When it comes to email marketing, it's not just about what you say—it’s when you say it. Imagine sending the perfect email with an irresistible offer, but it lands in your customer’s inbox at 2 a.m. when they’re sound asleep. Not ideal, right?

The numbers don’t lie. For one of our e-commerce clients, sending emails at strategic times led to impressive differences in performance. For example, emails sent at 3:15 PM saw an average placed order rate of 0.00165 with over $10,978.80 in total placed order value.

Not bad, right? Fortunately, we tested. And what we found was that those same emails, sent on the same days, yielded over $24,820.87 in revenue when sent at 5:00AM 

In this post, we’ll break down the data to show you the best times to hit "send" to maximize engagement and conversions.

Spoiler: early afternoons tend to be a sweet spot, but some unexpected late-night send times also performed remarkably well.

What the Data Tells Us: Best Times for Email Sends

Based on our analysis of campaign data, emails sent at 2:00 PM outperformed all other times, delivering the highest placed order rate and total order value. However, late-night and early afternoon emails also yielded solid results.

Here’s a snapshot of the findings:

Breaking Down the Best Times

1. Top Performer: 2:00 PM

   • Why It Works: Early afternoon emails consistently outperformed other time slots, with the highest placed order rate and total order value. This time likely catches people during post-lunch browsing or mid-day breaks, making them more receptive to offers.

2. Late Night Surprise: 2:00 AM

   • Why It Works: While it might seem counterintuitive, late-night emails also performed well. With a decent placed order rate of 0.00286, these emails generated over $26,000 in sales. This could be reaching night owls.

3. Early Afternoon: 1:00 PM

   • Why It Works: Emails sent at 1:00 PM had a respectable placed order rate of 0.00230, with an average placed order value higher than other times at $38.95. This confirms that the early afternoon is a great window for sending emails when customers are most engaged.

How to Optimize Your Send Times

So, how do you apply these insights to your own campaigns? Here are some quick tips to help you optimize your send times:

1. Test Different Time Slots: Don’t rely on assumptions—test different time windows such as early afternoon and late night to find what works best for your audience.
2. Analyze Your Audience Behavior: Your customers might behave differently based on their timezone, habits, and routines. Use data to track when they’re most engaged and adjust your send times accordingly.
3. Refine for Peak Performance: Once you’ve identified the top-performing times, stay consistent to maximize engagement and conversions.

Ready to Optimize Your Email Campaigns?

If you want to start driving higher engagement and revenue through strategic email campaigns, we’re here to help. Check out our 4 weeks of profitable campaign ideas (free) or get a Personalized email & SMS marketing strategy (only $97) to get your emails working harder for you.

Conclusion: Timing Really Is Everything

By adjusting the timing of your emails to align with your customers' habits, you can drive significantly higher engagement and revenue. Whether it’s taking advantage of the early afternoon boost or surprising your audience with a well-timed late-night offer, testing and optimizing your send times will pay off.

Next Post: In our next post, we’ll dive into the power of holiday and event promotions and how they can create significant revenue spikes for your business. Stay tuned!