Are you looking for the best time to send email marketing campaigns? Well, look no further! In this blog post, I’ll discuss everything you need to know about email sending times. I will cover different industries and how their target audiences differ in terms of best time to send emails. Plus, give you some valuable tips on how to get higher email open rates! So what are you waiting for? Let’s get going!
Why Does Email Sending Time Matter?
When it comes to email marketing, the time you send your campaigns can be just as important as the content itself. Why? Because different people have different preferences when it comes to when they want to receive emails. For example, some people might prefer to receive emails in the morning so they can read them over breakfast, while others might prefer to receive them in the evening so they can read them before bed. Some people are younger, with different lifestyles, others are older with different different work patterns.
Plus, different industries have different email benchmarks for open and click-through rates. So if you’re in a competitive industry, then you’ll need to make sure your email sending time is on point!
Consider this:
In 2019 email reached a 90.9% penetration rate in the US!
It stands to reason then, that the time you send your email has a significant effect on the success of your campaign.
Here are some things to keep in mind when thinking about the best time to send email marketing campaigns:
The target audience’s age and gender
When you are sending an email marketing campaign, it is important to think about the age and gender of the people who will be receiving it. That’s because different people like to receive emails at different times, and different industries have different benchmarks for open and click-through rates. It’s important therefore to segment your email list! Segmenting helps to enhance the impact of your delivery times – And you may find that the best time to send email marketing may differ across segments.
The Device Your Recipients are Using
Desktop users and mobile device users often have different preferences when it comes to email marketing campaigns. Desktop users might prefer to receive emails in the morning, while mobile device users might prefer to receive them at night. And mobile device users might open more email than desktop users.
What’s more to the point… Mobile users are on the go and check their email more frequently than desktop users – with a higher open rate. While this suggests they may likely click more links in your email and make more purchases.
One caveat: There is a wide range of statistics in this regard, further there’s an even wider range when considering age groups!
A case in point… Mobile may have a higher open rate, but statistics suggest a lower click (and conversion) rate.
…as you can see in the above image, the statistics suggest mobile has a higher open rate, but desktop has a higher click and conversion rate. It stands to reason then, your best time to send email marketing is effected by device use.
The Timezone Your Audience is In
When you send an email marketing campaign, it is important to think about the timezone of the people who will be receiving it. That’s because (again) different people like to receive emails at different times, and different industries have different benchmarks for open and click-through rates.
Common sense: Finding the best time to send email marketing should use the timezone of your recipients.
It might be 10am at your location, but some of your recipients, in another timezone, might receive that email at 11pm – Which is not an optimal time. This further suggests a couple solutions:
- Geographic segmentation of your email list, and
- Using an ESP (email service provider) with the ability to optimize delivery time (often based on the activities of the recipient).
In addition… It’s also paramount that you optimize sending times to your most engaged subscribers as well. Different ESP’s have different ways of doing this. Below is a video of how one of them does this.
Also, here’s another video showing another method (and benefit) of send time optimization.
The Best Time for Sending Email
There is no hard definitive answer to this question. It really depends on your target audience and their preferences. However, there are some best practices that you can follow…
One thing: Explore your niche, well. Because the best time to send email marketing can be different across niches (what works for one, may not for another).
According to MailerLite, the best time (every day) to send email is at 10am, with the exception of Friday at 11am.
This is based on their analysis of over a 2.5 million email campaigns sent using their service.
While this time does give each of us a starting point to explore, when determining our own best time to send email marketing messages, we still need to take into consideration the above (age, gender, timezone, etc.) – As they can effect our best time selection. While statistics can give us insight, it’s important to monitor your own results (and adjust your best time to send email marketing accordingly).
The Best Day for Sending Emails
Again, there is no hard definitive answer to this question. It really depends on your subscribers and their preferences. However, consider the following statistics below.
It appears evident that Fridays are the best target day!
Again… Test your own campaigns and adjust, Friday makes a good starting point.
Note: About statistics… It’s important to remember that different organizations use different sampling rates, different audiences, compile statistics reports at different times, and so forth. Understandably this can lead to different statistics suggesting different things. And that’s normal. The key is to use them as a suggested starting point and then adjust going forward.
