When should you schedule your emails?

​Traditional thought has long centered around sending emails Tuesday through Thursday mornings between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Conventional wisdom and past studies have shown that these hours are when many people read their emails. However, more recent studies have since pointed to other optimal times.

One cross-industry report found unique open rates averaged 21.7 percent between 8 p.m. and 11:59 p.m., and 17.6 percent between midnight and 4 a.m. Those night owls also had the highest clickthrough rates.

Another study determined mobile activity peaks between 9 p.m. and midnight, that Monday emails produce the highest ROI, and that Friday emails produce the highest clickthrough rates. Saturdays and Sundays produced the lowest sales volumes, but the highest open and clickthrough rates in this study.

Some research indicates emails are most effective within the first hours of delivery; that’s when almost 24 percent of all emails are opened. Interestingly, virtually no emails are opened 24 hours or longer after they’ve been delivered.