The Best Time To Send An Email in 2024 [Data-Driven]

Today it’s all about the right timing, and when I say timing, I mean finding the best time to send emails!

If you think that your campaigns should leave your email platform randomly, then it’s time to change your mind.

Also, here, we simply don’t believe in chance! Data are essential to identify the right day and time to send your email campaigns.

For this reason, today, we’ll discover the perfect time to deliver your messages backed up by real data.

Ready to get your timing right?

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Why Email Sending Matters?

So, why is it important to use data to determine the perfect email sending time?

Well, first of all, to work, your email campaigns need to have all the right elements: converting email copy, beautiful visuals, subject lines, and clever CTAs.

To get high open rates, click-throughs, and conversions, you need to put all these elements in the right place.

When you do, you should have something like this:

However, your subscribers come across numerous emails in their inbox every single day. So, even when you create the ultimate newsletter for them, they might miss it.

And trust me, spending time to create the perfect email marketing strategy isn’t something that email marketers take lightly.

So, in other words, taking your email sending seriously is of paramount importance as it will help you:

• land your message when your recipient will see it
• increase engagement with your email marketing campaigns
• lower your overall bounce rate
• improve your email deliverability and sender score

As of today, email marketing has the highest ROI of $42 for every $1 you spend on it. So, do you see why you need to find the perfect time to send your campaigns?

Before we take a look at what other companies discovered, let’s take a look at Moosend’s analysis of 10B emails sent through our platform.

Let’s begin!

The Best Time To Send An Email According To Moosend

According to Moosend’s analysis, we discovered that:

• Thursday was the best of the weekdays in terms of the highest open rate.
• Tuesday was the second-best day.
• Saturday had the lowest average open rate.

• 8-9 am was the best time of the day to deliver them.
• After 6 pm open rates started to decline.

So, is Thursday 8-9 am the best time to send email campaigns?

Well, while the results are accurate, you should also consider another thing: your industry.

While both B2B and B2C businesses aim at delivering the right messages at the right time, there are slight differences between the target audiences.

For example, if you target a B2B audience, then you should consider the number of emails your recipients receive during their day at the office.

For B2C audiences, though, where your email list might have different buyer personas, things are a little more difficult.

To show you why your industry should be taken into account, let’s check the average open and click-through rates between industries.

Email Benchmarks For Different Industries

Before sending your emails, it’s essential to know the average metrics for your niche.

As you can see below, Food and Pharmacies have very different average open rates, which is closely related to the demographics and behavior of each target audience.

Source

However, there are cases that not all communication happens solely through email. In certain industries, like healthcare and legal services, where fax communication is still prevalent, considering options like email to fax integration can be a valuable addition to your marketing strategy.

In order to understand why each industry has different average open and click-through rates as seen above, we give you the most important factors affecting email engagement:

The Target Audience’s Age And Gender

The age of your email subscribers plays a major role in engaging with them. Older audiences who work will respond well to the 8-9 am pattern, checking emails before work.

However, college students might not check their email during the day but during noon or even afternoon.

Moreover, subscriber habits differ from one another based on their gender.

For instance, if you sell products geared towards working mothers with children, you should first consider their lifestyle compared to the lifestyle of single women.

The Recipient’s Device

Engagement between desktop and mobile device users is very different. Mobile devices offer users the ability to be online on the go, check news, emails and even make purchases.

That’s why consumers prefer checking them from their phones compared to desktops.

As data shows, portable devices now account for 75% of all email opens in the US alone:

Source

To get your audience to make a purchase, though, you’ll need to create responsive email marketing campaigns. Keep in mind that if something is wrong with your design, your subscribers won’t interact with your promotional emails; they might flag them as spam or even delete them.

The Email Subscriber’s Time zone

Don’t forget that your US subscribers and European recipients have different time zones. So, sending an email blast to your entire list won’t give you the same results.

If you want higher open rates, you should take advantage of segmentation and marketing automation to deliver messages when your audience needs them.

With this in mind, let’s examine some additional data to determine which is the best sending time and which day you sound avoid.

Let’s go!

What Is The Best Time To Send Emails?

As consumer habits change, businesses need to be up-to-date with the relevant data to determine the best time to deliver emails.

