Email Marketing Best Practices: The Best Time to Send an Email

Timing is everything. At least when we talk about email marketing. The time your email reaches your audience can greatly affect your open rates and engagement, so today we’ll talk about the different elements that you need to consider when choosing the best time to send an email marketing campaign. Let’s get into it.

Determining the Best Time to Send an Email

1. Audience Analysis: Understanding your audience’s behavior is essential, and data is your best friend for that. Analyze elements such as when your contacts are most active online, their time zone, and any preferences they might have based on past interactions with your brand. Here’s some more information about data analysis that can be helpful.

2. Identifying Trends: Certain industries may have specific peak times for engagement. For instance, B2B emails might perform better during weekdays and business hours (mostly morning, when they’re checking their inboxes), since they’ll be mostly related to work matters. However, B2C eCommerce emails could see higher engagement during evenings or weekends, when people are scrolling through their phones in their free time or even shopping online.

3. Continuous Testing: Experimentation is key to finding the optimal timing for your emails. Most email marketing platforms like Klaviyo will allow you to conduct A/B tests by sending the same email at different times, identify which one works best, and optimize your future campaigns based on that information. You can also use A/B testing for other items like subject lines.

4. Mobile Trends: Many people check their emails on mobile devices throughout the day. Especially in the B2C industry, consider how mobile usage patterns might influence the timing of your sends (consider office hours, for example). 

5. Avoid peak times: Consider peak email times when inboxes are flooded, such as Monday mornings or late Friday afternoons. Sending your emails during less congested times can help them stand out and not get lost in the crowd.

6. Segmentation: Segment your email lists based on factors like time zone, demographics, and engagement history. Tailor your send times to each segment to maximize effectiveness. Keep in mind that most email marketing platforms will allow you to send your emails according to the time zones of the recipients!

According to HubSpot, the best time to send an email is generally between 9 AM to 12 PM and 12 PM to 3 PM. However, as we said, there isn’t a universally perfect time to send emails, and it will depend on different factors such as data, trends, and industries. Remember that continuous monitoring and adaptation are key as audience preferences evolve over time, so never stop experimenting and always keep up with trends!

Contact our email marketing experts today to get started optimizing your email strategy based on the best time to send an email, design, copy, and more!