When to send emails

We’ve already talked about subject lines, but one critical part of a good email is when you send it. As you might imagine (and know from experience!) there are good times and less good times to send people your email. If you catch someone when they’re busy you’re far less likely to receive that open or that all important click.

So when works? Well… traditionally you’ll hear the middle of the week is a great time. That is Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. The theory is that people are getting set up for the week on Monday so are a little busy and by Friday, they’re likely finishing up before the weekend.

In terms of timing it’s often said between 8:00 and 11:00 or 13:00 to 16:00 are the best times, though there’s some variance on that.

All of this comes with a big caveat though. Everyone who reads this advice will likely be sending emails on these days. There will be a larger concentration at these times. It stands to reason that even if people might be more willing to open an email then, they will also be dealing with a lot more clutter so you’re more likely to get lost among the noise. 

Obviously, if you’re running an international mailing campaign, please keep this in mind when you’re figuring out your time slots, and you might want to segment your mailing list by region to get really optional results!

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We’ve also got to consider your sector. If you’re a nonprofit, and certainly if you’re a  charity, the conventional wisdom of avoiding weekends might not necessarily even apply. While most people won’t appreciate a professional marketing email at the weekend, one directed to their personal address at a time they’re less busy may actually cut through.

Perhaps you also have a specific audience that acts in a certain way? Retirees may well have a better open rate during the day, whereas you might see different trends from students or working professionals.

The important point here is that your optimal open time might be very different from the norm and the only way to discover that is to get to know your own audience and do a little experimentation. If a time slot doesn’t work then you can note that for the future, but don’t necessarily trust you’ll get the best results by just following the accepted standardised practices on Google!