This is the prime time of day to send a follow up email

As technology continues to take over every aspect of our lives, much of our communication is done electronically, either through text messages or emails.

Rarely do people pick up the phone and talk to someone on the other end of the line. Our communication has become so impersonal, and communication issues are quickly becoming significant problems in organizations.

Email has taken over our traditional mailboxes, and receiving a handwritten letter is almost a thing of the past. Marketers have realized this and have changed their marketing tactics to compete in this digital age. As we were traditionally used to junk mail in our home mailbox, our email inbox is now flooded with virtual junk mail.

Mainstream companies have spent a great deal of time and money studying the best time to send emails for the most engagement. These studies show there are clearly better times to send follow-up emails, so your message doesn’t end up in the trash or junk folder.

What four billion emails say

GetResponse, a popular email marketing software company, analyzed approximately four billion emails to determine the most opened emails by the time of day.

According to this massive study, the highest open rate corresponded to emails sent at 6:00 P.M. The following two most open email times were 1:00 P.M. and 10:00 A.M.

The data suggest that these times are the most effective due to how they align with the time of day most people have time to check their emails. 

In a similar study, CampaignMonitor analyzed data from millions of emails its users sent out through its email software. CampaignMonitor found that the best day of the week to send an email falls on Friday, followed by Monday. The weekends generally show the lowest open rate for emails. 

A culmination of 14 different email open studies

CoSchedule analyzed 14 different email open rate studies and condensed the results into a digestible format. From these studies, the best days to send an email for the highest open rate was:

1. Tuesday
2. Thursday
3. Wednesday

While the results from these surveys were different than the CampaignMonitor study, it’s not surprising that the days of the week consistently outranked the weekend email open rates. 

From these 14 different studies, CoSchedule also tabulated the prime time of day to send an email for the best chance of it being opened. The best times are ranked as:

1. 10:00 A.M.
2. 8:00 P.M.
3. 2:00 P.M.
4. 6:00 A.M.

The most popular time was 10:00 A.M. for the best open rates. The most surprising open time was the 8:00 P.M. time, which is likely when people check their phones before winding down at the end of the night.

What it all means

Even though these studies varied by day and time for the optimal open rates, one thing remained consistent. Weekends are generally the worst time to send an email because it likely will not be opened until Monday. 

In addition, the time of day plays a role in when emails will be opened. Corresponding your email sends with the natural breaks people have at work is a great way to get eyes on your email.