Case Study #1: GetResponse
The first case study we will analyze is from GetResponse.
- 2.85+ million emails
- The first two quarters of 2020
- SMB customers
- 1,000+ contacts
According to GetResponse, no set time’s guaranteed to get you the best results for an email.
Instead, it depends on who you’re sending your message to. It also depends on what kind of email you are trying to send.
They state it’s usually subjective. Therefore, you should keep in mind that every audience is different and every person is different even.
We will look at the global data they provided:
The Best Time to Send An Email: Global
The global data suggests that sending emails at 4 AM or 6 AM results in the highest open and click-through rates, respectively.
Please also note that only 1.2% of the emails went out at 4 AM and 3.95% to 6 AM.
Therefore 6 AM might be a better time than 4 AM if you think your audience is likely to read an email at 6 AM.
The Best Days to Send Emails: Global
According to global data, the best day for open rates is Friday, and the best day for click-through rates is Tuesday.
However, if you examine the graph, you can see that days of the week do not affect the open rate or CTR dramatically.
Only the weekends show a difference since the % of messages also dropped; there is no clear difference between the days.
Friday had an average open rate of 20.58%, which is only 0.73% more than Thursday- which has the lowest rate.
Case Study #2: CampaignMonitor
The second case study we will analyze is from CampaignMonitor.
- Over 100 billion emails
- in 2021
Average Email Benchmarks For Industries
First of all, we will see the average email benchmarks for industries by CampaignMonitor:
CampaignMonitor analysis stated that the industries with the highest open rates are:
- Education 28.5%
- Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Hunting 27.3%
- Nonprofit 26.6%
And unfortunately, industries with the lowest open rates are:
- Retail 17.1%
- Restaurant, Food & Beverage 18.5%
- Wellness & Fitness 19.2%
Advertising and Marketing email open rates are 20.5%. And the average open rate is 21.5%.
Therefore, advertising and marketing email open rates are above average.
What about CTR (Click-Through Rate)?
The same study shows that the industries with the highest CTR are:
- Education 4.4%
- Real Estate, Design, Construction 3.6 %
- Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Hunting 3.4%
The same study shows that the industries with the lowest CTR are:
- Retail 0.7%
- Wellness & Fitness 1.2%
- Travel, Hospitality, Leisure 1.4%
Advertising and Marketing email CTR is 1.8 %. And the average CTR is 2.3%.
Therefore, we can see that advertising and marketing email CTR is 0.5% below the average.
Average Email Benchmarks By Day
CampaignMonitor also analyzes the performances of the campaigns by day. The result? Tuesday is the winner for two categories.
- Best day with highest email open rates: Monday (22.0%)
- Best days with the highest click-through rates: Tuesday (2.4%)
- Best days with the highest click-to-open rates: Tuesday (10.8%)
Tuesday is the best day for sending emails; what about the least preferred day?
The data shows Sunday is the worst day, with the lowest email open rates (20.3) and CTR (2.1%).
The lowest click-to-open rate is on Sunday. (10.1%)
When looking at this study, we can see that Tuesday was chosen as the best day to send emails.
Again, this does not mean you should focus solely on Tuesday email campaigns.
This study is also based on real data, but you should consider running email tests and always keep in mind your target audience.
Case Study #3: Omnisend
Let’s continue with the third case study, Omnisend. They performed a different study showing which days of the month are preferable for sending marketing emails.
First day of the month? In the middle of the month?
Best Days of the Month For Sending Emails
According to the data, the 5th, 7th, and 12th days of the month are averaged best open rates and click-through rates.
Therefore, you can assume that the first half of the month is more suitable for sending newsletters, promotions, and any marketing emails than the second half of the month.
We all know that open rates and click-through rates are important for your business.
Open rates help you gauge how many people see the content or products you’re sending out to them, while click-through rates let you know if they found what they were looking for.
Conversions are even more important than those metrics since conversions help your business grow and expand.
Omnisend also includes order rates in their study.
Let’s see how the order amounts change during the month:
Average Number of Orders Per Email Campaign
The data below shows that emails sent during the first ten days of the month consistently outperform those sent at other times of the month.
