Which days of the week should brands send their emails?

Consumers receive emails from a variety of sources – their friends, family members, co-workers, other companies and brands, etc. As such, there is a lot of competition in the inbox to secure email views and clicks. People are always wondering which days of the week are best to send email newsletters and other promotional messages.

Understanding the relation between opens, clicks and volume

Although the best time and day will always change from person to person and demographic to demographic, a new report from GetResponse may offer some guidance to publications and brands alike. According to the research, the majority of email messages are sent on Tuesdays, with17.9 percent of the total volume. This day also tends to have the highest open and click rates at19.9 and 4.6 percent, respectively.

The fact that most emails are sent on the day with the highest open rate suggests that companies are doing their homework. However, brands may want to consider sending emails on other days where not quite as many messages are put in circulation in order to standout from the crowd. The GetResponse study suggests that while people may open more emails on Tuesday, it’s not that much more than other days of the week.

For example, only 14.9 percent of emails are sent on Friday, which is 3 percent less than Tuesday. Comparatively, open rates are only down 0.3 percent to 19.6 percent. To add icing to the cake, click-through rates on Friday are up by 0.3 percent compared to Tuesday. So while people may be opening more messages on Tuesday, they are actually more engaged with communications sent on Friday, as they are more likely to click on links, videos, social profiles and email advertisingincluded in them.

One statistic from the report that publishers and advertisers alike are certain to be optimistic about is that click-through rates are on the rise. Just earlier this year, they were as low as 4.2 percent. As of the fourth quarter of 2013, however, they have grown to 4.7 percent. This suggests senders are doing a more effective job of creating relevant, attractive content that is inspiring recipients to not only read it, but actively click through it to other pages.