Key concepts:
Suitable times for sending your newsletter
Ways to find out the suitable timing for your audience
When is the best time to send your newsletter?
Lately the life of people started to be around the mobile phone, through which they access social media and read emails. That means, we should think about the times when it would be most suitable for them (free time, actual mental engagement availability) to open and read our newsletter.
Regardless of the age, the majority of age groups are busy from Monday to Friday, from 8 Am to 5-6 PM (studies, work). Of course, you should segment and research about their times in detail.
So which are the best days to send your newsletters?
Monday - lots of people consider Monday as a “black day” being the first one after the weekend; the mood and energy is generally low; not recommended;
Tuesday - the week may already be planned, things are more calm after Monday; generally a bit more time to check emails; recommended;
Wednesday - peak of the working week, people are focused on tasks, there is less time dedicated to this; not recommended;
Thursday - coming after the peak of the working week, people already use this day to make plans for the weekend or the week ahead; recommended.
Friday - people are already thinking about the weekend and most likely have already their plans done; not recommended unless you offer something particularly for that weekend yet it could be sent from Thursday for a better planning;
Saturday, Sunday - the weekend most likely is dedicated to leisure activities or family time; not recommended.
The suitable hours on the other hand are:
Information - within the first hours; in many countries its practices reading newsletters or news(papers) while having breakfast, coffee or tea; it’s the time when we are mentally preparing for the work day so it stimulates the thinking and the information is better received;
Promotions - towards the end of the morning; here comes a break or lunch break when people tend to relax, detached mentally from their work; it’s therefore a suitable time to help them with this.
When it comes to the frequency, there are not so many specific tips as it depends on what you do, how often the information gets updated, how volatile the market it or any other factors tightly connected to your field. It’s hard therefore to give a “recipe” for that. The frequency however should not be more than once per week, while sending it very rarely is also not an option as the audience can easily forget about you.
Take into consideration that you may not be the only one that sends them emails, so try to find a middle way to send frequently enough, yet to be read completely (not to bother, not to spam). One way to do that is by asking directly your readers for feedback on content or frequency.