Like you, we’ve also wondered about it. So, we decided to refresh (and expand) the study we’ve previously run and identify the best days and times to send emails in 2020.
And today, we’re happy to share the findings with you.
Related: Email Marketing 101 – How to succeed with email marketing.
What we did
We’ve analyzed over 2.85 million emails sent by GetResponse customers within the first two quarters of 2020.
In our analysis, we only included SMB customers and tracked campaigns that went out to at least 1,000 contacts.
We looked at what time and day customers sent their email campaigns and what open, click-through, and click-to-open rates they generated.
What makes this study unique is that we also divided the results by our customers’ location.
Thanks to this, on top of seeing the global results, you’ll also be able to review the data individually for the following regions: US & Canada, DACH, EMEA, Asia-Pacific, CEE, and LATAM.
Header with the title - The Best Time to Send buy Phone Number List Email by Location - 2020 Study.
When to use this data
We could argue that the best time to send an email doesn’t even exist. Or perhaps it does, but it’s not something that’s shared among a larger group of subscribers. It’s largely an individual thing.
While this may be right, there are times when we’ve got no other option but to schedule our email campaigns by hand.
Here are some scenarios when that’s often the case:
You want everyone in your audience to receive your message at the same time. For example, when running a 24-hour flash sale campaign.
Your email list is new, and you don’t have enough data to feed the algorithm.
You prefer to send your campaigns at a specific time and want your audience to form a habit of opening their inbox at a particular hour.
You have to time your campaigns according to external events, e.g. stock market trading hours.
So, if you have to select the best time to send your emails by yourself, this data will prove useful.
And is it even worth the hassle?
Just consider the numbers: Even if you can increase your email click-through rates by 0.5 percentage points (from 2% to 2.5%), it could translate into a 25% growth in sales revenue from that one campaign. For most businesses, that means a massive difference.
Just keep in mind that every audience is different. So, compare these results with what you’ve been experiencing or what your gut feeling keeps telling you. Use it as a starting point for more complex tests that you’ll do on your target audience.
When it’s better to use send-time optimization algorithms
Personally, I lean toward the idea that the best time to send an email isn’t universal.
Every person is different, and if working remotely has taught me anything, it’s that we’ve all got our own personal schedules and preferences.
Plus, there are many other factors that may affect what the optimal time for your campaign may be, like:
What industry you’re in
Who your target audience is and how they behave
Where they’re located
What season it is
Anything uncommon that’s currently happening around
That’s why, if you don’t need to deliver your emails all at once, you may see better results if you tailor your communication to each subscriber’s needs.
The best part is, it doesn’t require any additional work on your side – that is if you use the right email marketing software. If you schedule your emails using a send-time optimization tool like GetResponse Perfect Timing, an advanced algorithm takes care of all the work for you.
