Finding Best Times to Send Cold Email

When should you send the email so that it gets read? How do not get lost in the endless pit that inbox is? The likes of these questions have been asked many times over here at Mailarrow.

In this article we dive into the logic behind finding the best time to send an email. We will also discuss the best day to start send an email and when you definitely should not send your outreach emails at all.

So buckle up and get ready to learn about one critical aspect of email marketing—timing.

The Best Time to Send Emails: A Matter of Strategy

Identifying the best time to send emails isn’t a mere game of luck; it’s an essential part of an email marketing strategy. With every email campaign you launch, you’re competing against hundreds of other emails in your subscribers’ inboxes. The question is not just “When should you send emails?” for email marketer but rather “When will your email have the highest chance of being seen, opened, and interacted with?”

Understanding when your email subscribers are most active can drastically impact your email marketing campaigns’ click-through rates and overall success. When you send emails at the right time, your email engagement increases, influencing your email’s open rate and click to open rate. Your email marketing strategy’s effectiveness is closely tied to these email metrics.

Importance of Time in Email Marketing

When it comes to email marketing, the saying “timing is everything” holds a great deal of truth. The time you choose to send emails can influence open rates, click-through rates, and even the likelihood of your email ending up in the spam folder. When you deliver emails at a time when your email subscribers are most likely to be checking their inbox, you increase your chances of getting your marketing emails opened, read, and clicked through.

Every second, thousands of emails are sent worldwide. But what is the optimal time to send emails to ensure yours stands out from the crowd? The best time to send emails can vary depending on several factors, including your industry, the nature of your email (promotional emails, welcome emails, follow up emails, etc.), and your target audience’s behavior.

The Role of Data in Identifying the Best Time to Send Emails

The best time to send emails isn’t universal—it varies based on your target audience’s behaviors and preferences. Google Analytics can be a game-changer in understanding your email subscribers’ online habits. By leveraging data from Google Analytics, email marketers can gain insights into their target audience’s peak activity times.

For instance, data shows that for many businesses, the best time to send emails is during working hours. Many people tend to check their emails during work hours, making it a prime time for email engagement. However, this may not be true for all industries or target audiences. College students, for example, might have different email checking habits and spending time compared to professionals.

The highest open rates don’t always equate to the highest open rate or the best click-through rates. Thus, it’s essential to keep an eye on both of these metrics when deciding the best time to send your email campaigns. With the help of tools like Google Analytics, email marketers can also track how click-through rates change depending on the time of sending.

Time Zones: A Key Factor in Email Timing

Your target audience’s geographical location is a crucial consideration when planning the best time to send emails. If your email subscribers are scattered across various time zones, you need to think strategically. It’s not just about finding the right time; it’s about finding the right time in the right time zone.

If your audience is global, it’s advisable to segment your email list by location and adjust your email sending time accordingly. This way, your promotional emails or email blasts will arrive at the optimal local time for each segment of your audience, whether they’re early birds or night owls.

The Dilemma of Choosing the Best Time to Send

With all these variables at play, finding the best time to send emails may seem daunting. But the good news is, data-driven insights can guide your email marketing strategy. It’s all about testing different sending times, measuring the results, and refining your strategy accordingly.

Remember, finding the best time to send an email is about understanding when your particular audience is likely to be checking their inbox. This understanding is key to achieving high open rates and click-through rates, and ultimately, the success of your email marketing campaign.

In the next sections, we’ll break down how different times of the day and days of the week can impact your email engagement. We’ll delve deeper into data, trends, and expert recommendations to help you identify the best time to send your email campaigns.

Early Morning Email Engagement: The Rise of Mobile Users

We live in a world that’s increasingly on-the-go. For many email subscribers, checking their inbox is the first thing they do in the morning. The rise of mobile devices has made this habit even more prevalent.

Many email marketers find success in sending emails early in the morning. Data shows that emails sent around 6 AM have some of the highest open rates. This early morning strategy may particularly resonate with mobile users who typically check their emails before they even get out of bed.

However, the early morning might not be the best time to send marketing emails for all email marketing campaigns. Depending on your email content and target audience, you might find higher engagement rates later in the day.