At the end of the day, the true best time to send email marketing, is determined by your unique audience needs!
Industry Email Benchmarks
Speaking of statistics, it’s important to be aware that different industries have different rates with regards to opens, clicks, and so on. Check out the chart below, which will lead into aspects of how you can improve the open rates of your email. Think about it… finding the best time to send email marketing is one aspect (to improving delivery) – But we still need to consider (among other things) improving the open rate of email.
Improve Your Email Open Rates
One of the best ways to get better email open rates is by using email marketing automation. This allows you to send your emails at the best time for each subscriber, which can be based on their location or time zone. You can also use reporting and analytics to track your open rates and identify any patterns or trends.
Another way to improve your open rates is to use A / B testing to experiment with different subject lines or email content. This can help you to find the best combination of elements that will encourage your subscribers to open your emails. Finally, make sure to leverage the power of personalization by addressing your subscribers by name or using other information that you know about them in your emails. This will show that you value them as individuals and not just as part of a larger group.
Using Email Marketing Automation
What’s the best aspect of email automation to leverage? Simply put in one word… Personalization!
People are increasingly expecting personalized experiences. This is why automation can be used, for example, to find the best time to send email marketing – Each of your subscribers receive their email at a time that works best for them, which helps avoid getting lost in a long list of email – And improves the open rate in a natural way!
Email marketing automation allows you to send your emails at the best time for each subscriber, which can be based on their location or time zone. AI can also use reporting and analytics to track your open rates and identify any patterns or trends, then send email accordingly.
Write Subject Lines that Hook
Sometimes people do not open emails. This is because they are busy, or maybe they’re not interested. You can write a better subject line to make it more interesting so that people will open it and read what you have to say.
One thing to consider is making your subject line compelling, and at the same time, ensuring it dopes not look like spam, or clickbait.
To simplify… Here are the tips I most recommend:
- Make sure your subject line is mobile friendly. Work to keep your subject lines between 20 – 35 characters, yes, this can be a challenge! Try to use no more than 6 words at most (with your main subject impact at the beginning).
- Only use emoji’s that are relevant. However, there’s a caveat here: Use of emojis might negatively impact your email open rates, in fact Search Engine Journal wrote a post on this very subject, named: Emojis in Email Subject Lines – Do They Affect Open Rates?
- Make sure to optimize the text preheader (that’s the “hidden-in-the-email-code” text you see in mobile devices, displayed underneath the subject line). In practice, this is something you code into your email message. Endeavor to keep the length at about 35 characters, and try to have your CTA (Call to Action) in that preheader, if possible. It may help to ensure the text in your subject line naturally compliments that in your preheader.
For example:
- Your subject line might be: Don’t miss free shipping
- Your preheader text might be: Only 2 days left for free shipping
Don’t mistake “preview text” with “preheader text”. Separate from the preheader text, the preview text is generally the first line of your email message. Going back to our example, we’ll see the following:
- Your subject line might be: Don’t miss free shipping
- Your preheader text might be: Only 2 days left for free shipping
- Your preview text: Order now and we’ll ship for free
Leverage Email Data From Analytics
One of the important follow up activities with your email campaigns, is to keep abreast of your analytics. Doing so helps you determine the best time to send email marketing.
You’ll want to keep tabs on the following 4 email analytics:
- Bounce rate
- Open rate
- Click through rate
- Conversion rate
The above can be improved though A / B testing, but the point is that better “numbers” will help you determine the best times to send your email marketing messages.
Here are some super quick tips to improve your bounce, open, click through, and conversion rates:
- Use double opt-in
- Keep your email list pruned
- Use short subject lines
- Personalize email
- Use branding
- Remove distractions from email
- Provide targeted content
- Ensure email is mobile friendly
- Use list segmentation
Now that you know all about the best time to send email marketing, it’s time to put this information into practice! Keep in mind that what works for one business might not work for another – so be sure to test and analyze your own data to determine when is the best time to send your email campaigns. And don’t forget, using email marketing automation can help make this process a whole lot easier!
You can learn much more about email delivery optimization by visiting our Small Business Email Marketing posts. As well as find out more about Email Delivery.