The best time to send an email

This is the big question that everyone has been trying to fathom out since we first discovered the ‘send’ button. A lot depends on your target audience, your message and your offer or message. Also is it Business or Consumer – each has different habit and responses.

As a rule of thumb the best days for business emails is Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays. Your audience is generally out of the office on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday’s – it’s back to work time and it’s too early in the working week for business solicitations as there is a lot of the weeks work to plan. On Friday, most people are concentrating on finishing and tying up loose ends. If someone starts something on a Friday, it may be forgotten over the weekend.

So, what’s the best time? A lot depends on who you are sending too but here are some loose guidelines:

The Black Hole: 10.00pm to 9.00am – this is the worst time to send emails.

The Happy Hour: 9.0 am to 10.00am – this is considered to be good time for Consumer, but not for Businesses first thing on a Monday morning as they are cleaning out the inbox and are in a deleting frenzy.

Do Not Disturb: 10.00am to 12.00 noon – consumers are choosing to concentrate and focus on work after a slowish start.

The Lunchtime Lounge: 12.00 to 2.00pm – Consumers are unlikely to open emails in ‘Me Time’ and prefer to concentrate on YouTube. Magazine formats, sports and general surfing and shopping.

The Kill Zone: 2pm to 3.00pm – After a lazy lunch period it’s heads down straight back into work with a vengence. This is a good time to respond to business oriented emails.

The Change Time: 3.00pm to 5.00pm – Job related frustration and apathy kicks in and consumers start considering personal situations. This is a good time for financial services, property and anything that may enrich and change the low that they are in.

The Late Workers: 5.00pm to 7.00 pm – This is a good time when business people have time to absorb B2B promotions and offers. For the consumer it’s holidays.

The Soft Zone: 7.00 pm to 10.00pm – Consumers are more likely to respond to consumer driven promotions in their own time and at home. Shopping and clothes and health club promotions are perform well in this time.