According to Omnisend’s study, there is no certain reason or reason that causes this result.
One possible reason might be pay schedules that limit customers’ purchase of something.
The Best Days of the Week to Send Emails
Omnisend study suggested that Tuesdays are the best days to send marketing emails.
They state that the best days for orders are Thursday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
More campaign emails are sent on Friday, yet Thursday has more orders than Friday.
According to the research, the least favorable days for sending marketing emails are Saturday and Sunday.
If you have a weekly newsletter, choose any other day to send it for more accurate results.
Omnisend also points out that these results do not necessarily mean that if you have any specific campaign for the day - such as Black Friday campaigns, you don’t have to force yourself to launch it on Thursday.
The Best Time to Send Emails
Omnisend’s study states that email open performance is related to customers’ workdays and routines.
The study suggests that 8 AM is the best time to send campaign emails, followed by 1 PM and 4 PM.
8 AM is the perfect time to maximize your open rates since the open rate is 20.3% and the click-through rate is 7.8%.
Another great time to send marketing emails is 10 AM, yet it does not lead to a significant number of orders.
10 AM emails have an open rate of 19.83%, and the average order rate is 4.66 for these email campaigns.
Customers may want to avoid spending any money in the morning.
Best Times to Send Marketing Emails for Various Industries
All studies show there is no certain time or day to send emails to your audience.
There are other things you should consider before sending marketing emails.
One of these factors is industry.
We mentioned before that each industry has different open and click-through rates.
With that, you need to follow different strategies for different industries.
Brevo, formerly Sendinblue has another study to prove that each industry has different “best times.”
Let us show you shortly:
For E-commerce
The best day to send email campaigns for ecommerce is Tuesday or Thursday.
The best time to send email campaigns for ecommerce is 10:00 AM.
For Marketing Services
Wednesday is the best day to send email marketing campaigns for marketing services.
The best time to send email campaigns for marketing services is 4:00 PM.
For Software/SaaS
Tuesday or Thursday is the best day to send email campaigns for SaaS.
The best time to send email campaigns for SaaS is 2:00 – 3:00 PM.
For Offline Retail
Thursday is the best day to send email campaigns for retail. The best time to send email campaigns for retail is 8:00 – 10:00 AM.
Importance of Considering Audience Before Sending Marketing Emails
Marketing emails are a great way to reach your audience, but if you’re not sending relevant, targeted information, they can easily be ignored.
The key to successful marketing emails is understanding your target audience, specifically if you are a B2C business.
Once you know who your buyers are and what they want, creating an email campaign is easy to make them take action.
Your target audiences’ ages are also important; if you want to sell computer games, for instance, you might not have any issue with getting orders in the 10 PM email.
Therefore, know that every audience is different, and every person in that audience is different.
Know your audience better to get better results from your marketing emails.
In Conclusion…
To summarize, the optimal time to send marketing emails has a variety of answers. It will rely on several variables, including the email’s target audience, sector, and content.
You can decide the best time to send your marketing emails and raise their chances of success by considering these aspects and using data and analytics tools to inform your decisions.
By applying the proper solutions for your business, you can plan the time of your marketing emails. Don’t be afraid to experiment and test different times to see what works best for your specific campaign.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is It Better to Send Marketing Emails in The Morning or Afternoon?
This will depend on your industry and particular target audience. While some studies reveal that emails sent in the afternoon perform better, others discover that emails sent in the morning tend to have higher open and click-through rates. Testing different times of day will help you determine which is most effective for your marketing.
Is It Better to Send Marketing Emails During The Workweek or on Weekends?
Research suggests that emails sent on weekdays, especially during business hours, tend to have higher open and click-through rates. However, it’s worth testing both weekdays and weekends to see what works best for your audience since it can differ according to your business and audience.
Discover these blog posts about email marketing:
- 13 Best Email Template Builder Software That You Should Use
- A Guide for an Effective Permission-based Email Marketing
- What is Email Automation? 19 Email Automation Tools
- Email Marketing Segmentation: The Ultimate Guide
