Have you ever sent a cold email and received no response? Of course, you may have wondered if it was just bad timing. Cold emailing is an art that combines messaging, strategy, and timing.
No matter how appealing your email content may seem, if you send it at the wrong time, it can reduce its effectiveness. With inboxes getting overcrowded, knowing exactly when your email will be opened, read, and acted upon is important. Let’s learn how to time the cold emails just right.
Why Timing Matters in Cold Emailing
For cold emails, timing is everything. Whereas content and personalization are crucial, the time of arrival of an email into a person’s inbox might make all the difference between having him read it or delete it immediately. Most professionals receive a big chunk of email daily. The fight for attention is hard.
According to studies, the average office worker sends out and receives approximately 121 business emails daily, so your cold email will surely be competing with dozens of others for attention. To avoid getting lost in the ocean of emails, your message should arrive at the right time.
The Best Days to Send Cold Emails
There’s no rule, but research has shown that there are some cold emailing days that will always be better than others. Learn why knowing the cycle of events for the workweek will let you reach a recipient. This is especially when that recipient can engage in the process at the right time. Explore now…
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
While most people regard these days as the best time to send cold emails, any midweek day is considered great. By midweek, professionals are settled into their tasks and more focused, making it an ideal time for a cold email.
Monday
Mondays seem to be a good chance to reach your recipient at the start of the week, but trust me, this day can be chaotic. Many workers spend Mondays working through accumulated emails from the weekend or diving into weekly meetings and planning sessions. Emails tend to get overlooked as recipients rush to handle immediate priorities on Mondays.
Friday
This is the end of the working week, and it is another challenging day. Most professionals are winding down on this day as a way to clear their to-do lists and shift their focus toward the weekend. It is very probable that a cold email sent on a Friday afternoon will be treated like a white elephant or will be put on the back burner, and by Monday, it is likely forgotten.
Optimal Times of Day for Cold Emails
It does not just depend on the day but the hour also determines the effectiveness of your cold email. Submissions at peak working hours will have a high chance of being viewed and acted upon within no time.
Morning
Some recent studies indicate that it is one of the times when cold emails tend to get more opens and even responses. Professionals typically check their inbox in the morning as they start their day. Therefore, if an e-mail arrives during the morning, it is likely to be seen and answered in compliance with the morning routine.
Late morning to early afternoon
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Even if you have just missed the morning time window, sending your message at this time is extremely effective. At this time, most individuals have concluded their early tasks and meetings and will be more attentive to their emails when reading through others for their management of the rest of their day’s work.
Avoid dawn-dropping or night owling, that is, shooting off an email before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. Since this may seem to provide advantages to shooting off an email at weird hours, like in the wee hours of the morning or late at night, this strategy oftentimes ends badly.
Accounting for Time Zones
When businesses send emails to clients, partners, or potential employees in different regions, they must consider time zones as a key factor for success. For example, an email that you would send at 9 a.m. in your time zone may find the recipient either getting ready for bed or just starting their day.
Understanding Your Audience’s Routine
Tailoring the timing of your email to suit the habits of your audience can make a big difference in engagement. People in various roles have different rhythms:
Executives or senior leaders
This role is mainly involved in meetings and strategic work. These executives are most likely to check their emails when they come to work or during the night before leaving work. Therefore, they are more likely to read and act on emails during these times.
Middle management
This target group would be more regularly working, and late mornings and early afternoons would be considered the best times to engage.
Team members and employees
Similar to middle management, this audience would most probably be engaged with emails during regular working hours around lags or gaps between the rest of their meetings and tasks.
If you know your audience and their daily routine, you will also be able to time your cold emails well.
A/B Testing for Timing Optimization
A/B testing is a useful tool for testing different sending times and keeping track of the results. Try varying the time that the email is sent to different people on different days of the week or during other variations of a similar nature to determine which gets the best open and response rates.
For example, you might send one batch of cold emails on Tuesday morning and another on Thursday afternoon, comparing the results. By the end of your tests, you will have gathered insights on the optimal time of day for your audience.
The Importance of Follow-Up Emails
Cold emailing is not over after the first email. In fact, according to research, the response rate of follow-up emails seems to be higher in some instances. Some recipients might have missed your first email or did not want to respond immediately. A timely follow-up can capture their attention again.
Just as with the first email, timing your follow-up is important. Best practice suggests sending the first follow-up 3–5 days after posting the first email. If still without a response, a second follow-up 5–7 days after can continue the conversation.
Conclusion
The best timing of cold emails makes a difference. Preferential days include Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Ideal hours also are assumed to be early morning or late morning to early afternoon. Understanding your audience about their time and places of living would help further improve the level of response.
A/B Testing of when to send and follow-up email within some hours could also boost the rate of response. Sending cold emails during quieter times rather than the peak periods will increase the chances of success and make business reports look much better.
FAQs
1. What is the best day to send cold emails?
The best days to send cold emails are typically Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, since professionals are more focused and settled into their workweek.
2. Why is timing important in cold emailing?
Timing is crucial because it affects the likelihood of your email being opened and read amid the high volume of daily emails professionals receive.
3. What time of day is ideal for sending cold emails?
Morning (around 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.) and late morning to early afternoon (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) are optimal times for sending cold emails, as people tend to check their inbox during these periods.
