What Are the Worst Times to Send Email Marketing Messages?A tongue in cheek response to the enduring question:“What’s the best time to send email?”

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One of the most frequently asked questions in email marketing is:

“What’s the best time to send email?”

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Answers:1) It is different for each individual recipient.

2) Send based on past individual email open and click interaction.

3) Move away from generic broadcast emails sent at one time, to automated emails triggered in real

time based on each individual recipient’s behavior.

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OK, but let’s have some fun with this question ..by flipping it on its head … in a not so serious way.

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“What’s the WORST time to send email?”

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1. Saturday?: People are playing golf, shopping, going to soccer

games – who has time for email?

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2. Sunday?: A day of rest, many folks are religious about not checking email on Sunday.

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3. Monday?: Whoa, people have too many things to do after the

weekend … and too many emails in their inbox.

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4. Friday?: People are trying to wrap-up things before heading off

for the weekend? Checking email, not.

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5. Tuesday?: This is when all of your competitors were told to

send their email – so this is the most difficult time to stand out in

the inbox. Forget it.

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6. Wednesday?: Hump day. You kidding me? People are just

trying to make it through this mid-week hurdle of a day.

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7. Thursday?: Not quite …since your recipients are busy checking

their email that backed up from the rest of the week – yours will

certainly get lost.

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8. 10 am EST?: Perfect for those east coasters just getting into the office. Oops, too early for those on the west coast and Hawaii.

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9. 7 am EST?: Excellent. Top of east coast folk’s inbox. Shucks,

but at 4 am on the left coast, definitely lost among the

overnight spam.

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10. Midnight to 6 am EST?: Hmm, too late for most and

simply lost among the Viagra emails sent in the middle of the

night. Try again.

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11. Lunch time?: Possibly … darn, folks are too busy eating

their turkey and Swiss sandwich to be able to focus and act on

your email.

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12. Late afternoon?: Like late afternoon for whom? Folks are

either picking up kids from school or getting that presentation done

before the end of the day.

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13. Dinner time?: No one answers their phone anymore at

this time – do you want to be “that guy” because of your

dinner-time emails?

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14. Anytime?: Yikes, looks like you can’t send emails at anytime as lots of subscribers will simply

not be checking their email?

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15. 9PM ET on Sunday?: Because that's when Keeping Up

With The Kardashians is on.

Via DJ Waldow, Waldow Social - @DJWaldow

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16. 8 am on December 25th?: ...everyone is opening

presents.

via Andrew Kordek, Trendline Interactive - @AndrewKordek

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17. Early August?: When just about everyone is enjoying their

much needed vacations…

via Remy Bergsma, MailPlus - @RemyBergsma

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18. On National "Clear Your Inbox“ Day?

via GroupMail - @GroupMail

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19. During a blackout?

via GroupMail - @GroupMail

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20. On the same day that your domain is used for a phishing

scam?

via GroupMail - @GroupMail

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21. Rainy days?: Because everyone is checking the weather

instead of their email.

via Alyson Engle, Silverpop - @allyengle

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22. Sunny days?: Because people are finding ways to get

outside instead of checking email.

via Alyson Engle, Silverpop - @allyengle

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23. Between 1-3 pm midweek?: Because that's when everybody posts on Facebook, so clearly

users aren't checking their email.

via Stephan Hovnanian, Shovi Websites - @Shoviweb

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24. 6-9a?: Moms gotta get the kids up, dressed, fed, off to

school.

via Liz Bross, Silverpop - @liz_bross

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25. 9a-Noon?: OMG, you should see the house after the kids

leave! Gotta clean.

via Liz Bross, Silverpop - @liz_bross

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26. Noon-3p?: Ha! No way, that's my nap time - been up since 6a!

via Liz Bross, Silverpop - @liz_bross

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27. 3pm-6pm?: How can I check email when the kids are now

home? Have to be the homework police!

via Liz Bross, Silverpop - @liz_bross

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28. 6pm-9pm?: Right. Like I'm going to check email when my

entire family wants dinner. Yeah, that's not gonna happen.

via Liz Bross, Silverpop - @liz_bross

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29. 9pm-Midnight?: Maybe? Doubtful. Finally got the kids in

bed. Time for a glass of wine and a good book.

via Liz Bross, Silverpop - @liz_bross

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30. Midnight-6am?: Nope. Need my beauty sleep to face the next

day starting at 6am!

via Liz Bross, Silverpop - @liz_bross

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31. During the Superbowl, because people like to see ads

around that time.

via Jordie van Rijn, Email Consultant - @jvanrijn

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32. Your contribution here…

And your name here…submit your worst time!

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Have some of your own fun “worst times to send email” contributions?

Tweet @LorenMcDonald and I’ll add my favorites to this presentation.

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For a serious look at the “Best Time” Question …

• The Last 'Best Time to Send?' Article – Email Insider column

• STO Revisited: What We’ve Learned About the Best Time to Send Email – Silverpop blog post

• The Best Time to Send Email: Catching Recipients When They're in Their Inboxes – Silverpop newsletter article

• In Search of the Ideal Send Time – Silverpop Webinar/SlideShare presentation

• When is the best time to send an email? – Silverpop FAQ

• In Search of the Perfect Time to Send Email – Silverpop YouTube video