We all know that there is a list of factors that affect the likelihood of how well your email will be received. Open rates and click-through rates are influenced by things like the email subject line and the level of personalisation. Another factor that can affect the success of your email marketing strategy is timing. There are peak times that users will be inclined to look through their emails, but with changing mobile behaviour it’s not easy to know what those times are.
Rise and shine
Morning seems to be the peak time for reaching users. Smartphone users check their devices throughout the day, but 87% make a point of trawling through their apps and emails first thing in the morning. In the evening the numbers are lower, with 82% inclined to check their devices before going to bed. According to MailChimp from 8 am to 10 am is the best time to reach users. Interestingly, even though open rates are highest in the mornings, meaningful action is more likely to take place late at night, when users are inclined to click through to product pages and head to the checkouts.
If your emails contain announcements and news roundups, send them out first thing, if they feature one-off limited promotions and you want your customers to ask fast, send your correspondences out at night.
Mobile first strategy
Consumers are no longer at their desks by nine o’clock to open their emails. They are checking their phones on their morning commutes, as well as during lunch hours. Having short subject lines and optimising your emails for mobile are all imperative in this digital climate.
Don’t be so quick to dismiss the weekend
Research shows that when emails are opened during the weekend, they generate extremely high levels of engagement. If you are sending out in-depth content emails, the weekend could, in fact, be a great time for your communications to go live.
What consumers expect
Regardless of the time of day, consumers will be slow to read or engage with any emails that don’t include a degree of personalisation. Users want to see their names in subject headers and content that acknowledges their previous purchasing behaviour. If you send emails that are triggered by specific behaviours, you have a better chance of connecting with your target. Even though, it’s the quality of the email content that ultimately has the biggest impact.
