Even though social media gets the bulk of attention when it comes to internet marketing, email is still the backbone of successful marketing campaigns. Email is also the most effective way for businesses and clients to stay in touch. Still, it can be extremely frustrating when you send out an email and don’t hear anything back.
Since emails are received within nanoseconds of you sending them, you know that your recipients are getting your emails almost instantly. And with more ways than ever to stay connected, the “Sorry, I haven’t checked my email” excuse isn’t all that valid.
The key to understanding email marketing lies in a very simple factor: time. There are best times and worst times to send an email, and although this may sound a bit too simple to really matter, you can probably relate. Think about the emails that you tend to read and respond to the most. Are they the ones that are sitting in your inbox on the start of a new morning, or those that come through on a Friday night when you’re out for dinner?
According to research, the best time to send an email is between 8 AM and 10 AM or 3 PM and 4 PM. Here are a few other important points to consider, thanks to findings by GetResponse:
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24% of all emails are opened within the first hour
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Emails reach their best results in the first hour they are sent
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Most emails are sent between the hours of 6 AM and 12 NOON
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The least amount of emails are sent between the hours of midnight and 6 AM
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The hours that have the most click-throughs are 8 AM-9 AM and 3 PM-8 PM
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94% of all internet users read or send emails
So, what does all of this mean for your marketing strategy? Should you be sending your emails at 5 PM when, in theory, your email will have a 24% chance of being opened? Not exactly. Think about your own schedule and what happens after 5 PM. You’re probably sitting in traffic, cooking dinner, helping kids with homework and then settling in around 8 PM, checking your emails from the day. Now you’re tired, disinterested and just looking to clean up your inbox.
The best time to send emails is in the early morning and early afternoon, right before the maximum open click rates take place. You don’t want to miss this window of opportunity, as your email has a lesser chance of being noticed, opened and clicked as each hour drags on. An additional suggestion: make sure you are conscious of the various time zones. From coast to coast and across the globe, it’s important to hit your readers’ inboxes at the same local time.
