The Best Time To Send an Email To Get a Response

If email marketing is an art, it’s probably something like this Salvador Dalí:

What are the similarities? Well, let’s think about it. This painting tells a big story, which every marketing email needs to do, too. It’s eye-catching like a good email subject line and interesting like a fantastic first-line hook. But perhaps most importantly, time is a huge factor here.

The only problem? Everybody has different interpretations of what “timing” means to this painting — and there’s a similar consideration in every email marketing campaign.

So, how do you keep those clocks from melting and ensure your send time is the right time? Let’s find out!

Email Marketing: Quick Crash Course

When you look at that painting — which is called “The Persistence of Memory,” by the way — you can tell that timing might be the main character, but it isn’t the only one. It sits on a strong foundation of other factors.

The same is true in email marketing. If you don’t figure out the other stuff first, the optimal send time really doesn’t matter. After all, no recipient on your email list has the patience for a rough sketch when they want an artistic masterpiece.

But what is all that “other stuff” and how do you know if you’re nailing it? Here’s a closer look:

Audience

Business-to-business or B2B emails are a totally separate animal from business-to-consumer or B2C. Think of it this way: There’s a huge distinction between selling a teenager their first car and selling a vehicle fleet to a big company.

But that’s not the only consideration. You also need to know:

Basic demographic information.
Interests.
Needs.
Challenges.
Behaviors.
Buyer’s journey stages.

This all helps ensure you’re creating real value for the right part of your audience with every email.

Intent

When it comes to an email campaign, you need to put your focus in 2 places:

What you want to do, like inform the audience about a new service or boost sales for a particular product.
What you want the recipient to do, like download an asset or schedule a demo.

That’s right: It’s not just your own intent that matters. Think one step ahead and consider audience responses to that intent.

Content Type

There are different types of email marketing. Naturally, there are different types of emails, too. Here are just a few examples:

Newsletters: If you want to stay top-of-mind and nurture a higher engagement rate over time, an email newsletter is the way to go.
Cold emails: Also called outreach emails, these little guys are the digital equivalent of knocking on a stranger’s door and introducing yourself — which takes a little bravery and a whole lot of strategy.
Follow-up emails: Want a second chance at a better reply rate? A follow-up email helps catch a recipient’s attention if you missed it — or lost it — the first time.
Email blasts: If you have a broad, generalized message for a big group of subscribers or prospects, an email blast is a quick, easy tool.

You don’t have to stick to just one type, but always be strategic. Some structures work better for certain points; for example, promoting blog content might work best in a newsletter because subscribers have already indicated interest, while a new product announcement might make more sense in an email blast.

When To Send an Email: What’s the Best Time?

Roll up your sleeves, Salvador Dalís — it’s time to tackle timing.

What are the best email send times? Nobody wants to hear it, but the answer is “it depends.” Let’s break it down:

Standard Considerations

Your audience is the most important consideration when it comes to email timing. After all, you’re essentially asking them to do you a favor by opening your message — so it makes sense to cater to their preferences.

That includes two main considerations:

Day of the week: In many cases, weekdays are your best bet — particularly Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Why? Probably because you won’t get lost in the shuffle while people play inbox catchup on Mondays and you’re less likely to be a victim of “it’s almost the weekend” distractions on Thursdays and Fridays.
Time of day: Ask any email marketer and they’ll likely say they favor mornings and early afternoons. Just like the days of the week, it’s all about audience mentality: Past about 4 p.m., even the most incredible email content must compete with thoughts about cozy couches and patient pets awaiting quitting time.

Tip: With the right approach to email marketing list management, you can break your audience into smaller groups based on which messages would resonate best with whom.

Campaign Variables

Don’t assume that the perfect time for one campaign is going to fit the next. Instead, think about specific variables like these:

Intent: What do you want your audience to do, and are you giving them enough time to do it? For example, if you ask someone to learn about a product or book a demo in the afternoon, they might put it off until tomorrow — and then forget.
Content type: The perfect time for a newsletter might not make sense for a cold email outreach campaign. Think about when your content could create the most value for your audience and send your emails then.

Unique Factors

Plenty of factors make email marketing messy. They don’t fit onto a neat little list and complicate every attempt to standardize your approach. Here are just a few examples:

Culture: Don’t just adjust your send times to account for each different time zone on your email list. Also think about how different countries and cultures view work, communication, formality and punctuality — and ensure your emails play by their rules.
Holidays: Time off will throw your timing off — and when people come back to full inboxes after a break, they’re more likely to delete the small stuff without a second thought.
Quirks: Sometimes, audiences do what we least expect. Don’t try to fight it, even if their preferences undermine general email best practices; instead, be flexible with your approach and prove that you put customers first, even in matters as small as finding the perfect time for an email.

6 Tips for Evolving Your Email Marketing Strategy

Let’s say you have everything down to an art. (Painting pun totally intended.) You’ve perfected your messaging, found the optimal time, brainstormed ways to boost your email open rate and even turned some prospects into paying customers. Congratulations — that’s step 1!

Wait, what?

The truth about email marketing is that it’s a multi-step process that never stands still. In fact, your strategy should always be evolving based on information like which subject lines got the most engagement or how many times someone clicked on a call-to-action (CTA) button. That’s not just an opportunity to learn from your own work; it’s also a reflection of what resonates with your audience.

Here are a few tips to help ensure it all comes together:

Test, test, test: Methods like A/B testing help you compare subject lines, descriptions, CTAs and send times to see which combinations get the best results. Just remember to change one variable at a time, or you won’t know what your audience is responding to.
Set clear objectives: Remember, you define success — and when it comes to email marketing, that’s all about objectives. Determine what you’re aiming for (like open rates, reply rates, conversions and engagement) and track it regularly so you can keep an eye on your progress.
Stay short and sweet: Do your audience a favor and skip the lengthy paragraphs. Short sentences, bullet points and concise copy are must-haves for any successful email campaign. (Remember, you can always save your extra ideas for longer-form marketing material like a blog or ebook.)
Keep it simple: Your recipients aren’t the only ones who deserve a little simplicity. Avoid unnecessary headaches by using automation tools and techniques to send the right message to the right portion of your contact list at the right time. AI can even help you come up with subject lines, CTAs and body copy!
Get the right system: Ditch the spreadsheets and look for a digital marketing platform that keeps all your tasks in the same place. It’s not just for organization and efficiency; these systems also help you gather and track data that can refine your email strategies over time.
Get help: Not a fan of wrangling emails? No problem — email marketing agencies can help you do a little bit of everything, from determining optimal send times to boosting your response rates.

Make Email Part of Your Marketing Toolkit

Don’t be intimidated by those melting clocks. Once you know your audience and how they like to communicate, it’s easy to wrangle time to help tell your brand’s story. But what comes next?

Remember, emails are just one tool in a much larger marketing toolkit. They can promote your socials, drive traffic to your blog, bring attention to a new product or even prompt recipients to respond to a previous message.

Now get out there and see what a well-timed email can do for you. Your audience is waiting!