Introduction: Why Optimizing Send Times Is Vital for Email Success
Determining the ideal day and time to send your email marketing campaigns can have a significant impact on open and click-through rates. By optimizing your send times, you can boost engagement by reaching subscribers when they are most likely to open and interact with your emails.
Studies have shown that send time optimization can lift email open rates by over 50%. Meanwhile, off-hour sends often go straight to the trash folder. With some strategic adjustments to your schedules based on audience and email type, you can develop data-driven best practices for timing your sends at their peak windows.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll analyze real-world examples and statistics to uncover the underlying trends across days and hours. You'll learn actionable tips to start testing and honing in on the sweet spots for sending to your list. By taking a more targeted approach, you can maximize the return from your email efforts.
Here's what we'll cover:
- Weekday vs Weekend Send Times - comparing open rates across days of the week
- Send Time Optimization By Time Zone - adjusting for your subscribers' locations
- Optimizing Send Times by Audience and Email Type - matching sends to daily routines
- A/B Testing Your Send Times - how to experiment to find your ideal windows
- Measuring and Monitoring Optimization - tracking performance over time
- Key Takeaways - top tips for optimizing your approach
By the end, you'll have a proven framework for developing your send time strategy and the tools to continually refine it based on data. Let's dive in and start optimizing when you hit send for maximum open and click rates.
Weekday vs Weekend Send Times
The first factor to examine is how your open and click rates compare on weekdays vs weekends. Depending on your audience and email content, there can be dramatic differences.
Weekdays See 20-30% Higher Engagement
For most B2B and ecommerce companies, weekdays consistently drive higher open and click rates compared to weekends - often a difference of 20-30%.
During the standard Monday to Friday work week, people are focused on their inboxes and more likely to open and interact with email.
A SaaS company saw their Tuesday-Thursday transactional emails generate a 25% higher open rate on average compared to Saturday and Sundays.
Mondays and Fridays See More Variation
Mondays often start off strong as people return recharged and plow through the weekend backlog. But clicks may lag later as folks get consumed with meetings and planning.
Fridays tend to see declining open rates by late afternoon and evening as people start mentally checking out in anticipation of the weekend. But for certain offers, clicks can spike as people have more personal time to shop.
A retailer noticed their Friday afternoon promo emails saw a lift in click rates, but lower open rates after 3 PM.
Promotional Content Thrives on Weekends
For promotional messages, cart abandonment follow-ups, leisure-oriented content, and general brand building emails, weekends can perform quite well.
When subscribers are relaxing at home on Saturday and Sunday, sending targeted lifestyle content and offers drives more conversions compared to busy workdays.
A sports apparel ecommerce site increased weekend promo email click-through-rates by 33% compared to weekday sends.
Keep Transactional Emails to Weekdays
Emails related to essential business functions like receipts, shipping notices, invoices, reminders, alerts etc. see higher relevance and response rates during the standard work week.
Limiting more operational messaging to Tuesdays through Thursdays ensures you reach engaged recipients during core business hours.
Top Weekday Send Times
Targeting the right window during peak working hours on weekdays can further maximize your open and click rates.
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Late Morning Surge - Send between 9-11 AM to catch people settling into work. Open rates often spike right before lunch.
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Post-Lunch Engagement - Early afternoon from 1-3 PM is another hot spot as people check email after eating.
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Avoid Commute Times - Steer clear of very early morning and late afternoon sends when readers are in transit.
Optimizing Weekend Sends
While weekends see lower engagement overall, the right timing for your audience and content can still drive results.
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Saturday Morning - People often check email over coffee around 8-10 AM. Perfect for lifestyle content.
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Kick Off the Weekend - Early evening on Fridays and Saturdays around 5-7 PM works well for "start your weekend" themed promotions.
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Afternoon Uptick - Sunday mornings tend to be slower, but open rates improve Sunday afternoons, especially for recreational and entertainment emails.
Send Time Optimization By Time Zone
Beyond days of the week, optimizing your sends based on your subscribers' time zones can really boost engagement. With customers located across regions, targeting their local time produces higher open and click rates.
Time Zone Tailoring Lifts Open Rates over 50%
Studies have shown that emails scheduled for each recipient's individual time zone generate over 50% higher open rates compared to off-hour sends.
Time Zone Mapping Streamlines Scheduling
Email service providers like Sensorpro offer intuitive time zone mapping tools to easily schedule regional campaigns.
Prioritize Your Largest Audience Time Zones First
When first optimizing your time zones, focus on tailoring sends to your one or two biggest subscriber regions. Gradually expand from there.
Experiment to Find Each Time Zone's Peak Window
You'll likely need to test a few different send time options to discover the 1-2 hour peak slot for each major time zone.
Avoid Regional Holidays or Off-Hours
Be sure to steer clear of sends during major holidays or outside typical business hours for each time zone.