Mid-Morning Engagement: Catching the Second Wave

Mid-morning, particularly around 10 AM, is another popular time to send emails. By this time, many people have settled into their workday and might take a break to check their inboxes. Businesses sending B2B emails often find success in this time slot, aligning with the typical business hours of their target audience.

Remember, though, that your click through rates might vary based on the day of the week. For example, data shows that sending emails on Wednesdays at 10 AM can result in high open rates, while the same might not hold for Mondays.

Afternoon Engagement: Leveraging the Lunch Break

Lunch breaks offer another optimal time to send emails. Around noon, many people step away from their work and use the break to catch up on personal tasks, including checking their personal email.

But bear in mind that while open rates send email campaigns might peak, your click through rates might not be as high. Subscribers may open the email but save it to read later in the day or even the following day, which could delay any potential conversions from your email campaigns.

Late Afternoon and Early Evening Engagement: Catching the Wind Down

Many email marketers also find the late afternoon and early evening to be effective times for sending emails. After the mid-afternoon break or towards the end of the workday, people often check their emails again.

Sending emails around 4 PM can catch your subscribers during their wind-down phase. They might be more relaxed and have more time to engage with your content, potentially leading to higher click to open rates.

Night-Time Engagement: The Last Check of the Day

While open rates and click through rates generally dip in the late evening, some audiences might still be active. For example, if your target audience includes night owls or people in different time zones, sending emails in the late evening could work in your favor.

However, this strategy should be used sparingly and strategically, as too many late-night emails can be off-putting for subscribers.

The Bottom Line on Daily Email Timing

The best time to send emails varies greatly depending on your audience and the nature of your email. While general trends can provide guidance, it’s crucial to experiment with different sending times and analyze your results to find the best time for your specific email marketing campaigns.

Sign up for Mailarrow, our cold email outreach software, to leverage powerful analytics and supercharge your email marketing strategy. Make each email count by sending them when your audience is most likely to engage.

The Weekly Cycle: Understanding General Trends

As with the best time to send an email, the best day of the week to send emails is dependent on your target audience and the nature of your email campaign. However, industry data shows some general trends that can guide your email marketing strategy.

Monday: The Launchpad

For many, Monday represents the start of a new workweek. On this day, your email subscribers might be more inclined to take action, making Monday a potentially good day to send emails. However, because inboxes can be quite cluttered on Mondays, your emails might get lost in the shuffle. Experimentation and analysis are key to determining if Monday is the right day for your email campaigns.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: The Sweet Spot

Midweek—Tuesday through Thursday—typically sees the highest open rates and click-through rates for many email marketers. Subscribers are often well-settled into their working week by this point, and the influx of Monday emails has likely cleared.

The data shows that sending emails on Wednesday might result in the highest click to open rate. This, combined with high open rates, can lead to successful email engagement. However, remember to test this with your own audience to ensure it aligns with their behavior.

Friday: The Gateway to the Weekend

Is Friday a good day to send emails? The answer is dependent on the nature of your email and your target audience. While it’s true that some people wind down towards the weekend and may pay less attention to their inbox, others might use this time to catch up on their emails.

If your email is more informal or has a lighter tone, Friday might be a good fit. For instance, if you’re sending a weekly newsletter or promotional emails for weekend deals, Friday could work in your favor.

Weekend Emails: Yay or Nay?

Conventional wisdom might say to avoid sending emails over the weekend. However, depending on your audience, you might find some success. If your audience includes college students, for instance, they might be more likely to check their emails during their downtime on the weekend.

However, it’s worth noting that emails sent on the weekend might not get the same level of engagement as weekday emails. Again, the best way to determine if weekends work for your business is by testing different days and monitoring your email metrics.

Finding Your Ideal Day: Experiment and Analyze

The only way to truly identify the best day to send your email campaigns is to experiment and analyze the results. Use A/B testing with different days of the week and monitor key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and the click through rate due to open rates.

Consider using Google Analytics to track your email marketing campaigns’ performance. This powerful tool can help you identify trends and make data-driven decisions.

If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution to manage and analyze your email marketing campaigns, sign up for Mailarrow. Our cold email outreach content marketing software provides robust analytics and user-friendly features to help you fine-tune your email marketing strategy and maximize your email engagement.

