When's the best day of the week and time of day to send an email? The answer is one which varies from year to year, and from person to person. It all depends on who you talk to and what industry they track.
MailerMailer.com is a good source for email research data, another good source we found last year was Kissmetrics.com. We've included links to both places at the bottom of this email, but we warn you, the data from both places contradict each other.
We've had our own research accumulating over the last 9 months and we're pretty confident in our own ideas. Let's share two things that will help with your holiday email planning.
The first thing you need to know is that you are being watched. We're not talking about the guy looking over your shoulder, but rather by your ISP, and by all other ISPs. These guys are the gatekeepers of the internet. If you make them mad they will block (blacklisted) your emails, sometimes just to spite you.
Automated email filters routinely monitor the number of emails sent every month by domain names. You're asking for trouble if you send 300 emails today, and again on Friday, but previously never sent an email blast. The first blast is free, but if you send another in the same week you're asking to be blacklisted.
If email marketing is in your holiday budget then you need forget about the best days of the week and times of the day to send emails, and just send them now. Period.
Start slowly and send 1 email to your list this month. What's in the email is totally up to you. It can be an editorial, advertotial, or a straight forward offer like "Spend $200 and get 10% off." It doesn't matter what you say, you just want to make sure the ISPs see your email address.
Speaking of email address, make sure to set up a dedicated address for your email blast, and don't change it for the next 9 months.
Okay, so we do have a recommended day of the week and time of the day for you to send an email. We suggest Thursday's between 5:30am and 6:30am local time.
There's a little bit of data to back that suggestion up. Many people are checking their emails on their smartphones first thing in the morning. It's easier to track open rates when people read emails on their smartphones, so your open rates will be higher. If they're interested in reading more they will look on their computer later in the day.
We've chosen Thursday because we're helping you plan your holiday strategy. Actually, we want you to send your first email on the 4th Thursday of the month. That's June 28th this year. Then send your next email on July 26th.
In August you can send 2 emails if you like: August 9th and August 23rd. That's the second and forth Thursday.
Continue with the second and forth Thursdays until December, but in December you can ramp up your email marketing a lot more without risk of blacklisting.
The early morning Thursday schedule will be expected after customers get a few of them. This schedule also allows you to target Black Friday with a Thanksgiving email blast, and each of the December shopping weekends.
Speaking of December, you will want to send emails the first 3 Thursdays, but NOT the 4th. Come December 25th most people do not want to read marketing emails anymore and you'll get complaints and unsubscribes. Wait until January 24th to say hello again.
Here's the links we promised:
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/science-of-social-timing-2/
http://www.mailermailer.com/resources/metrics/2011/open-rates.rwp