Best Initial Times for US Time Zones
If most subscribers are in the United States, the following send times can serve as a starting point:
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Eastern: 8-10 AM or 1-3 PM on weekdays
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Central: 9-11 AM or 2-4 PM during work hours
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Mountain: 8-10 AM to catch the start of the workday
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Pacific: 6-8 AM to hit the morning commute
International Time Zone Considerations
Adapting your schedules globally requires researching regional norms:
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Western Europe: 8-10 AM or 1-3 PM during the workweek. Avoid siesta time.
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Asia Pacific: Early morning or post-lunch afternoon. Watch for extended lunch breaks.
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Watch for Holidays and Unique Work Schedules - Every region has different rhythms.
Optimizing Send Times by Audience and Email Type
Tailoring your email scheduling to match the habits and preferences of each subscriber group can further enhance open and click rates.
Align Emails to Your Subscribers' Daily Flow
Observe when different segments commonly engage throughout their day and week. Sequence your emails to match those natural interaction moments.
Promotional Content Wins on Weekends
Send cart reminders, special offers, new product announcements, and other promotional messaging on Saturdays or Sundays when subscribers have more free time.
Transactional Emails Peak on Workdays
Appointment reminders, shipping notices, invoice emails will get higher open and click rates Tuesday through Thursday during core business hours.
Test to Find Each Group's Prime Time Slots
Run A/B experiments with different segments to learn when your various audiences most actively open, click, and convert in response to your emails.
Create Tailored Schedules Based on Insights
Leverage your testing data to craft highly segmented send time strategies optimized for each subscriber group.
B2B Send Time Best Practices
For business users, focus sends around their working hours:
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Prioritize Midweek - Send key messages on Tuesday through Thursday.
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Target Late Morning or Post-Lunch - Around 9-11 AM or 1-3 PM tends to drive maximum engagement.
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Avoid Commute Periods - Decreased interaction early morning and evening when recipients are in transit.
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Consider Time Zone Alignment - Schedule regionally to ensure you hit business hours.
Consumer & Retail Email Timing Tips
For shoppers focused on lifestyle content, align with their availability:
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Saturday Mornings - Send cart reminders, new product launches, specials when subscribers are relaxing at home.
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Evenings & Weekends - Abandoned cart and browse emails generate more re-engagement during leisure time.
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Leverage Events - Schedule relevant emails around major sports games, sales holidays, etc.
A/B Testing Your Send Times
While research and data analysis provide a solid starting point, nothing beats direct send time testing with your audience. A/B experiments enable you to validate the days and times that truly maximize your email metrics.
Start Simple Then Expand Your Testing
When first optimizing, begin with basic weekday vs weekend or morning vs afternoon tests. As those results come in, start evaluating more granular options like:
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Your two top weekday slots, e.g. Monday at 9 AM vs Tuesday at 2 PM
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Different weekend days, e.g. Saturday at 10 AM vs Sunday at 3 PM
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Shifting a weekday send time by an hour or two, e.g. from 9 AM to 10:30 AM
Give Each Test Run Time to Gather Data
Let your A/B segments run for 1-2 weeks minimum before assessing results to allow meaningful data and trends to emerge.
Track Both Immediate and Longer-Term Impacts
Watch beyond day-to-day variability to gauge the overall multi-week lift generated by your send time shifts.
Measuring and Monitoring Optimization Progress
With an optimization mindset, continually assess your send time adjustments using email analytics to identify opportunities.
Analyze Beyond Open Rate to Clicks and Conversions
While open rate is important, also closely monitor the downstream clicks, conversions, and revenue driven by each test segment.
Visualize Relative Performance with Email Analytics
Platforms like Sensorpro make it easy to chart your send time tests and compare open/click rates.
Keep an Eye on Unsubscribe Rates Too
If experimenting with radical send time changes, watch for unusual spikes in unsubscribes which may signal a mismatch.
Re-Test and Iterate in Response to Changes
As your audience and business evolve, revisit your optimizations every 6-12 months to ensure your timing stays aligned.
Key Takeaways for Optimizing Send Times
Here are some top tips to take away for using send time optimization to boost your email performance:
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Prioritize Tuesday-Thursday Afternoons - Overall 1-3 PM on weekdays sees peak engagement. Start there.
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Respect Subscriber Time Zones - Avoid off-hour sends like 3 AM for recipients. Schedule regionally.
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Send Promotions on Weekends - For offers, sales, etc. Saturday and Sunday afternoons make sense.
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Keep Transactional Emails Within Business Hours - Operational emails drive more actions during weekdays.
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Experiment Extensively! - Run A/B tests to validate the best send times for your audience and business.
By paying close attention to your email analytics and continually refining when you send based on opens, clicks and unsubscribes, you'll be able to optimize delivery for maximum impact.
What tips have you found most effective for optimizing your email send times? I'd love to hear what strategies have worked for you. Let us know in the comments below!
