The Best Time to Send Your Email Blasts
Many studies have found a consensus for when the best time to send out email blasts is, but is it right for your business?
For marketing professionals, an ever elusive answer to the question “When should I send out my marketing email blasts?” is a real pain point. Because of this issue, many studies have been commenced by the likes of MailChimp, WordStream, HubSpot, and many others collected by Coschedule to reach a consensus. However, the real answer is a little more complicated than most would like to admit, but the good news is that trends were found among many of the studies to give marketers a good starting point.
The Best Day to Send Your Email Blast
After reading through these studies, a consensus seems to emerge from the data as to which day of the week is optimal for having emails opened and read.
The short answer: Tuesday
The detailed answer: There are a few prime days during the week during which to send out your email blasts since they are statistically more likely to yield high open and click-through rates. Overall, the middle of the workweek has been found to be the best period, spanning Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
- Tuesday is #1 because people have come off of their “weekend high” and are now back into work mode, checking their email more rigorously, but also looking to escape from work a little bit.
- Thursday is #2 because it has been found to be the best follow-up day during the week to send a second email if you like to send out more than one email blast.
- Wednesday is #3 because it was rated highly behind Tuesday across many studies and people will likely welcome the distraction as the week progresses.
However, data did show that the weekend could also be a good time, depending on your industry. The number of email blasts being sent out on the weekend is lower than the workweek, but unless your industry is geared towards something more recreational than work-related, you should stick with the midweek days listed above.
The Best Time to Send Your Email Blast
Now that you have your day, you must figure out what time of the day works best for high click-through rates.
The short answer: 10-11AM (in the time zone of your target audience)
The detailed answer: Generally, there were four overall time frames during which the studies found positive results for open rates. Overall, mid-morning dominated, but other studies discovered that points throughout the day could be ideal as well.
- 10 AM – 11 AM lead the charge because most people have gotten their food or coffee and settled into work. Additionally, most people have already deleted their spam and unnecessary emails, so your email would appear after the initial purge.
- 8 PM – Midnight was also a popular time frame among some studies because it accounts for the people who prefer to read their emails from the day after they have left work and are comfortable at home before bed. Also, since they are not distracted by anything from work, they are more likely to take an interest in a deal, announcement, sale, etc.
- 2 PM can be successful for some businesses looking to capture the attention of workers who are coming back from lunch or are more easily distracted because they have “checked out” mentally from their duties.
- 6 AM is another possibility if your target audience is made up of either early risers or people who like to check their email first thing in the morning before they head off to work.
While these time frames were found to be the most effective, learning your target audience’s schedule is going to tell you when the best time is. For example, if your targets are medical professionals that have irregular hours, the timeframe during which you will send out your email blasts can vary quite a bit. Testing the time frames listed above is your best way to know what will work best.
Test to Get Your Optimal Time
Unfortunately, there is no perfect answer to what day or time will work best for your business since there are many factors at play such as your industry, business type, the frequency of your email blasts, and more. However, there are 12 times you can test and use the data collected to determine the most optimal time:
- Tuesday at 10 AM
- Thursday at 8 PM
- Wednesday at 2 PM
- Tuesday at 6 AM
- Thursday at 10 AM
- Wednesday at 8 PM
- Tuesday at 2 PM
- Thursday at 6 AM
- Wednesday at 10 AM
- Tuesday at 8 PM
- Thursday at 2 PM
- Wednesday 6 AM
After about a month or two in testing out these dozen time frames, you should be able to see from your data what the most popular time was, or if you need to go outside these 12 to find something better.
If you have additional questions regarding optimal times to send out your email blasts, contact us today!
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