’t bombarding your recipients with unwanted emails.

So when is the best time to send an email? As you can see, there is no one right answer. Start testing different tactics, and see what works with your readers.

Mobile matters

The same study by Experian we touched upon earlier found that not only are 54 percent of all emails viewed on a mobile device, but this percentage is on the rise. Because mobile click-through rates are lower, you want to be sure your call to action is clear and direct and that your links are easy to spot and click (no matter what time of day you’re sending).

Email open rates also can depend on the device the recipient is using. Tablet users, for example, are more like to open emails outside of business hours (from 5 pm to 8 am), while desktop users are more likely to open during business hours. Our Email Analytics feature tracks your readers’ devices to open your emails. Use this data to determine how most of your subscribers open your messages and how your campaigns time accordingly.

Finally, when considering the importance of mobile in your email sends, remember that if your customers can’t read your emails, they’re not likely to continue interacting with them, affecting your future campaigns. Litmus found that by testing a non-responsive versus responsive email design, they could increase click-throughs by 130 percent.

Try sending a split test to half of your list in the morning during work hours and the other half at 7 or 8 pm, and note any differences.

Important Factors to consider when choosing a time to send emails

It is important to have a firm grasp on when it is appropriate to send emails, but this can only be accomplished after learning about the many elements involved.

Demographics

Before sending out an email, make sure you have a firm grasp on the makeup of your intended receivers. Marketers who send out emails to a specific demographic must pay attention to how their messages are received and how their readers respond, depending on where they are located. In the United States, for instance, email open rates are lower on Sundays. This could be true for the West, but the Gulf States could be where you find the most success with this (as Sunday is a working day for them).

Types of products offered

Do you cater to businesses or consumers with your offerings? Delivery times for emails will vary depending on the nature of the service or product you provide. If your company sells to other businesses, you might want to send out emails on Tuesdays. The exception is if your business provides products or services related to the entertainment industry; in this case, emailing on a Friday or over the weekend is preferable.

Email Frequency

Many subscribers will unsubscribe if you send too many emails. Sending too few emails won’t do the trick of reaching your audience. So, what should one do now?

Think about how often you should email your audience to achieve your company goals. The target demographic, for instance, is most receptive to weekly marketing emails. That’s why the best way to figure out how often to send emails is through trial and error.

Seasonal changes

I bet you didn’t know the seasons affect your inbox. The start of a new season is the ideal moment to launch a new email marketing campaign. If, for example, your audience anticipates sales on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc., then your open and click-through rates should double around the start of winter.

User experience

The ideal time and day to send an email depending on how the recipient perceives the message. A positive or negative experience can be shaped partly by the quality of the product you provide.

Let’s pretend you have a list of business owners you intend to email. But the open and click-through rates of emails that are easy to use are significantly higher. If you want your emails to be seen and acted upon by entrepreneurs on the go, you need to optimize them for mobile devices.

‍Best days of the week to send an email

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days of the week to send out emails.

Tuesday: Statistics from various email marketing tools show that Tuesday is the best day to send an email, with an open rate of 18%.

Wednesday: We have found that Wednesdays have the highest open and click-through rates.

Thursday is the next best day to send promotional emails after Tuesday. It’s up to you to decide between Tuesday and Thursday to launch your email marketing campaign.

It may surprise you that Fridays and Mondays are not the best days to send emails. However, they are still preferable to weekends. The open and click-through rates (CTR) for Friday are better than those for Monday.

Why you should use Mailmunch for the email marketing campaign

Knowing your audience and the products/services you wish to advertise will help determine the optimal time and day to send your email campaigns.

In light of this, it is time to launch your new Mailmunch-based email marketing campaign.

It lets you create eye-catching campaigns. Just consider these reasons why:

Save time when launching a new campaign by quickly creating appealing emails using pre-made templates using our user-friendly drag-and-drop builder.

It has an intelligent AI segmentation feature

Interaction with the audience is facilitated by segmentation. Increase your leads and sales by speaking directly to a subset of your contacts and customizing your content to their interests and concerns.

You can do time optimization

Our AI-driven platform will send you emails at the most convenient times, enhancing the quality of your interactions.

It generates reports in real-time

Maintain detailed records of your email marketing efforts and their success rate. Examine data carefully so that you may make smart choices about your future marketing initiatives.

It lets you take advantage of automation

Reduce manual effort and increase the timely delivery of your communications by automating routine processes. Make your emails and contacts with customers more efficient by automating the process.

You can always A/B test

Always use the most updated email campaign version and send it out. When you use A/B testing, you can boost your email’s open and click-through rates.

Conclusion

Unless you’re actively working to improve the time of your emails for increased conversions, it doesn’t matter when you send them. A few tweaks here and there will have you penning more alluring email subject lines, keeping the attention of more subscribers through narrative, and creating email calls to action that convert better. Remember to research your target market and conduct split tests to see what they like. Don’t forget to utilize these statistics as a foundation as you go forward.

Spend less time reaching more customers

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Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2013 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and relevance.

© 2017 – 2018, Contributing Author. All rights reserved.