Below, you can see a graph with the open rate, CTR, click-to-open rate, and the volume of messages based on another email platform’s 2019 email analysis:

Here are the most notable email sending time findings:

• Morning: between 9-10 am, open rates rise with an average rate of 21.35%.
• Noon: between 1-2 pm, open rates reach a peak, with an average rate of 22.09%.
• Afternoon: between 5-6 pm, open rates increase, reaching an average of 20.74%.

What we see here is three separate times of the day with a good open rate average.

More specifically, we can see that 9-10 am and 1-2 pm are the best times to deliver a campaign, with 1-2 pm taking the lead.

Now, let’s see another study by Wordstream to determine whether there are similarities between the findings or not.

In their latest analysis, they found out that their email blasts:

• Performed better between 8-9 am.
• the open rate was over 25%.

Here we see something different from the previous analysis that set 1-2 pm as the best.

Now, let’s throw HubSpot’s search into the mix:

According to the chart:

• at 11 am HubSpot noticed more than 30,000 opens.
• after 1 pm emails opens start to decrease.

So, what does this mean for the best sending time? Is there an actual converging point?

The Answer: 9-11 am

Well, it seems that the best time to send an email according to different analyses is between 9 and 11 am.

Moreover, if we consider the first data set, we can assume that the 1-2 pm time slot will also perform well as numerous consumers have lunch breaks at that time and are much more likely to check their emails.

What Is The Worst Time To Send a Campaign?

Since we can’t exactly pinpoint the perfect time for each industry, it’s good to know what time slots have the worst open rates in order to avoid them.

This way, you can have an advantage and save yourself from unnecessary low open rates.

If we take a look at the data, we can see that the worst times to send are:

• 7 pm to 5 am according to Moosend
• 6 pm to 5 am according to HubSpot
• 6 pm to 3 am according to GetResponse
• 4 pm to 4 am according to Wordstream

So…

The Answer: 6 pm -5 am

Most of the research concludes that the wrong time to send email is during the night, with the worst time slot being from 6 pm to 5 am.

One possible explanation for this outcome is that people getting off work might not be interested in reading emails or purchasing after a tiring day.

So, if you want to get your email subscribers to interact with your emails, you should avoid after-work hours and extremely late-night emails.

Which Is The Best Day To Send An Email Campaign?

Now that we found the best time, what about the best day?

According to Moosend’s data, the best day to send an email was Thursday, with Tuesday being a close second.

Wordstream’s analysis also gave similar results:

Source

More specifically:

• Thursday was, in fact, the best day to deliver emails.
• Wednesday and Tuesday also performed well.

Now, if we take a look at HubSpot’s data, we can see that Tuesday is the best workday to deliver an email newsletter. We can explain this difference if we assume that the two businesses used different audience samples, so any differences are justifiable.

For HubSpot, the data concluded that:

• Tuesday is the best day to deliver promotional emails.
• Wednesday had the second-highest email open rate.

Now, if we take a look at this study by Klaviyo, we see that:

• Tuesday had the highest open rates at 19.82%.
• Wednesday also scored 19.49%.

For these two companies, the perfect day to send an email was Tuesday, with Wednesday being the second best.

So, does this mean that Tuesday is now the king of the hill?

Well…

The Answer: Thursday

As much as I’d like to say Tuesday, the answer depends on numerous factors like the number of emails you sent, the subject line you used, and the overall engagement that the subscribers had during that day.

As data shows, though, we can draw one conclusion: sending emails during the middle of the week will give you the highest open rates.

But which one of them, you might ask? Well, to give you a solid answer this should be the one with the highest revenue per recipient:

As you can see, while Tuesday had the best opens, Thursday had a 33.5% higher revenue per recipient rate than Tuesday and Wednesday.

So, it’s safe to say that Thursday is still the best day of the workweek with the highest open-to-conversion rate.

Which Is The Worst Day to Send Your Campaigns?

You might ask me, but what about Monday and Friday? 

Well, email marketers have refrained from sending emails on these two days to avoid coming up against overflowing Monday inboxes and lazy email readers on Fridays.

However, according to research, Monday and Friday can actually perform well, with open rates reaching over 18%.