The Art of the Subject Line: Boosting Open Rates and Click-through Rates

In your email marketing strategy, one element stands out as a game-changer—the subject line. The success of your email campaigns often rests on this critical component. A compelling subject line can significantly increase your open rates, leading to higher engagement and click-through rates.

The Importance of Subject Lines

Subject lines are your email’s first impression. It’s what your email subscribers see in their inbox before they even open your email. An effective subject line can pique your subscriber’s interest, compelling them to open your email and engage with your content.

Research shows that 47% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone. Furthermore, 69% of email recipients report emails as spam based solely on the subject line. As such, crafting the right subject line is critical for your email marketing campaigns.

Tips for Crafting Compelling Subject Lines

Keep it Short and Sweet

Keeping your subject lines concise is crucial, especially considering the rise of mobile users. Many email clients, especially on mobile devices, truncate subject lines that are too long. Aim for 50 characters or fewer to ensure your entire email subject line still displays across various devices and email clients.

Make it Relevant and Personal

Personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened. Include the recipient’s name or other personal details, if appropriate. For instance, if you’re sending a follow-up email after a purchase, including the product’s name in the subject line can make the email feel more relevant to the recipient.

Use Actionable Language

Using actionable language in your subject lines can inspire your subscribers to act. Begin your subject line with a verb to convey what action you want your subscriber to take.

Create a Sense of Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency can motivate subscribers to open your email immediately rather than later. Consider using time-sensitive language like “limited time offer” or “ends today” to encourage immediate action.

A/B Test Your Subject Lines

Despite these tips, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for creating compelling subject lines. What works for one email marketing campaign may not work for another. As such, it’s important

Timing, Timing, Timing: Optimizing Email Timing for Different Time Zones

Understanding the optimal time to send emails isn’t just about choosing the right hour and day of the week. If your email subscribers span across different time zones, then your email timing becomes a bit more complicated.

Navigating Multiple Time Zones

Having email subscribers across multiple time zones can present a unique challenge for email marketers. You’ll need to figure out the best time to send emails to each segment of your audience based on their own time zone.

While it might be tempting to stick to your own time zone and schedule emails for the peak time in your region, this approach may not yield the best results. It’s crucial to adjust your email sending strategy to account for different time zones to ensure your email arrives at an optimal time for each subscriber.

Leveraging Email Marketing Tools

Luckily, you don’t have to manage this complex task manually. Email and marketing automation software, such as Mailarrow, can automatically adjust email delivery times based on your subscriber’s time zone.

With Mailarrow, you can schedule emails to be sent at the optimal time for each time zone, ensuring your emails arrive in your subscriber’s inbox during their working hours or whenever they’re most likely to engage with their emails. This feature can significantly increase your open rates and click-through rates, enhancing the effectiveness of your email campaigns.

The Impact of Mobile and Desktop Users

Consideration of your subscribers’ device preferences also comes into play. Mobile users might check their emails at different times than desktop users. Research shows that mobile email opens are highest in the early morning and late evening, while desktop email opens peak during work hours.

If your email list is a mix of mobile and desktop users, consider segmenting your list and scheduling emails differently based on these preferences. For instance, you might schedule emails for your mobile users early in the morning or late in the evening, while sending emails to your desktop users during business hours.

Experimentation is Key

As always, there’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to the best time to send emails across different time zones. It’s critical to experiment with different sending times and analyze your email metrics to determine what works best for your particular audience.

By aligning your email marketing efforts with your subscribers’ habits and preferences, you can increase your chances of achieving high open rates and click-through rates, maximizing the success of your email campaigns.

Mastering Email Types: When to Send Promotional Emails, Welcome Emails, and More

Crafting a successful email marketing strategy goes beyond nailing the best time to send emails and perfecting your subject lines. The timing of different types of emails, such as promotional emails and welcome emails, can also significantly impact your open rates and click-through rates.

Promotional Emails: Timing is Everything

Promotional emails often form the backbone of many email marketing campaigns. These marketing emails advertise a sale, promote a new product, or invite subscribers to an event. The timing of these marketing emails occurred and can often influence their success.

The data shows that the best time to send promotional emails is often during the work week. However, the optimal day may vary depending on your industry and target audience. For instance, B2B promotional emails often see the highest open rates during the work week, while B2C promotional emails may see higher open rates on weekends.

