Actionable Marketing Advice

Best day of the week is best for sending marketing emails?

Please tell us which day(s) you think are best and why

“Which day of the week is best for sending email?” has been a common question since marketers started email marketing. As with a lot of questions about good practice, the right answer is : “it depends“, but it’s fun to speculate. The answer especially depends on whether you are marketing to a consumer or business audience. Regardless, it’s definitely something you should trial and test.

I’d be interested to hear what you think, so please add your thoughts to the comments and I’ll send whoever submits a copy of my “Total Email Marketing Book” for the most useful/amusing answer shared. If you can be specific about which days you have found have worked best or tests you have performed, then that would be especially interesting. I look forward to reading your answers!

I was thinking about this question once again because I was reviewing new data from the excellent Retail Email Blog which has a regular index of the best day of the week to send an email based on popularity of different days amongst US retailers. Here is their latest compilation which shows a fairly even distribution, but with Monday, Thursday and Friday being higher. Although this is a US, retail focus, let me know your throughs for different markets.

As food for thought, here are some reasons way it may be good to select or test each day based on this data and my experience:

  • Saturday – Well this is the lowest volume day of the week, so you have the least competition!
  • Sunday – I don’t understand why this is so high compared to Saturday – it does tend to be higher in web analytics than Saturday though.
  • Monday – Relatively high, but often everyone is busy and the web analytics show volume is low. It makes sense in some markets like financial services where a decision is maybe made at the weekend and acted on on Monday.
  • Tuesday – Traditionally the most popular day of the week for visits to a B2B site.
  • Wednesday – Looks like an OK option since relatively low volume
  • Thursday – Volume creeping up again as consumer mailers look to reach people before payday and the weekend
  • Friday – Again a high volume since email may be read in work on Friday and at home over the weekend also – high competition though! FWIW We send our enewsletter on Friday since business folk may be winding down at the end of the week, although just as likely they’re chasing deadlines. We find readers browse it on the weekend.

So that’s what I think – now please let us know what you think. TIA!

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  • http://www.smartinsights.com/about-dave-chaffey/ Dave Chaffey

    Thanks for RTs and comments on this trivial? question!

    Thanks @BonnieBacchanal and @LisaShare for your answers of Tues/Thurs.

    @hanssmellinnckx – I agree – this is why I said “it depends” and test at the start of the post.

    @Jake_Hird – I was looking for ideas for either – but the main reason for this post was to share the B2C E-retail examples.

    @RupertHarrison Thanks for reminding us that numbers of opens/clicks does not give us the answer – tracking through to sales gives a better idea

    I’ll leave the competition open ’till this time next week and let the winner know via Twitter!

  • Mark Brownlow

    Just wanted to weigh in with a couple of extra comments.

    1. I think the growth of mobile email will change things. I recall a retailer who had much success sending late night, weekend emails, when their audience (largely busy parents) was catching up on email. The same strategy might not work when people are catching up with email on mobile devices, which lets them do so on the bus, watching the kids at football, etc.

    2. You can also try to make the question obsolete by moving toward emails that are sent out as a response to a behavior or action. In essence it lets the recipient decide the best day, by, for example, sending the offer out after the most recent website visit and similar.

    And less seriously…I always wondered if the best tactic is to wait for a “best day to send” survey that gets lots of publicity, watch people switch to that day, then send your email the day before (to avoid the crowded inbox)…

  • http://www.smartinsights.com/about-dave-chaffey/ Dave Chaffey

    Thanks for your latest thoughts Mark! I was sure you had some useful ideas on this while I was writing this post, but didn’t have time to check.

    Agree with above – some have had good experience basing send time on time of previous interaction – but that’s difficult to scale.

    For anyone reading this post, it’s also worth checking what Mark says at:
    http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/iland/2009/06/best-day-to-send-email.html

    I like:

    “Another trap is to think of “best day” and “best time of day” as two separate issues. The best time to send depends on the day you send it. And vice versa.”

  • http://twitter.com/#!/ClaireRollo Claire Rollinson

    I know we can tie ourselves in knots over this, and i know i certainly have and still do – though most of the time i think the answer comes back again to the power of the subject line and the ‘from’ name – do your subscribers want to open an email from you?

    A small % of poeple receive ‘a lot’ of email, (mostly us marketers) and probabaly check their email (via computer and phone) so regulary throughout the day and every day that it almost becomes relevant when we send it. if they want to act on it, they will save it or refer to it a time when they can action or read it fully.

    For the average joe and joanne, (and i have seen my dad do this, and who probably represents the mass market of people who are not technical early adopters) they will just scan through every email they have received since the last time they logged on – spending their time on the emails which grabbed them via a compelling subject line, or because they were from a brand they wanted to hear from/buy from. Not because it happens to be at the top of the pile of the inbox.

    I realise this hasn’t helped in your question at all ;-)

  • http://www.smartinsights.com/about-dave-chaffey/ Dave Chaffey

    Hi Claire thanks for your ideas.
    I agree – the next post on best time of day says exactly this – offer, creative and how explained in subject line are much more important.
    I think your anecdote about your Dad explains it better than any stats – mine’s the same!
    Dave

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