Source

So, does this mean that Mondays and Fridays are actually good days despite popular belief? Well, again, it depends.

One thing that we can say, though, is that all converge to the weekend being the worst two days to do so.

According to the analyses, Saturday and Sunday are the worst days to send your campaigns as they have the lowest open rates.

HubSpot also found out that the deviation from average email opens for Saturday and Sunday is -107% and -82%, respectively:

Further research also pinpointed that Saturdays:

• have the lowest email open rates at 17.3%.
• present the lowest click-through rates at 2.4%.

So…

The Answer: Saturday

With such low open and click-through rates, Saturday is the worst day to deliver a campaign. This can easily be explained if you consider that the weekend is a time of leisure and quality time spent with family and friends for most people.

But what should I do if I really need to send a campaign during the weekend?

If you want to send one, then the safest choice should be Sunday evening. This way, you will target those subscribers who will be at home, getting ready for Monday.

How To Get Higher Email Open Rates?

From our search, we concluded that the most optimal time to send your emails is Thursday from 9 am to 11 am.

However, you shouldn’t use this as a rule but as a starting point for planning your email sending strategy.

Finding the best time for your brand is a personal matter for you as your audience might present different engagement patterns. To give you a hand, below, we’ll see how to find your ideal sending time and how to achieve higher open rates.

Let’s see!

1. Use Advanced Reporting And Analytics Tools

If you want to find the perfect time to send your emails, you need to draw your own individual conclusions by tracking your metrics.

Here are the most important things you need to pay attention to:

• email open rate
• click-through rate
• conversion rate
• email bounce rate

To do that, email marketing platforms will equip you with advanced reporting and analytics to keep track of everything.

For instance, on Moosend’s platform, you can track each campaign’s performance by monitoring the opens, clicks, and unsubscribes of your campaign.

More specifically, when you sign up for a Moosend account, you will get access to:

• Recipient activity
• Link performance (heatmaps)
• Email client and mobile device tracking
• Activity by location

By comparing and contrasting your data, you’ll have a clear idea of how your audience behaves. Then, you can draw your own conclusions and use the data to improve performance.

For example, you can try sending emails on Thursday at 9 am to see how it performs. Then, you can try Tuesday and compare the results for each campaign.

While this will certainly take time, discovering how your audience behaves is key to better email engagement and conversions.

2. Leverage Email Marketing Automation

Digital marketing is no longer focused on generic email blasts but on delivering highly personalized emails.

To do that, email marketers use marketing automation, a feature that enables them to deliver the right message at the right time.

This way, you won’t have to worry about sending cart abandonment emails, welcome, or even re-engagement campaigns with low engagement rates.

AI will generate the most optimal time for you to target your audience based on their behavior. Which, if you ask me, is the best time to send a campaign!

If you want to leverage automation, you should get yourself a marketing automation platform. While you can always use a free service, you should consider investing in smart email marketing automation tools to streamline your operations.

Moosend’s service, for example, will offer you everything you need, from email marketing automation to landing pages, to power up your marketing efforts! Paid plans start at $9/month for unlimited emails, and you can check the features on the pricing page.

3. Refine Your Subject Lines

I can’t stress enough the importance of a good subject line! As your best first-impression weapon, creating a straightforward subject line will boost your open rate.

Just think of your own inbox. Would you ever click on something that looks spammy? Definitely not!

So, when you create those subject lines for your audience, make sure to have a clear message that won’t be caught by spam filters.

Here are the best ways to nail your subject lines for better open rates:

• keep them short and to the point
• consider mobile device screen sizes
• Highlight the immediate value
• use relevant emojis to stand out
• Add urgency

Using all of the above will help you create subject lines that will stand out in your subscriber’s inbox:

Moreover, keep in mind that your competitors will also follow similar practices to win your subscribers over.

So, if you want to be one step ahead of them, make sure to use any additional tools to increase performance.

To do that, utilize an AI-powered email subject lines tester to check how your subject line performs.

For instance, let’s say we have this subject line: Marilia, sale on sale ENDS SOON! 💋 for the Cosmetics industry.

Here’s what the subject line tester thinks about it:

The tester will show you the industry average and display suggestions to make it better.

