Download the best days and times for email marketing

THE BEST DAYS
AND TIMES FOR
EMAIL MARKETING
$44.25
1
the average return on
email marketing
investment
for every $1 spent
4.3 billion
2
estimated email
accounts by 2016. In
2013, there were
3.6 billion accounts
INSIDE
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Welcome Letter
Introduction
Opens / Day
Best Days for Opens
Click-Throughs / Day
Best Days for Click-Throughs
Opens / Time of Day
Best Times of Day for Opens
Determinations
Best Practices
Call to Action
Sources
About RedBase Interactive
About SalesStaff
40%
3
of B2B marketers
rated the leads
generated by email
as high-quality
2
www.RedBaseInteractive.com
THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
welcome > from DAVID BALZEN
Dear
W
Reader,
elcome to the first whitepaper assembled by Red Base
Interactive, The Best Days and Times for Email Marketing. This
whitepaper represents a compilation of research that draws from
credible sources who have answered the question:
What are the best days of the week and times of the
day to send B2B email marketing campaigns to maximize
results?
But answers to marketing questions like these are a moving
target. Why? The answer is simple. Marketing, at its core,
is governed by the behavioral responses of people, which
are always in flux. So what we’ve done in this piece is cited
trustworthy sources, amassed some fascinating statistics, and
presented it to you here in an easily-digestible format.
B2B email marketing is always evolving. It has gone from an art
to a science. The landscape is wrought with challenges – from
deliverability to messaging to list development and beyond.
But the one constant is recipients. In order to have a successful
campaign, it starts with a great list of recipients – whether it’s a list
of subscribers you’ve culled organically or a list of potential buyers
that you’ve acquired from one of the myriad sources of contact
B2B email marketing is always evolving.
It has gone from an art to a science.
data.
Red Base Interactive has been one of the market leaders in
providing high-quality, low-cost B2B contact data to marketers
the world over. We know all too well that the list is critical but, as
members of the sales and marketing community, we know of the
subtle nuances that will make an email marketing campaign thrive
or flop. We share some of that experience with you here and wish
you the best on your way to email marketing success.
Regards,
David Balzen
CEO, SalesStaff
3
www.RedBaseInteractive.com
THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
email marketing > introduction
Over the last decade, B2B email marketing – and the
data used to fuel those campaigns – has become
a cornerstone to any great marketing program. In
fact, many companies have an entire position or
department dedicated to deal with the complexity of
today’s email marketing challenges.
Why has email marketing become a standard spoke
in the B2B marketing wheel? What are the best days
of the week and times of the day to send B2B email
marketing campaigns to maximize results?
19%
10%
of all emails
received in
2012 was
spam
the amount
email marketing
spending grows
every year
64%
13%
of decision-makers
read their email
via mobile
devices
percentage of leads
generated through
email in
2013
69%
138%
say too many
emails is the
reason they
unsubscribe
increase in spending
by people who buy
products marketed
through email
2
5
7
4
4
6
8
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
email marketing > opens > days
The first goal of any B2B email marketing campaign
is to get eyeballs on your carefully-crafted email. The
worst thing that can happen is that you spend time
and resources to choose your format and your words
correctly. You draft and redraft trying to find the
perfect formula that will hit home with your audience.
Then you push send and … crickets.
Open rates by day can be such a volatile statistic
but there are some reputable sources that have put
together data on the best day of the week to send a
B2B email marketing piece. On the next page you will
find a table reporting from these sources what the
best day of the week to send B2B email marketing is,
compiled from data on billions of emails sent. You will
also find a final ranking based on these statistics.
Let’s do a little exercise. From
your experience (or simply
guesstimating), rank the best days
of the week for email marketing
from 1 to 7, and see how you stack
up on the next couple pages:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
89
9
billion
business emails
are sent every day
by workers worldwide
So ...
What is the best day for B2B
Email Marketing Opens?
5
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
email marketing > opens > days
We looked at statistics found around the web concerning the best day
of the week to get prospects to open your B2B email marketing content.
From our experience, open rates, in general, are primarily a function of:
(1) How attractive your subject line is
(2) Overall deliverability
If you find your emails are falling in to junk folders, naturally you will experience
lower-than-normal open rates, no matter what day of the week it is. But all
things equal, let’s take a look at what the data shows:
SOURCE
EROI, Inc.
