The best time to send a cold email is from 9 AM-12 PM in the recipient’s time zone. There are some schools that think it should be earlier, and some feel a little later is fine, but everyone agrees that the best open rates occur before lunch.
When sending a cold email, you also want to ensure that you reach out during the work week. No one will be up on Saturday morning checking their phones or laptops, so avoid those days altogether when attempting to reach someone through a cold email.
Below, you’ll find even more helpful tips and tricks to ensure your cold emails are opened and your leads steadily increase.
Does Timing Really Matter?
Yes. When it comes to email marketing (or any form of marketing), timing is everything. If you’re sending emails at the wrong time, your message may never be seen.
The right time to send your cold email depends on many factors, such as your target industry and your recipient’s time zone. But overall, certain best practices can help you succeed when sending a cold email.
This is The Best Time to Email Anyone
The best time to send a cold email depends on your industry, but the most effective times are in the morning, before lunchtime. That’s when people are most likely to check their emails and respond.
What About Email Blasts?
There is no definitive answer regarding the best time to send an email blast. You’re probably targeting a lot of people in several different time zones. On top of that, most recipients are probably ice-cold as far as lead warmth is concerned.
But the type of email can change things a bit.
For example, promotional emails tend to do better when they’re sent during business hours, while educational or informational emails can be sent anytime.
What About the Best Day of the Week?
Avoid sending emails on Mondays and Fridays, as people are often busiest at the beginning and end of the work week. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are typically better days for emailing, as people tend to have more time to check their inboxes mid-week.
You should also avoid sending emails late at night, as people are less likely to check their email during these times. By the time they wake up, their inboxes are flooded with junk and mass spammed or deleted.
So When Should I Completely Avoid Sending a Cold Email?
It is essential to refrain from sending cold emails when people are likely to be busy or distracted.
For instance, avoid sending emails late at night and on the weekends, as people are more likely to be away from their desks. Additionally, you shouldn’t even bother around holidays or other big events when people’s schedules are likely to be disrupted.
What’s the Worst Time of Day?
Once the caffeine kicks in, lunch is eaten, and the meetings are over, people will usually be on the grind. After that, they probably have a commute and/or personal commitments that receive all their attention.
Depending on the type of email you want to send, there is a small window in the evening when people may be in bed and looking at their phones, but you can’t really count on that.
How Unprofessional Are Late-Night Emails?
It depends. If you’ve got a super warm lead, then don’t email them late at night. But if it’s something like a newsletter or informational email to help with brand awareness, it’s probably ok. However, this type of maneuver is a gamble.
We get it. You want to get ahead of everyone else that’s hitting the “send” button at the optimal time. According to an article by Forbes, this strategy can easily backfire.
When to Expect Replies
The best time of the week to expect an email reply is generally mid-week. According to research conducted by USC, you should get a reply within 24 hours or sometimes even less. That’s assuming you’ve done your job and sent an email at an optimal time with a great subject line and CTA. These factors are important.
But it could be longer if your recipient is out of the office, sick, away from their desk, or in a meeting. The first rule regarding outreach is that you have to work on their time. So focusing on how long it takes for replies to show up in your inbox is not something that should be considered a big deal.
Something else to consider is if you didn’t start your campaign at an optimal time. And what if you’re dealing with leads in multiple time zones? Or even continents? If this is the case, it could take days to get replies. But this is the reality of email blasting people all over the world, and because of it, there isn’t an exact answer. The only work around this would be to segment your emails by the recipients timezone (if that data is available to you). That way you know the exact or approximate time your email is reaching potential prospects.
Let’s say you did everything perfectly. If you sent your letters out between 9 AM and 12 PM local time on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, the replies should start rolling in almost immediately. If they don’t, and your campaign turns out to be a bust, there is probably something wrong with the email itself. Either it went to everyone’s spam folder, or the copy wasn’t attractive.
You can check your email account’s spam score or any other deliverability issues using Glock Apps. It’s a great tool and they have a free account you can use right away.
Put Yourself in the Customer’s Shoes
Marketers generally fall into one of two categories. Either you’re an industry expert, or you’re working diligently to become one, so you can be the best at your job.
Every campaign should have a buyer persona. But you should also take a look at your own habits and practices.
When are you most likely to reply to an email? When do you have the most time to work your way down a product or service funnel from another business? How is your industry different from others, and what are its best practices?
The key is to avoid getting tunnel vision when it comes to metrics and potential results. Take some of the following factors into consideration.
No Two People Are the Same
The best time to send an email varies depending on the recipient. While it may be true that mid-week is generally the best time to send emails, this may not always be the case for everyone. Think about who your audience is and when they are likely to be available.
Cast a Wide Net
Although there are some general guidelines for when to send emails, the best way to determine the optimal time is to test it with your audience.
Send emails at different times of day and days of the week and see which ones get the most responses. This will give you an idea of when your recipients will likely be available and more likely to read and respond to emails. Most email marketing tools have A/B testing as a standard feature. Use it to better segment your audience by running campaigns at different times and days.
Then you can hone your strategy from there, work on your copy, color schemes, and CTAs, and try again.
Know Your Audience
Research your target audience and take into account their preferences. Becoming more familiar with your recipients could include the days of the week or time of day they are most likely to respond to emails and other factors such as company culture and industry standards. Birthdays and anniversaries are another great touch. Buyer personas can help to fill in the gaps.
