When should you send your e-mail campaigns?

Deciding when to send your e-mail campaigns is crucial because, of course, you want to make sure your e-mail is read by as many prospects as possible. Many marketing firms and analysts have made a science out of predicting response rates from their e-mail marketing efforts. But the truth is there is no magical day or time to send e-mail that will ensure high clicks and open rates (The time it takes for a person to open his e-mail from you). There are, however, a few guidelines that many companies follow to ensure they get the most mileage out of every e-mail sent.

One common belief among many e-mail marketers is that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days to send e-mail. This belief is mostly based on conventional wisdom rather than science. People simply tend to be busier on Mondays and Fridays to pay full attention to non-urgent e-mails and they're more apt to take a day off around the weekends.

Many marketers even say they never have their e-mails delivered on an empty stomach – meaning they aim to get their e-mails into their customers' inboxes after lunch. The reason? Their customers have likely dealt with their morning e-mails and are refreshed and ready to get back into work.

There are other factors that influence e-mail open rates that you may want to consider when sending e-mail to your customers, such as:

The type of e-mail address. If you are sending e-mail to a customer's business address, they're more likely to open their
e-mail during their workday. And although many people check their personal e-mail accounts during the day, many do not, and so sending in the evening or on the weekends is not out of the question.

Your customers' occupation. Many of your customers may work in areas where their e-mail is either unavailable (i.e., construction, factory and restaurant workers) or difficult to access during normal business hours (i.e. doctors, nurses, teachers).

Gender. Many analysts have found that a higher percentage of males versus females are online during the prime evening television viewing hours (8-10 p.m.).

While these are good guidelines to follow, most marketing firms will advise you to test various times of the day and week to truly find out what works best for your market niche. Eventually, you'll learn the best time to send your campaigns and you'll garner better response rates!