Leap Ahead in Your Email Marketing

Monday is one of the best days to send email newsletters, according to recent research. So how can email marketers take advantage of the extra Monday in 2016?

In an analysis of more than 6.8 million emails opened daily, email solutions provider myMail determined that emails sent at the beginning of the week have the highest open rates.

The highest open and read rates occurred when emails were sent between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., and email responses were most likely to occur between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. or 8 p.m. and 12 a.m.

Monday emails also have the highest revenue per email, according to a 2012 Experian Benchmark Report.

There is an extra Monday in 2016 thanks to a trick of the Gregorian Calendar, which grants us an extra day every four years on Feb. 29. Leap Year only falls on a Monday 15 times every 400 years, and the last time February 29 was on a Monday was in 1988. The next time we’re awarded with an extra Monday is in 2044.

"Because February 29 only comes every so often, email marketers should take this opportunity to offer consumers something unique for that day only, just as they might on Black Friday or Cyber Monday," says Gurjit Sandhu, senior marketing specialist at Yes Lifecycle Marketing. 

Many brands took advantage of Leap Day, including Arby’s vegetarian-only day, and Leap Year babies can eat for free on Monday at Hard Rock Café. 

"The relatively small number of people this includes and rarity of the event allows brands to offer discounts they might not be able to normally give everyone," says Vivek Sharma, CEO of Movable Ink, who suggests offering specials for those born on the day. "Marketers should definitely use data and personalize any email promotions to make the customer feel that much more special but can also create a sense of urgency -- encouraging them to act within a limited time before having to wait another four years."

Eldar Sadikov, founder and CEO of Jetlore, agrees that Leap Day presents marketers with a rare opportunity to target its customers with Leap Year birthdays. 

"Brands and retailers should execute personalized marketing campaigns to present this unique group with exclusive offers, such as birthday promotions or gifts to treat them on this special occasion," says Sadikov, who suggests using lifecycle marketing technology to leverage customer data.

"Look for RTB ad exchange pricing to dip for a day due to careless traffickers setting their monthly campaigns to end on February 28,” says Jonathan Opdyke, CEO at HookLogic.

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