The best time to send marketing emails (Including B2B)

The best time to send marketing emails is 10 AM on Tuesday. You’re about to learn how. But before that, it’s essential to know your audience, as consumers in different industries may have distinct habits. Research them. Use the data you found to test alternatives and find out what works best.

The best time to send marketing emails

The best time is 10 AM. It’s when most people open their webmails to start their workday. But, it may not get you the most sales. Before deciding the best time to send your marketing emails, you must consider some variables.

You must understand that your email marketing campaign has two metrics for success: open rate and conversions. The former is how many people opened your message. The latter is how many made a purchase.

Suppose you’re sending out a newsletter that aims to inform people. It could be a new year’s campaign summarizing your company’s highlights in the past 12 months. You’re not selling anything in this case, so your most important metric is the open rate.

Pro-tip: send your marketing emails with a professional email account to look more reputable.

Now, imagine you wish to announce that your company has launched a new product. You want people to buy it. In this case, the essential metric is the number of purchases. It’s important to understand these differences.

A 2022 research concluded that some time slots achieved excellent open rates and poor sales, while others did the opposite. So, determine your primary success metric before choosing the best time to send a marketing email. Read below the best time for each:

8 in the morning

Emails sent around this hour recorded the highest open rate (20.32%) among the 2 billion emails analyzed in the study. According to a 2021 report from Statista, 33% of people work from 9 AM to 5 PM. So, by sending them an email around 8 AM, you catch them commuting to work.

10 in the morning

This time slot yielded similar open rate numbers as 8 AM but registered a decrease in purchases. You can attribute this decrease to people having started their workdays; therefore, they don’t have time to think about buying something online. Their online calendar is busy.

1 in the afternoon

Although it didn’t excel in any metrics, it still performed well. It produced results similar to 10 AM: solid open rates but poor conversions, making it a good time for an informative newsletter but a wrong choice if you want to sell something. 

Read more: choosing the best time to send marketing emails is only helpful if your message is impressive. So, read How to Write a Marketing Email.

4 in the afternoon

Messages sent as people are about to leave work registered the highest number of purchases recorded in the study. Now, people have time to consider buying something from an online shop. Keep this number in mind if you create a virtual store.

Summary

Based on these numbers, the time you choose depends on your goal. If you want to inform people, like in a newsletter, 8 AM to 10 AM is the best choice. But if you want them to buy something, then after 4 PM is best.

It’s also important to consider that your audience may be global, which means dealing with different time zones. Prepare different release times for your marketing emails to take this variable into account.

Pro-tip: Search Engine Advertising allows you to advertise your products 24/7, so you don’t need to worry about researching the best time and day. Read What Is Search Engine Advertising to know more.

These numbers offer a good starting point, but it’s important to remember that they’re averages. They vary depending on your industry’s clientele. Therefore, read below some industry-specific stats to help you plan your next email marketing campaign.

The best time to send marketing emails by industry

Professionals in different lines of work may have distinct habits. It’s essential to take them into account. After all, the numbers you read above are averages. They work best if your audience is diverse. But if you’re sure of your clientele’s industry, there’s a study that can help you.

Intercom published a 2022 study dissecting the best times to send marketing emails based on their open rates, filtering them based on various industries. You can read their findings below.

• From 8 AM to 10 AM: E-commerce, hospitality, online retail, and B2B services.
• From 2 PM to 3 PM: Software and software as a service (SaaS).
• From 3 PM to 4 PM: Nonprofit organizations. 
• From 4 PM onwards: Marketing services.

The data above allows you to narrow down some options for the best time to send marketing emails. But it’s important to remember that these numbers are averages across the seven days of a week. So, it’s essential also to consider the best day to send a marketing email.

The best day to send a marketing email

The best day to send a marketing email is Tuesday. It has the highest open and conversion rates in all industries. People have caught up on the mail received on the weekend. So, yours is less likely to get lost. Wednesday and Thursday are the second and third best days.

If you need to send your marketing email on another day, check below the best time, depending on each day. Keep in mind that these are considering open rates and are averages across all industries.

The best time to send a marketing email on Monday

The best time to send a marketing email on Monday is 11 AM, with 6 PM holding the second place. So, when people have finished catching up with their weekend mail and after they’ve left their offices.

The best time to send a marketing email on Tuesday

The strongest candidate is from 8 AM to 12 PM, so when people are on their way to work and possibly having lunch downtime. Your best bet is to aim for something in the middle: 10 AM.

The best time to send a marketing email on Wednesday

This day follows a similar pattern as Tuesday, with one difference. The peak from noon lasts until 2 PM, so you have a longer time window to send your marketing email.

The best time to send a marketing email on Thursday

Noon is still the best time, but open rates remain consistent throughout the day, indicating that people have finished most of their most significant tasks for the week and can check their phones more often.

The best time to send a marketing email on Friday

The most effective time is between 10 AM and noon. But, like on Thursday, open rates show low drop-offs throughout the day, possibly for the same reason mentioned above. But, depending on what you’re selling, Friday could be ideal as people plan for the weekend.

The best time to send a marketing email on Saturday

The open rates increase steadily throughout the morning, peaking at 11 AM. Then, the number lowers significantly throughout the rest of the day as people forget their emails to enjoy their weekend.

The best time to send a marketing email on Sunday

Sunday is a day that shows a pattern that contradicts the norm all other days have established. The peak is noon, with a significant drop off until 2 PM, when open rates rise again and rise steadily during the afternoon and through the night, peaking again at 11 PM.

The best time to send B2B marketing emails

The best time to send B2B marketing emails is 10 AM. Open rates remain constant until 6 PM, with the best days being Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, respectively. The worst ones are Saturday and Friday, as most people don’t work these days.