Ignition
Gather.com
ecreativeim.com
MailerMailer
MarketingVox
MONDAY
33%
25%
X
TUESDAY
36%
27%
X
X
WEDNESDAY
15%
26%
X
X
X
X
THURSDAY
5%
24%
FRIDAY
7%
28%
SATURDAY SUNDAY
1%
3%
X
We took the data above and applied a ranking system that assigns points to the
findings, with 1 representing the best days to send email and 5 representing one
of the worst days to send B2B email marketing:
SOURCE
EROI, Inc.
Ignition
Gather.com
ecreativeim.com
MailerMailer
MarketingVox
TOTAL
MONDAY
2
4
4
1
4
4
19
TUESDAY
1
2
1
1
4
1
10
WEDNESDAY
3
3
1
1
4
1
13
THURSDAY
5
5
1
4
4
1
20
FRIDAY
4
1
4
4
4
4
21
SATURDAY
5
4
4
4
4
4
25
THE FINAL RANKING > OPENS > DAYS
1.
TUESDAY
6
2. WEDNESDAY
3. MONDAY
4. THURSDAY
5. FRIDAY
6. SUNDAY
7. SATURDAY
www.RedBaseInteractive.com
THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
SUNDAY
5
4
4
4
1
4
22
email marketing > click-throughs > days
The second goal of your email marketing campaign
is to inspire action in the form of prospects clicking
through to your website or landing page. A high openrate and low click-through rate indicates that you a
master at constructing subject lines but your content is
somewhat lackluster.
Think about it. Business people receive hundreds of
emails every day and the emails are all competing
for their attention. What can cause your carefully
crafted email to rise above the rest of the smog and
incite action? There are a number of studies that cite
contributing factors to improving click-through rates,
with the most powerful being:
Personalization of the email content
Relevance of the offer to the recipient
Clear call-to-action
Compelling call-to-action
All of these are indeed important and just as important
is the timing of your email. Are you sending email
marketing campaigns on traditionally busy days? What
are the best days for email marketing click-throughs? Is
there a pattern?
So ...
What is the best day for B2B
Email Marketing Click-Throughs?
7
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
158%
10
increase in
click-through
rate in emails
with social
sharing
buttons
email marketing > click-throughs > days
Millions of emails are sent every day, and a few firms compiled
information specific to B2B email marketing campaigns on the
correlation between which days of the week the email was sent and
the corresponding click-through rate. Of course there are a number
of factors that contribute to click-through rate, like the quality of
content or offer contained in the email, but holding all other things
equal, this is what the data shows from reputable companies Ignition,
MarketingSherpa, and eCreative:
SOURCE
Ignition
MarketingSherpa
ecreativeim.com
MONDAY
5%
4%
TUESDAY
15%
3%
WEDNESDAY
8%
5%
THURSDAY
19%
5%
X
FRIDAY
10%
4%
X
SATURDAY
x
2%
X
SUNDAY
x
2%
X
SATURDAY
4
4
1
9
SUNDAY
4
4
1
9
When we apply a ranking scheme to the data above which assigns points to the
findings, with 1 representing the best days to send email for click-through rate
and 5 representing one of the worst days for click-through rates, we get the
following:
SOURCE
Ignition
MarketingSherpa
ecreativeim.com
TOTAL
MONDAY
4
2
4
10
TUESDAY
2
3
4
9
WEDNESDAY
4
1
4
9
THURSDAY
1
1
1
3
FRIDAY
3
2
1
6
THE FINAL RANKING > CLICK-THROUGHS > DAYS
1.
THURSDAY
8
2. FRIDAY
3. TUESDAY
3. WEDNESDAY
3. SATURDAY
6. SUNDAY
7. MONDAY
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
email marketing > opens > time of day
Timing is so fickle in the context of which time of
the day to send your email marketing campaign.
Obviously, you want to give your email the best chance
to succeed. You’ve crafted an awesome email, culled
a database to send it to, and now the last remaining
mechanics are which day and what time. We’ve given
you some insight on the previous pages of which days
might be best for success, but is there data to support
which time of the day might be best? Indeed there is.
