As the owner of an email newsletter, you probably send out emails several times a week, if not every day. Do you notice that, depending on the time and day you send them, some emails have more opens and clicks than others? If you haven’t yet nailed down the most productive times for your emails, follow along with this guide to learn when you can expect the most opens and interactions.
The Importance of Timing Out Your Emails
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Like social media posts, emails have ideal times to go out to subscribers, and the data is backed by surveys and research from business owners and email marketing companies. Sending emails at optimal times can increase the amount of opens, click-throughs, and even sales you get.
The more concrete data we have from email marketing companies, whose main goal is to make email marketing successful for customers, the easier it is to pinpoint the best times to send emails.
What Are the Best Times to Send Emails?
Your business and the content of your emails are the ultimate influences on your email marketing success. Still, knowing what are considered the optimal times to send emails can help you plan and test your process.
Best Times to Send Emails for Opens
Getting people to open an email is the first step toward success. Some emails really only need an open, like an introductory email or one that gives a discount code. When your primary goal is email opens, 4 a.m. has the highest open rate, according to data from GetResponse. This time is much higher than any other time of day, but another solid option is between 9-11 a.m.
Best Times to Send Emails for Click-Throughs
The same data from GetResponse shows a few more options when it comes to click-throughs. Click-throughs are necessary when you’re using an email to point readers to a blog post, web page, product, or specific promotion.
For click-throughs, GetResponse notes that 3 a.m., 6 a.m., and 11 p.m. have the highest success rates. Of course, these are odd times to send emails, so using an email scheduling tool can get your emails in front of your audience at the right times.
What Can Affect These Ideal Times?
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Now you know the best time to send emails, according to the data. But does that mean that you’re always going to have success within these timeframes? The quick and easy answer is no. You could, but several variables can influence how successful your emails are.
Looking at other data, Mailchimp users typically get the best success rates between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. In contrast, Omnisend found that click rates peak at 5 p.m., while open rates soar at 8 a.m. This mixed data proves that it’s really more about how you market to your email list rather than when.
Here are some factors that could make or break an email:
- Its interest factor. Does your email have an enticing subject line? If not, you probably won’t get many opens, which of course, won’t lead to many click-throughs. And even if you grab attention with your subject line, if your main text doesn’t live up to expectations, your email won’t go very far, no matter what time you send it.
- Your audience. Think about your audience and when they’re usually checking emails. Although weekends usually have low open rates in general, your audience might be one that’s more available on weekends, like medical professionals. It’s more important to focus on your specific audience and how you can appeal to them than to look at general data. It’s also necessary to keep time zones in mind. Your 11 p.m. might be someone else’s 8 p.m., which isn’t an “optimal” time for email opens or click-throughs, according to the data above.
- Your email’s purpose. Is the purpose of your email to land a sale? You might want to skip sending out emails first thing in the morning when people are preparing for the day. Instead, waiting until lunch time or after the traditional workday might garner more interest from your email.
- How often you send emails. No one likes getting bombarded with emails every day, or even several times a week, by the same company. Spacing out your emails can go a long way with building interest. Usually, less is more when it comes to email marketing.
Bottom line: Look at your data within your email marketing service to learn the best times to send emails. It’ll give you the best idea of what days and times work for your emails and audience.
Make the Most of Your Emails
There’s a lot that goes into email marketing, and much of it comes with time, practice, and patience. It’s one of those things that you’ll learn more about as you go, as each audience is different and requires a distinct approach. Follow along with these email marketing tips to get some inspiration for growing your list.
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