What's the Best Day to Send E-Mail?

Want to improve your e-mail open and click rates? Consider changing your broadcasting schedule. Simply sending your message out on a different day of the week could raise your recipients’ response.

According to an eROI study of approximately 100 million marketing e-mail messages sent between January and March 2006, those received on Tuesday had the highest open rate (26.4 percent). Sunday was second best (25.9 per-cent). The worst day? Saturday, at 24.1 percent.
Remember, an open rate only means your e-mail is being seen, not necessarily clicked. Here, Monday ranked last (4.5 percent). Marketing e-mails received on Tuesday and Sunday boasted the highest click rates of the week (6.2 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively). Because they scored highest in the open- and click-rate categories, consider testing these days. But don’t forget to consider your audience—Tuesdays may be better for reaching the at-work crowd, but Sundays may work for reaching those at home.

Of course, the ultimate statistics to consider are your sales. Knowing which day more customers click your e-mail and buy from you is far more important than knowing industry trends. That said, knowing what generally works for web marketers can certainly start you in the right direction.

Reprinted from my "When To Send" article in Entrepreneur magazine