GetResponse IDs best email send times

GetResponse analyzed more than twenty million email messages sent in Q1 2012. Their findings: emails opened within one hour post-send had a 23% open rate. Open rates dropped significantly after an email sat in the inbox for more than an hour. By the second hour open rates dropped to 9.52% and by the third hour to 6.33%.

So, when should an emailer send a message so that list members will see the message sooner, enhancing open rates? The research shows the highest email engagement times were 8-10 AM and 3-4 PM, but timing isn't everything.

Emails sent in the morning may get more attention, but there are more mailings sent in the morning hours - which means a chance that the message could get lost in the shuffle. So, GetResponse suggests sending messages in the early afternoon or the early morning hours.

"Don't let your message lost impact by waiting too long in the inbox," writes the company. "Schedule emails to land in the inbox no later than one hour before top open times, so they get maximum attention and results."

They also suggest segmenting list members according to the different time zones and locations of list members to make the most of those good open times. Because sending a message at 8:30AM Eastern Time could serve list members on the East Coast of the US well, but by the time a recipient on the West Coast opens email, the message could be buried. Timing gets even more problematic when considering list members in Europe or Australia.

Tags: email marketing, email research, email trends, getresponse