Timing is a key factor in many circumstances and strategies, email marketing being one. I came across a blog post from MarketingSherpa that highlights this point, when is the best time to send an email? Research indicated the top results for the following metrics:

• Open time
• Click-through time
• Recipients top engagement time

Results concluded that 23.63% of all emails are opened within the first hour of delivery. By the second hour this drastically drops to 9.52% and subsequent hours continue with the decreasing trend. The point is to not have the email sitting in the inbox for too long, the longer it sits the less likely it will be opened. Therefore, the best time to send emails is 1 hour before top open times to get maximum attention and results. More specifically, research found that most subscribers are engaged with their email during work hours, usually when they first arrive and right before they head home. Top times are 8-10 am and 3-4 pm, with the lowest results around lunch. The evening is also becoming a prime time to check emails with the average click rate increasing around 8 pm, which may indicate the subscribers are reading through messages with more attention.

Given the last point, more marketers are scheduling messages to be sent out later in the evening between the times of 6-12 pm to avoid  the morning clutter. The key takeaway is that timing is important factor in email marketing and a proper schedule should be implemented. Not only is content important but when people receive it.