Email is still the most effective way to drive sales, but all marketers are seeking ways to improve open rates. As mobile and changing lifestyles affect email use, it’s essential to keep testing the time of your email messages, argues Reena Mistry, Marketing Director of Adestra.
These questions are frequently asked by Adestra clients.
“What time of day should I send my email?”
“What day of the week will deliver the most response?”
According to the Adestra and Econsultancy Email Marketing Industry Census 2013, only half of businesses (49%) are currently testing the time and day of their email messages. This could mean that the remaining 51% aren’t testing the effectiveness of different times and days to send their emails, or they have already found a way of working that delivers them the best results.
There have been a few reports released recently about this utopian, perfect time to send your email campaign so that it’s opened by the maximum number of recipients. Testing what works for you, your emails and your recipients really is the best way to find out what works for you, but here are a few pointers that should help.
When are the most emails sent?
According to our data from our email platform MessageFocus, and supporting data, the most emails are sent on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For us in particular, Tuesday at 11am seems to be the busiest time for email sends. Why? Someone, once upon a time, said that this was the best time to send. Or perhaps, we get in on a Monday, create our email campaigns and then by the time they’re ready to go, it’s Tuesday morning. Whatever the reason may be, Tuesdays and Thursdays are the busiest time for email sends, then, maybe that’s not the best time to send.
How has mobile affected open rates?
The mobile channel has produced a culture of information on-demand. We can now view our emails as and when they come through on our smart phones. This could be at 11:15pm when we’re waiting for the night bus to head home after the pub, or (most likely) 6:35am when we’re scrolling through our emails as soon as we wake up. Emails can be opened anywhere, and at any-time.
The question is though, has this necessarily made us more responsive as an audience? In truth it seems the opposite. We view an email as it arrives on our smart phone, think about it for a second and then move onto the next one. According to our data, recipients are much less likely to click on an email that they receive on their mobile device, than an email that they receive on their desktop device. Why? Time, usability, attention span and the user experience all have a lot to do with this.
Focus on the clicks, not just opens
We’ve said this before, in various blogs, but it’s still an important point to raise. You may find that many of your emails are being opened at 7pm, or 7am. So what? When are people clicking? When are they purchasing? When are they spending the most time on your site?
Focus on the key calls to action and your conversion objectives and optimise your send times according to those. Don’t get blinded by high open rates at certain times of the day.
Don’t pigeon hole your contacts
Just because I opened your weekly digest email at 6:35am today, does not mean that’s when I prefer to receive and read your email. The truth is, not everyone will follow a routine and you might put your contacts in the wrong pigeon hole.
Ask the yourself the same questions; When are people clicking? When are they purchasing? When are they spending the most time on your site?
Don’t forget about the context
An email you sent at 11am on Tuesday may deliver you a really high open and click rate, but you may also have written a killer subject line, or had an exclusive and highly popular report available.
That’s why it’s really important to carry out a structured and controlled test, otherwise your results will be unreliable.
Overall, finding that utopian time to send your emails may not exist, however certain times and days could deliver you better results and the only way to find out is to test what works for you, and your audience.
About the author: Reena Mistry is Marketing Director at Adestra, who specialise in providing email services to the publishing and events industry.
Adestra are a co-host of the SIIA Digital Content & Media Summit, taking place 23-25 September at One Wimpole Street, London.
During the event Adestra will be sharing their latest expertise in converting email opens to sales, and will be running small group discussions on how to optimise your email marketing.
Register now to attend the event and you can save £200 on your ticket