http://www.verticalresponse.com/blog/best-time-send-email-marketing-campaign/?utm_source=vr%20buzz&utm_medium=email&utm_content=VR001_%20the%20best%20times%20to%20send%20your%20email%20marketing%20campaigns&utm_campaign=NL%2008_22_2016&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWWpnME56QTROamcyWm1FNSIsInQiOiIrb21qdHlmTDFBSW5ZSUZmN2dlY1VmRlJFaFNpeldvNnNTa09DU1ZVT0dnTlV3VlVOVG42QkdKbnhkZTlcL1Q2MjhVUWo4dHl5RzV0a1lcL0wydG5UbU0zTUdQVzhVUm1EakVYbG9VOTEyRlZVPSJ9

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AdWeek Infographic based on Experianstudy

AdWeek Infographic based on Experian study

The Best Times to Send Email Marketing Campaigns |VerticalResponse Blog verticalresponse.com

Long-standing advice amongst emailmarketers when asked, “When is the besttime to send email?” has always been,“Tuesday through Thursday morning,between 8 and 10am.” Sure, it’s commonknowledge throughout the industry thatpeople tend to open their email in themornings, but “the times, they area-changin’,” as Bob Dylan would say. Let’svisit some current email marketing trendsthat are creating shifts in open rates, andhow they’ll impact your next email send.

A 2012 Experian across allemail marketing benchmark studyindustries found that recipients are surprisingly active late at night.Unique open rates averaged 21.7% from 8pm to 11:59pm and 17.6%for 12am to 4am. Moreover, this late night group was more likely toclick-through, with open rates of 4.2% and 3.2%, respectively. Thesenight owls also had the highest click through rates for all times of day.Revenue per email was also the highest in the 8pm to 11:59pm group.Additionally, in 2015, Experian’s quarterly email marketing benchmark

 showed that 54% of emails are now opened on a mobilereleasedevice, and a 2014 ExactTarget  found mobilemobile behavior reportactivity peaks between 9pm to 12am. With consumers becoming moreand more active on their mobile devices, especially outside of standardnine to five working hours spent at an office desktop, testing sends

outside the traditional morning hours is essential.

As for which day of the week performed best, emails sent on Mondays had the highest ROI, but emailssent on Friday had a higher click through rate. Ironically, Saturday and Sunday had the lowest volumerates, but the highest open and click through rates in the study. So even though the weekend was not themost popular time to send emails, those who opened were much more likely to engage with it and clickthrough or purchase.

Based on these findings, you might want to experiment with sending your emails at unconventional times –such as 11pm or 6pm and on the weekend– to see if it yields better results.

Weekend Warriors

Fewer promotional emails are sent on the weekends. This has created an opportunity for some businessesto scoop up some email love when there is less competition.

Experian’s email marketing study found that recipients responded more to promotional emails theyreceived on the weekends – when the send volume was the lowest. The unique open rate for Saturday andSunday was 17.8% for both days, the highest percentages of the week.

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Email also supported this finding in their recent study. Although 26.9% of emailsdata from Harland Clarkewere sent on Wednesdays, recipients viewed only 15.6% of those emails, whereas Saturday (a day whenonly 5.5% of emails were sent), they viewed 32.5%.

Before you change all your email launches to Saturday and Sunday, we recommend you test it first.(Remember that open rates on these days are still lower.) Try splitting your list in half and send the sameemail to group A on Sunday then group B on Monday or Tuesday. Repeat this a few times to see whereyou get better results.

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Mobile Matters

The same study by Experian we touched upon earlier found that not only are 54% of all emails viewed on amobile device, but this percentage is on the rise, growing two percent between June and September 2015.Because mobile click through rates are lower, you want to be sure your call to action is clear and direct,and that your links are easy to spot and click (no matter what time of day you’re sending).

Harland Clarke’s study also found that the email open rates depended on the device the recipient is using.They found that tablet users, for example, were more like to open emails outside of business hours (from5pm to 8am), while desktop users were more likely to open during business hours. Tablet users were themost active from 8 to 9pm, while desktop users and smartphone users were most active between 3 and4pm.

Finally, when considering the importance of mobile in your email sends, remember that if your customerscan’t read your emails, they’re not likely to continue to interact with them, affecting your future campaigns.

found that by testing a non-responsive versus responsive email design, they were able to increaseLitmusclick-throughs by 130%.

So consider your audience in your email marketing. Try sending a split test to half of your list in the morningduring work hours and the other half at 7 or 8pm and note any differences. Be sure your emails (andlanding pages) are mobile-friendly.

Timing Isn’t Everything

If you’re noticing a dip in your open rates, maybe other factors are contributing to the decline. Here aresome additional email marketing tips to help with your open and click through rates:

1.    to make sure it’s rendering properly in multiple browsers and email service providers (Test your email offers an easy way to do this if you want to save some time.)Email on Acid

2.    Review your email list. How old is it? Are there emails that should be removed? How can you growyour email list effectively? Here are some tips for good organic email list growth: 10 Steps to Build YourEmail List the Right Way3.    Are you effectively rocking your subject line? The subject line is your one brief opportunity to getsomeone to open your email. Be sure you know the best practices when creating this magic line. Check out

these .helpful tips on creating your subject line

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Amanda Day

these .helpful tips on creating your subject line4.    Frequency. Are you sending too often? Be sure to play it cool and segment your lists so you aren’tbombarding your recipients with unwanted email (or, dare we say !)spam

So when is the best time to send email? As you can see, there is no one right answer. If you’re ready to seesome improvements, start by doing some simple email split tests and see which times your recipientsrespond to best.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in November 2013 and has been revamped and updatedfor accuracy and relevance.

© 2016, . All rights reserved.Amanda Day

Amanda Day is a contributing author for VerticalResponse.

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