In our case, it seems that this subject line is effective enough to get our email list to engage with it!

That’s amazing for our open rate!

4. Run A/B Testing Campaigns On Everything

A/B testing is one of the most effective tactics in the email marketer’s playbook for better engagement.

This “experiment” will let you discover what your audience likes to see most.

From your subject lines to your CTA color, every little detail might be the reason for higher or lower open rates.

To find the winning formula, you shouldn’t hesitate to test every element even if you think you’ve found the ultimate combination. Don’t forget, consumer habits and preferences change all the time, so following up with them is essential!

Also, when you have the winner, you can start testing your campaigns based on the day and time you send them.

Of course, to do that, you need to have an expanded email list to have better results.

But even if you don’t have a million-subscriber email list, running any sort of test will prove useful and get you one step closer to knowing your audience!

Best Email Sending Time FAQ

In this section, let’s answer some very common questions regarding the best/worst time to send your campaigns:

1. When is the best time to send an email?

Data show that the best time to send your email is during the morning, and more specifically, between 9-11 am. Moreover, data also indicate that sending emails from 1 pm to 2 pm is also a great alternative if you don’t want to target your audience during the morning hours.

2. What is the best day to send an email campaign?

Based on the comparisons of average open rates, Thursday is the best day with the highest revenue per recipient. Alternatively, Tuesday is also a good day to deliver your campaigns, having the highest open rates.

3. What is the worst time to send a campaign?

The worst time to deliver emails is usually from 6 pm to 5 am. Email subscribers getting back home from work won’t interact with emails after work hours, and if they do, it’s very likely that they won’t make a purchase.

4. Which is the worst day to deliver emails?

The day with the worst average email opens is Saturday with an open rate of 17% and click-through rates of about 2%. Revenue per recipient is also significantly lower during Saturday, being lower than $0.15.

5. Is it OK to send emails during the night?

Emails sent during the night have lower chances of being either read or engaged with. While there’s no rule saying that you can’t deliver an email during the night if you really need to send a campaign, it’s better to do it as early as possible since email open rates change drastically after 6 pm.

6. Should I send emails during the weekend?

Sending emails during the weekend isn’t a great idea as it has the worst email open rates and the lowest revenue per recipient rate. If you need to deliver an email during that time, Sunday seems to have slightly better performance.

7.  How many emails can I send per month?

Moosend’s data showed that the ideal email campaign frequency per month should be between 2-5 messages. Sending more than 10 campaigns might annoy your audience, who won’t hesitate to flag you as a spam email. Similarly, sending less than 2 campaigns per month won’t help you reach your goals and make your email subscribers forget you or unsubscribe from your list.

8. Is it good to send an email on Monday or Friday?

Email marketers will tell you to avoid sending a campaign on Monday or Friday to save yourself from cluttered inboxes and unengaged subscribers. However, as data shows, Monday and Friday can perform well with open rates that can reach up to 18%. While that’s the case, if you want the best open rates, you should go with the day that gives you the best average.

9. What is a good open rate for email campaigns?

Email open rates differ between industries. To determine the best one for your brand, you need to check your industry and compare it to your data. As a starting point, though, you can use the 20.94% average that HubSpot concluded after comparing the average opens of multiple industries.

10. What is the best time to send an email blast?

Sending email blasts can follow the 9-11 am pattern. However, according to Wordstream’s data, sending an email blast between 8-9 am can give you an average open rate of over 25%.

Time For Higher Open Rates!

The perfect time to send an email has been a matter of debate for years!

While different individual studies have different results, there are always some converging points that we can use as a starting point.

After looking at the data, we found that:

• Thursday is the best day to send emails with the highest revenue per recipient rate
• 9-11 am seems to be the best time
• Saturday is the worst day to send emails
• After 6 pm is the worst time to target your audience

Using these as a blueprint is the best way to optimize your email marketing strategy. However, what might work for some industries might not work for yours.

So, always draw your own conclusions by monitoring your metrics and user engagement.

And don’t forget! Advanced reporting and analytics are your best friend! If you don’t know where to start, you can register for a Moosend account to always be up-to-date about your recipient’s behavior.

It’s time to get those open rates to the moon!