An important factor in the success of your email campaign is when to send it. You may have read studies that tell you what days of the week to avoid, or to send on particular days. But for the most part, those are simply educated guesses based on an overview of results from “the masses”.
So – when should I send my email so that it will be read?
First of all, it is crucial to explain that if your email contains awesome content, is written well, and covers a topic that’s truly relevant to your audience, then it doesn’t matter when you send it – people will read it as soon as they get a chance.
Conversely, if you send during “prime reading time” (whenever that is!), but your content is boring, full of sales pitches and “me” talk and poorly written, then it will get deleted as soon as it comes in.
Some strategies to consider when you’re trying to determine the “perfect” send day and time:
Know your audience. If you are writing for busy moms, then don’t expect to send out your emails at 3pm when they’re out getting the kids. If you’re writing for executives, you’ll want to acknowledge that their “first thing Monday morning” will already be slammed with appointments, phone calls and inter-company mail. Do your readers tend to eat lunch at their desks? Then wait till noon and send them something interesting to read with their salads.
One reader told me that whether he reads my email depends on the time of day and where he is. If I send out something long and formatted during the middle of the work day, he will see it on his smartphone as he rushes from appointment to appointment. It’s too awkward to read a long and formal newsletter on that tiny screen, so there’s a danger he’ll delete it. However, if he receives it at either end of the day when he’s at his usual workstation, there’s a much better chance it will garner his attention.
On the other hand – when I have a short and simple tip to share, and do so with no formatting at all (just simple text on white background), then this is something he can easily read while waiting for the train, etc.
Some swear by Monday as a send date, with the hypothesis that they want their email to be seen as the reader begins their week. Some insist that Sunday afternoon is a great time to capture attention during a quieter time. And of course, many schedule their campaigns to go out at 5am to try and make their message be the first thing the reader sees. The old rules stated never to send out on a Friday afternoon but I’ve proven that this rule no longer applies in this “work all the time” environment we live in.
Yes, I fully realize I never told you when to send – because you need to know your audience, and try different tactics. And – it never hurts to simply ask some members of your audience when it would be most convenient time to read your content. Pick out several people on your list and just ask them.
Test and tweak – that’s the name of the game.