• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, Yesterday

Seasoned marketers are well aware of the best times to send emails, at least for their companies; they’ve learned it from hard experience. 

But here’s a refresher from Omnisend: a study based on analysis of 26 billion marketing emails. It found that Tuesday is the best day for top-of-funnel awareness campaigns, with a 31.27% weekly open rate and a 0.81% click-to-send rate, both the highest in their categories. 

And if you’re selling, send on Friday, which generates the highest conversion rate: 0.081%. This day also has the highest send volume: 4.51 billion emails. 

Don’t wait until Saturday, which is the weakest email day, drawing the lowest click-to-sent rate (0.68%) and conversion rate (0.058%). For what it’s worth, Saturday also has the lowest send volume: a mere 3.14 billion emails. 

But don’t forget Sunday. “Sunday performs better than many marketers would expect, especially around late morning and midday,” the study notes. “The 11 a.m. open rate of 33.69% is one of the strongest open rates of the week, and 12 p.m. also delivers a healthy conversion rate. That points to a clear Sunday lunch window, when subscribers have time to browse and are ready to act on the right offer..”

And the best time of day in general? Early morning, across the board. 

Clicks are strongest between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and tend to pick up again at 4 p.m. Opens peak between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Conversions depend on both the day and time: The best rate, 0.138%, was seen on Friday at 7 a.m., and the second highest, 0.114%, on Monday at 8 a.m. 

“The main takeaway is that there isn’t one perfect day to send every email,” says Marty Bauer, ecommerce expert at Omnisend. “Tuesday may be strongest for opens, but Friday performs better for conversions. Marketers should start with the outcome they want -- visibility, clicks, or sales -- and then choose send times based on that goal.”