5 Email Timing Tweak that Skyrocketed Our Open Rates

In the quest to maximize the effectiveness of email campaigns, we’ve gathered insights from top marketing professionals on the impact of timing adjustments. From optimizing send times for better inbox placement to leveraging early timing to increase audience engagement, here are five transformative strategies shared by Email Marketing Managers and CMOs.

Want to get quoted in MarketerInterview.com content just like this? Apply to become a contributor today!

Optimize Send Times for Top Inbox Placement

Most email campaigns go out on either the hour or the half-hour. We shifted our deployment times to 15 minutes past the hour for one client and saw open rates increase consistently. 

By delaying the send, our emails appeared at or near the top of the recipient’s inbox and were viewed before everyone else who sent 10-15 minutes prior to our email.

Tony Wagner, Email Marketing Manager, Strategic America

Segment Lists for Weekend Engagement

To improve the click-through rates of our email marketing campaigns, we conducted a thorough analysis of past email campaigns to identify user engagement patterns. Based on the research findings, we segregated email lists based on user behavior, time zones, and specific times of the day when emails were opened the most, as well as user demographics, etc. 

These insights helped us to assess what we were dealing with, and we tested different timelines for sending emails and monitored the responses. We found that for our target group, the highest click-through rates our emails received were on weekends, and hence we increased our email sends on weekends. 

We also made format and content changes to reach these audiences on weekdays. By implementing these strategies, we were able to increase the open and click-through rates significantly.

Kartik Ahuja, Digital Marketer, kartikahuja.com

Align Sends with Subscriber Schedules

We’ve seen a notable boost in our email campaign performance by segmenting our list and tailoring the send times to align with each subscriber’s personal schedule. We started by analyzing peak times for email opens, taking into account different time zones and subscriber behavior patterns. 

This allowed us to optimize send times based on when individuals were most likely to engage with our content. For instance, our segment of early risers received their emails first thing in the morning, while night owls received theirs in the evening.

Milo Cruz, SEO and Content Lead, BuddyCRM

Seasonal Timing Boosts E-Commerce Engagement

In the dynamic field of digital marketing, particularly in email marketing for SaaS and e-commerce businesses, even small adjustments can significantly impact the effectiveness of campaigns. At our organization, we’ve experimented with various tweaks to timing and frequency that have led to notable improvements in our campaigns’ performance. Here is a specific example of how these adjustments have made a difference:

Seasonal Timing Adjustments: We tailored our email send times based on seasonal shopping behaviors, especially for our e-commerce clients. For instance, during the holiday season, we shifted our email campaigns to later in the evening to catch shoppers who were browsing after work. This tweak resulted in a 30% increase in open rates and a substantial 27% rise in click-through rates, as our emails aligned better with the times when customers were actually thinking about shopping. 

This strategy not only capitalized on the increased purchase intent during these peak times but also helped us stand out from the competition, who often sent their emails during conventional daytime hours. Furthermore, adapting our approach to align with consumer behavior during specific periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday maximized the impact and efficiency of our campaigns, proving the value of strategic timing adjustments in email marketing.

Marc Bishop, Director, Wytlabs

Early Timing Increases Audience Engagement

After adjusting the timing of our email campaign from 9 AM to 8 AM, using insights about our audience’s behavior, we noticed an improvement in performance. 

Even though the alteration was minor, it led to more than a 25% rise in engagement rates. This indicates that connecting with our audience an hour earlier aligned well with their morning habits, enhancing their engagement with our content.

Arkadiy Ostrenko, CMO, BI-Box

Want to get quoted in MarketerInterview.com content just like this? Apply to become a contributor today!