The best time of the day to send email marketing
campaigns can be so volatile. People are busy … but
when are they least busy, on the average? When are
they most likely to open your email and give it a look?
64%
7
of recipients
open emails on
subject line
alone
So ...
What is the best time of day for
B2B Email Marketing Opens?
9
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
email marketing > opens > time of day
We understand that there are a lot of variables when we talk about time
of the day to send email marketing. Firstly, are we talking about the
recipients’ time zones or the sender’s time zone? The statistics below
pertain to the sending time zone from companies in the United States.
So it’s a mix of data from all four mainland time zones, but a pattern
emerges from the four sources that reported best times of the day to
send email marketing campaigns:
SOURCE
ProfitWorks
EROI, Inc.
ecreativeim.com
MailerMailer
SmartFocus Digital
B2B Marketing Mag
SalesStaff LLC
TOTAL
12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
4
4
4
4
SOURCE
ProfitWorks
EROI, Inc.
ecreativeim.com
MailerMailer
SmartFocus Digital
B2B Marketing Mag
SalesStaff LLC
TOTAL
12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
THE FINAL RANKING > TIME OF DAY
1.
8 a.m.
1.
9 a.m.
1.
10 a.m.
1.
11 a.m.
It’s a tie! The data unequivivocally supports that the
morning hours tend to be best for email marketing opens.
10
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
1
0
0
email marketing > determinations
As email marketing becomes a critical leg of Marketing departments
at B2B companies, it is increasingly important to maximize the results
marketers may realize from their efforts. It’s an interesting irony.
Marketers spend so much effort on the details of email marketing – the
subject line, the content, the day and time to send – yet they want their
final piece to flow and seem effortless.
There are numerous factors to consider:
Fancy HTML email vs. conversational text email
Heavily personalized with mail merge vs. one-size-fits-all general email format
Here, we’ve touched on just one of the key components of
successful email marketing – timing – and here’s what we’ve
determined.
Mid-week days tend to be better for email
marketing opens, most specifically
Tuesday and Wednesday.
In an interesting dichotomy, though Tuesday and
Wednesday may be best for email marketing opens,
Thursday and Friday are best for click-throughs.
The morning hours tend to be best
for email marketing opens.
There are definitive conclusions brought about by the data but
ultimately, you have to determine the success formula for your
email marketing efforts. For some best practices, keep reading.
11
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
email marketing > best practices
Email marketing is evolving and innovating at breakneck
speed. There are a number of best practices we’ve
uncovered to increase email marketing success.
Procure the best possible database for your prospect universe. Ultimately
you want to embody your entire prospect universe in a database and be diligent
about keeping it up to date. You may build a database organically, but in today’s
competitive environment, you may be best served purchasing a database from a
reputable vendor.
Always be experimenting with unique subsets of your segmented
database. There may be pockets of certain titles or industries with which a
message resonates more than another. Hone in on these nuances and chop up
your database as you see fit.
Use less than 3 typefaces. Too many fonts in the body of your email make it
appear cluttered and present a certain cacophony to the eyes.
Keep the Call-to-Action at the Top of the Email Body. If you use a fancy HTML
version of your email, keep the primary call-to-action above the fold. Research
shows that if the main call-to-action falls below the fold, up to 70% of recipients
won’t see it. Any call-to-action should be restated at least three instances
throughout the email.
If You Use HTML Formatting, Keep Your Email 500-650 Pixels Wide.
Quite simply, if your email is wider than 650 pixels, then you’re expecting
users to scroll horizontally to read your entire message. Don’t do that.
Write Compelling Subject Lines. A decent subject line should contain
less than 50 characters. It should also create a sense of urgency, whether
with ambiguity or by sheer force.
Closely Tie Emails to Landing Pages. In terms of headline, copy, and
content, your landing page should mirror the body of your email. Make
certain you’re employing tracking tools to see which emails and landing pages
performed better.
The Old 5-Second Test. Send a copy of the email to a friend or colleague
to ascertain: Can they quickly tell what your call-to-action is? If so, you’re in
good shape. If not, keep at it. Also, ask them for feedback on the format,
look and feel, and be prepared to adjust.
Determine the Best Practices Specific to Your Business. The timing,
content, subject and frequency of your emails are all variables that
contribute to your email marketing success and they may be unique to your
business. Initiate A/B testing on all facets of your email – subject, body, callto-action, database.
