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60 February | 2023 Business Business T hese general email-send-time tips are widely accepted by the email marketing community. They are great when you're starting off, but read on and see why they won't always work. • Daytime Versus Nighttime. While this one may be obvious, it's usually better to send your email campaigns during the daytime—when people are awake, not asleep. This advice, however, depends on the device. The standard midweek, mid-day timing makes sense for desktop users who open emails at work, but mobile users tend to be pretty active even late in the evening. • Mad Mondays. The general consensus is that you should avoid sending out email blasts on Mondays. Why? People are already bummed out about the end of the weekend. They march into the offi ce and are fl ooded with emails they've collected over the past few days. What's the fi rst thing they do? Delete those emails, of course! • Weekends. Historically, weekends are the days when folks are out running errands and going on adventures. Weekends tend to have low open rates, so most marketers avoid them like the plague. • Give a Heads-up for an Event. While 23 percent of emails are opened within 60 minutes after being sent, some lingerers may not check out your email until a day or two later. To be safe, send out event-oriented emails three to fi ve days prior to an event. • Fan Favorites: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. These three days have traditionally been popular days to send email campaigns as email marketers seek to avoid the Monday angst and Friday's itchy-feet. MailChimp confi rms that, in general, Tuesdays and Thursdays are the two most popular days to send email newsletters. That's the Advice. Now Ignore It! By Megan Marrs, WordStream by LOCALiQ Those tips are considered general best-practice advice for email marketing. However, there are many situations that quickly challenge the classical suggestions above. Best Time to Send Emails: Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Most email marketing articles would claim that 8 a.m. is too early to send an email newsletter, but it works great for WordStream blasts. We get click-through (open) rates of 25 percent and higher with this time. Worst Time to Send Emails: Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 -10 a.m. Many would claim that Tuesday and Wednesday mornings should be great times to send emails, but we've found that Tuesday mornings result in open rates of less than 5 percent while Wednesday mornings generate click-to-open rates of less than 5 percent. Our data shows that the status just ain't always quo. There are several reasons why these old classic tips don't mean squat in the end. Beating the Rush So, everyone agrees that Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to send out an email campaign. Right? This means that you're facing a ton of competition by sending out emails on the "recommended" days and times. If you don't want your emails to get lost in the hustle, swimming upstream may be your best bet. Although Mondays and Fridays are generally not recommended, who is to say they won't work for you? Understanding your demographics is the single most important thing you can do for email marketing success. They're your audience; you should know their habits and cater to them. The Ultimate Answer to the " When to Send an Email" Question The answer to "What is the best time to send an email campaign?" is that there is no single "best time" to send an email; it depends on your audience. While there are certain days of the week and times that are generally recommended by the larger email marketing community, it is easy to refute those claims. The "mid-day, midweek motto" is a great place to start and should perform decently enough. However, if you really want to rock email marketing and send out your email newsletters at the very best time for optimal opens and clicks, you need to test! A/B test your send times like crazy. That is really the only way to discover the perfect send time for your particular audience. Best Days and Times to Send Emails

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