Useful research, published this week, has unveiled the optimum times of day to launch email marketing campaigns to prospective customers. Email open rates vary enormously according to when they are received.
The research, published by Pure360, could be helpful to all types of small businesses who use email to communicate with customers and prospects.
The results are very logical. Between 12am and 7am, a mere 4% of emails go on to be opened – simply because they will typically be pushed down from the top of a user’s inbox by more recent emails sent during the business day.
In contrast, over one quarter of marketing emails sent between 5pm an 6pm go on to be opened – substantially above average. As people prepare to leave work, they will often attend to any final emails before going home. This would appear to be the ideal time to strike, from a marketing point of view.
Abi Jacks from Pure360 said that the survey results ran contrary to many assumptions about consumer behaviour – including the belief that emails sent at the start of the working day are more likely to be opened than at any other time.
“Our research shows that they need to really get to know their sector audience and be aware of unexpected trends – such as the habit people have for opening emails that they receive as the time-pressures of the work day ease off on the commute home.”
Autumn would appear to be the best season to launch an email marketing campaign – 21% of emails dispatched during this time of year are opened, compared to the 17% year-round average.
The research itself has a significant sample size of 40,000 marketing campaigns sent by over 140 companies during 2012.
Of course, there’s no point sending out a batch of emails at the ‘perfect’ time of day unless the content is relevant and well presented. Business owners might also be interested in our list of 10 email mistakes you should avoid.
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business email,
email marketing