12
For B2B
companies,
subject
lines that
contained
“money,”
“revenue,”
and “profit”
performed
the best.
11
11
22.2%
The increased likelihood
emails with personalized
subject lines will be
opened.
58%
12
The open rate for emails
with Subject lines
fewer than 10
characters long.
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
email marketing > call to action
Has this report inspired you to maximize the results
you realize from your email marketing efforts?
REDBASE INTERACTIVE can provide your organization
with an accurate database of contacts complete with
email addresses to fuel any email marketing campaign.
visit
www.
redbase-solutions
.com/freesample
for a complimentary
database sample
more
info
more
info
877-469-1503
info@
redbase-solutions.com
13
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
email marketing > sources
1 > Experian
2 > The Radicati Group
3 > Software Advice Survey
4 > Forrester Research
5 > TopRankBlog
6 > Hubspot
7 > Chadwick Martin Bailey
8 > Convince and Convert
9 > Mashable
10 > GetResponse
11 > Adestra
12 > SalesStaff LLC
14
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING
email marketing > about us
ABOUT
RedBase Interactive
Our Company has quickly earned a reputation as a trustworthy partner
that always demonstrates its value in practice. As the Company has
grown, we have focused on maintaining our reputation as one of the
industry’s leading providers of accurate Decision Maker Data, while at
the same time providing excellent customer service. For many years, Red
Base Interactive has provided a comprehensive solution to marketing
executives that allows them
to connect with a relevant
Our customer base has
audience.
aggressively
grown since our inception and includes
some of the world’s largest companies.
Red Base Interactive
has been subsequently
advanced and expanded as
we continue to have presence in many new markets. Our proprietary
technology has allowed us to stay current, as well as competitive,
by providing well-kept accurate data contacts. It is this proprietary
technology as well our commitment to continual improvement that
has enabled us to stay competitive with pricing, while providing a wellrounded customer experience.
Our customer base has aggressively grown since our inception and
includes some of the world’s largest companies. We also remain strong
in today’s startups and continue to have a big presence in helping
small to medium-sized companies. We have focused on listening
to our customers’ needs and responding by providing additional
products and services. It is this sensitive ear to the customer’s
voice that has enabled us to develop market focused
databases, like our University and Technology Decision
Maker list.
Connect with one of our industry leading Decision-Maker
databases. Get your message in front of the most senior
level contacts of an organization and generate new
prospects and sales activity fast!
15
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR
sales staff > about
ABOUT
SalesStaff
Our company evolved from a 1990’s consulting practice that guided
hundreds of CEOs and Entrepreneurs on the implementation of sales
training, systems and processes; staffed thousands of sales people; and
created branding, messaging and go-to-market plans for hundreds of
hi-tech and B2B clients. Today, that experience is the foundation for a
hybrid demand generation operation piloted by a highly experienced
and talented team of sales leaders at SalesStaff LLC. More than 10,000
sales appointments and leads are generated annually for our clients. We
are changing our industry in a better direction that leverages outbound
prospecting, business intelligence, and a performance-based production
model. The collective impact to client sales pipelines is more than a
billion dollars of new sales opportunities entering funnels every year.
Our Services
SalesStaff provides high-level appointment setting and demand
generation services for business-to-business technology companies
through the deployment and management of quota-based marketing
programs. We research opportunities and successfully secure meetings
with key executives and generate leads on behalf of our clients’ B2B sales
teams to expand their sales pipelines and accelerate sales cycles.
What Our Clients Are Saying
An IT Security Client | ”In evaluating Demand Generation vendors, we
found the pay-for-performance model offered by SalesStaff to be extremely
attractive. Other per-month or per-rep models we evaluated didn’t provide a
firm guarantee of results. So we were eager to work with SalesStaff, and have
been more than pleased with the results.”
A Managed Services Client | “What we liked most about working with the
team at SalesStaff was the open communication we had throughout the
course of the campaign. They were always available to discuss critical aspects
of the campaign. In addition, they successfully developed a structured process
to follow-up with key prospects.”
A Workforce Management Client | “What I like most about working with
the SalesStaff team is that they do what they say they’ll do.”
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THE BEST DAYS AND TIMES FOR EMAIL MARKETING