A new survey may change thinking about best day to e-mail
A new survey by ExactTarget contradicts recent reports that open and click rates are best for e-mail messages sent out on Mondays. ExactTarget found there are “serious inconsistencies” between the best day for opens and the best days for clicks.
Some surveys indicated that in the second quarter of 2004, Monday was the best day to send e-mail messages. However, since those surveys were publicized, Monday has consistently ranked fifth or sixth, says Morgan Stewart, director of strategic services for ExactTarget.
Starting in July, the best days for maximizing open rates shifted to later in the week, ExactTarget found. Between July and November, Friday performed best but was less than 0.5% ahead of Wednesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, weekend results were mixed, with open rates below average while yielding higher click-through rates.
ExactTarget found that 97% of e-mail campaigns are sent Monday through Friday. High-tech companies fared well on Fridays while online retailers drove twice the click-through rates when sending on Sunday.
There is no simple answer for sending e-mail that applies across the board, Stewart says. That means that marketers need to rethink the best times for sending e-mail messages.
ExactTarget analyzed data gathered between December 2003 and November 2004, representing 2000 organizations,160,000 e-mail campaigns and 800 million e-mail messages.
Back...