Do they write a blog? Follow it. Twitter? Follow them. Make them know that you know who they are and what they do. Learning this information will help you send emails at optimal times.
Understand the Benchmarks
Some helpful benchmarks can give you a general idea of when people are more likely to be available.
- What is everyone else in the industry doing?
- What days are they emailing?
- What time of day?
- How’s their copy?
- Is their offer any good or better than yours?
Join your competitors’ mailing lists to get a feel for what’s going on in your industry. You will likely see patterns and can adjust your campaign accordingly.
Other Essential Factors
Sure. “Timing is everything.” And while that’s true, it’s not the end all be all. While the right timing raises the odds of your email being seen, if everything else is garbage, it won’t get read, and your precious leads won’t work their way down the funnel.
Subject Lines Are First Impressions
In addition to the timing of your emails, it is also important to consider the content. The subject line of an email is essential when trying to get a response, as it will be the first thing people see. According to research, 47% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone, so its vital to get it right.
Your subject lines must be concise and relevant to stand out in someone’s inbox. Additionally, using personalization in your subject lines can help increase the chance of someone opening your email.
Trying to figure out how effective a subject line is can be difficult. Tools like CoSchedule can make your life a little easier by scoring your subject lines based on word usage.
Copy and Design
The content of your email is also key to getting a response. Make sure that your email’s copy and design are clear, concise, engaging, and enjoyable. Always make sure your message follows the KISS principle (Keep it Simple & Short). This will help increase the chances that someone will read your email and respond.
Who Are You Emailing? Do You Even Know?
What do you know about the recipient? If they’re a warm or hot lead, you better know more about them than your competition because they’re likely stalking them on Facebook right now.
Take into account their position in the company and if they are the best person to respond to your inquiry. Doing this research beforehand can help ensure that your emails get to the right people and increase your chances of getting a response. Contacting a recipients using their personal email (vs a generic one) also helps. This is where EmailFox can truly make a difference to your email marketing campaign by providing hard to find, personal emails. Try us for free.
Metrics to Measure Performance
We’re sure you’re putting in your best effort. But the boss person wants to see the numbers. That’s their job. Familiarize yourself with the stats and know what they mean. They will also help you become a better marketer.
CTR
One of the most popular metrics used to measure email performance. CTR, or click-through rate, is calculated by dividing the number of people who click on a link in an email by the total number of people who received the email. A high CTR indicates that your recipients engage with and respond to your emails.
CTOR
Another important metric for measuring email performance is the click-to-open rate. This measures how many people opened your email and clicked on a link. A high CTOR indicates that your emails engage readers and prompt them to take action. This especially true for affiliates or anyone else looking for prospects to take an action (visit a blog page or website).
What to Know About Open Rate
Essentially, you know how to write a killer subject line. Congratulations.
Open rate measures the percentage of people who opened your email. This is a key metric to measure how engaging and interesting your subject line is and the quality of your timing.
Tips on Writing Copy
When writing an engaging email, a few key elements can help you get the response you want.
Become a Subject Line Extraordinaire
The subject line is the first thing that someone will see when they get your email, so make sure it is attention-grabbing and relevant to the content of the email. Additionally, personalizing your subject lines can help increase engagement.
Only Use Clear Language
When writing the content of your email, make sure to use clear, concise language that is easy to understand. Additionally, using engaging and interesting language can help you capture someone’s attention and keep them reading.
It’s important to consider who you are talking to and get the tone right. Depending on the recipient, this could mean using formal language or being more conversational in your email. All the more reason to know your audience.
Direct and Clear CTA
Tell them what you want them to do. That’s the whole point of your email, right? You want the recipient to take this action, and the CTA should be straightforward.
Proper Formatting
In addition to the content, it’s important to format and structure your emails in a way that is easy for people to read. This includes using short paragraphs, short sentences, bullet points, and visuals when appropriate.
Be a Storyteller
Finally, telling a great story can help you connect with your readers and increase engagement. No one is expecting you to be the next Stephen King. But the best marketers are all great storytellers. But again, try and keep it as short as possible. In the age of social media, most people have a very short attention span.
FAQ
What is the best day of the week to send a cold email?
It depends on the region you’re targeting and who your recipient is. Generally, Tuesday through Thursday are the best days to send emails as people tend to be more responsive during this time frame.
Is it better to send an email in the evening or morning?
Generally, it’s better to send an email in the morning as people tend to be more responsive at that time. However, if your target audience is in a different time zone than yours, sending an email in the evening may be more effective.
What is the best time to send a prospect email?
The best time to email a prospect will depend on their preferences and schedule. Shoot for the early morning during business hours when people are most likely to be at their desks.
Should you send cold emails on the weekend?
Sending cold emails on the weekend is not recommended, as people often have less time and are less likely to respond. Additionally, consider your target region’s holidays when deciding when to send out a cold email.
Best time to send an email to get a response
The best time to send an email to get a response is mid-week and between 6 and 10 AM.
Should you send cold emails on weekends?
It’s not a good practice to send weekend emails. Most people prefer not to deal with anything work-related on their days off. However, some exceptions exist, such as self-employed SMB owners.