When it comes to email marketing, everyone has an opinion about what does or doesn’t work. If you’ve heard it once you’ve heard it a thousand times:
- “Don’t send anything during the work week or on weekends because people aren’t at their computers.”
- “Don’t email on Mondays because your prospects are too busy, and avoid Fridays because everyone is winding down for the weekend.”
- “Be sure to stay away from the lunch hour.”
- “Don’t send after hours or early morning because people are already inundated by a bunch of other emails upon opening their email.”
New studies are released all the time that discuss the best time to send email to your list. You could easily find studies that would convince you that every hour of every day is the best time to click send. So what do you do? Bottom line: Do your homework. The only important data out there is based on your own list. Every industry, business, and audience is unique. You need to test and then test again to see what works.
That said if you are in the beginning stages of your email marketing efforts and you don’t know where to start, here’s the general rule. Top engagement times for email are in the mornings between 8AM to 9AM for both opens and click-throughs; and in the afternoon between 3PM to 8PM for opens and 3PM and 4PM for click-throughs.