Moreover, promotional emails often perform best when sent during the mid-afternoon break or early evening, when people are more likely to be checking their emails. However, always remember to test different sending times to identify what works best for your particular audience.

Welcome Emails: Seize the Moment

Welcome emails are a unique case. These cold emails are the emails you send immediately after a new subscriber joins your email list. The best time to send these emails is right away.

This is because new subscribers are likely already engaged with your brand when they sign up, making them more likely to open and engage with your welcome email. Welcome emails often have the highest open rates of all types of marketing emails, so make sure you seize this opportunity to connect with your new subscriber and build a strong relationship from the get-go.

Email Blasts: Choose Wisely

Email blasts, or emails sent to your entire email list, should be sent strategically. Since these emails reach a wide audience, it’s crucial to choose a sending time that works well for the majority of your subscribers.

Our data shows that email blasts often perform best when sent in the middle of the week, particularly on Wednesdays. This is when most people are active in their inboxes, increasing the chance that your email blast will be opened and engaged with.

Frequency of Emails: Striking the Balance

Lastly, while it’s crucial to consider the best time to send individual emails, it’s equally important to consider the frequency of your emails. Overloading your subscribers’ inboxes can lead to unsubscribes or marked spam, while not sending enough personalized emails can cause your subscribers to forget about your brand.

The right email frequency varies based on your business and audience, but a good starting point is one to three emails per week. Always monitor your open rates and unsubscribe rates to determine if you need to adjust your email frequency.

Avoiding Email Missteps: The Worst Time to Send Emails

We’ve spent a lot of time discussing the best time to send emails, but what about the worst and best time to send email? Understanding when not to send emails can be just as important for ensuring high open rates and click-through rates.

The Danger Zone: Late Nights and Weekends

Based on various studies, it’s clear that certain times are less optimal for sending emails. Late nights, very early mornings, and weekends typically see lower open rates and click-through rates compared to other times. These are the periods when most people disconnect from their work and inboxes. Sending emails during these times can result in your message being buried under a heap of other emails by the time your subscriber checks their inbox.

Time to Let Your Emails Rest: Friday Evening to Sunday Morning

Specifically, the period from Friday evening to Sunday morning is generally considered the worst time to send emails. People usually disconnect from work-related activities during this period, so they’re less likely to engage with business emails.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, businesses targeting college students or individuals in the entertainment sector may find that weekends work best for their email campaigns.

Be Cautious with Monday Emails

Mondays can be a tricky day for email marketers. While some studies show good results for Monday email sends, others suggest that the both open rate, rates and click-through rates are lower on Mondays compared to other weekdays. The likely reason? People are often inundated with emails accumulated over the weekend, leading to a higher chance of your email being overlooked.

The Holiday Effect

Another time to be wary of is during major holidays. Email engagement can drop significantly during these periods as people disconnect from their work and spend time with their families. However, if you’re sending a holiday-themed email or a special promotion related to the holiday, this could be an exception.

Final Thoughts: Always Be Testing

The information presented here is based on a wealth of studies and statistics. However, the most reliable way to identify both the best and worst time to send emails for your business is to test various times and analyze the results. Your target audience, industry, and content can significantly influence what works best for you.

Always remember to test and adjust your strategies based on your results. What’s deemed the worst time might be the perfect time for your audience.

For the best results in your email marketing campaigns, leverage a powerful tool like Mailarrow. With features such as A/B testing, analytics, and customizable email templates, you can easily optimize your email campaigns for the best results. Sign up for Mailarrow now and transform your email marketing strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time is polite to send an email?

While this depends on the recipient’s time zone and work hours, typically business emails are sent during working hours between 9 AM and 5 PM. However, email marketers often schedule emails to land in inboxes around 10 AM when the workday is in full swing.

What time are most emails read?

Most emails are read during work hours, especially between 10 AM and 2 PM. This period is often considered peak time for email engagement.

What time Monday is best to send an email?

Emails sent on Monday around 11 AM typically have a high open rate. However, keep in mind that some people may be clearing out their inboxes from the weekend at this time, so make sure your subject line is compelling.

Is it OK to send an email at 7pm?

It depends on the context and your audience. For professional emails, it’s typically best to send during working hours. But if you’re targeting consumers who might check emails during their leisure time, 7 PM could be effective.