The Best Time to Send Marketing Emails (and How to Find Yours)
"When should I send my email?" is one of the most common marketing questions. The honest answer: it depends on your audience — but here are strong starting points and a method to find your own best time.
The general benchmarks
Across many studies, these windows tend to perform well:
- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday generally beat Mondays and Fridays.
- Mid-morning (9–11am) catches people as they start their day.
- Early afternoon (1–3pm) is a solid secondary window.
Why benchmarks are only a starting point
Your subscribers aren't "average." A B2B audience opens during work hours; a consumer audience may engage in the evening or on weekends. Treat benchmarks as a hypothesis, not a rule.
How to find your own best time
- Look at your data. Check when your past opens and clicks actually happened.
- A/B test send-times. Split a campaign between two times and compare.
- Respect time zones. 10am means different things in different places — segment by region where you can.
- Mind your frequency. The best time won't save an audience you email too often. Consistency beats volume.
Bottom line: start with weekday mornings, then let your own opens, clicks and A/B tests refine it. Shotbees' scheduling, segmentation and A/B testing make finding your perfect send-time straightforward.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best day to send marketing emails?
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday generally outperform Mondays and Fridays for most audiences — but test with your own list to confirm.
What is the best time of day to send emails?
Mid-morning (9–11am) is the strongest default, with early afternoon (1–3pm) as a solid second window. Your audience's habits matter more than any benchmark.
How often should I email my list?
Consistency beats volume. Most senders do well with one to four campaigns a month; emailing too often is a fast way to increase unsubscribes and spam complaints.
Related reading
Schedule, segment and A/B test your send-times with a free Shotbees trial.