May 14, 2023 · Oskar Glauser

A guide to the best time to send newsletters

Timing matters more than most people think when it comes to email marketing. You could write the most compelling subject line and design a beautiful newsletter, but if it lands in someone’s inbox at the wrong moment, it might never get opened. The good news is that finding your best send time is not a guessing game. With a bit of research, testing, and patience, you can figure out what works for your audience.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know about choosing the right time to send your newsletters.

Why send time matters

Think about your own inbox. Emails that arrive while you are busy tend to get buried under newer messages. By the time you check again, that newsletter from yesterday morning is sitting beneath a pile of unread emails. Your subscribers experience the same thing.

The right send time increases the chance that your email is near the top of the inbox when someone checks it. That small advantage translates into higher open rates, more clicks, and better engagement overall. If you are just getting started with newsletters, our guide on how to start a newsletter covers the basics before diving into timing strategy.

Understand your audience first

Before looking at benchmarks or best practices, start with your own audience. The “best” send time for a B2B software company looks very different from the best time for a local bakery’s weekly specials email.

Ask yourself a few questions. When are your subscribers most likely checking email? Are they office workers who scan their inbox first thing in the morning? Parents who catch up on emails after the kids are in bed? Freelancers who check email throughout the day?

Your existing data is the best starting point. If you have been sending newsletters for a while, look at your open and click rates by time of day and day of week. Patterns will start to emerge.

Industry benchmarks worth knowing

While your own data should always take priority, industry benchmarks can give you a useful starting point, especially if you are just beginning.

Best days of the week

Research consistently shows that midweek days tend to perform best for email engagement. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the top performers across most industries. Monday inboxes are often flooded from the weekend, and by Friday, people are mentally wrapping up their week.

That said, there are exceptions. Retail and e-commerce brands often see strong performance on weekends, especially Saturday mornings, when people have more leisure time to browse.

Best times of day

Morning sends between 9 and 11 AM tend to get strong open rates in many industries. There is often a secondary peak in the early afternoon, around 1 to 2 PM, when people return from lunch and check their inbox again.

Evening sends between 7 and 9 PM can work well for consumer brands, particularly those targeting younger demographics who check personal email later in the day.

The power of A/B testing

Benchmarks are helpful, but the real magic happens when you start testing. A/B testing your send times is one of the simplest and most effective ways to optimize your newsletter performance.

Here is how to approach it. Split your subscriber list into two equal groups. Send the same newsletter to both groups, but at different times. Compare the results after 24 to 48 hours.

Start with bigger time differences, like morning versus afternoon. Once you find a winning time window, narrow it down further. Try 9 AM versus 10 AM, for example. Over several tests, you will build a clear picture of when your specific audience is most responsive.

Keep in mind that you should only test one variable at a time. If you change the subject line and the send time simultaneously, you will not know which change drove the results.

Time zone considerations

If your subscribers span multiple time zones, sending at 10 AM your time might mean 7 AM for some and 4 PM for others. This can make a big difference in engagement.

Many email marketing tools, including Minutemailer, allow you to segment your list by time zone or use send time optimization features that deliver emails at the optimal local time for each subscriber. If your audience is spread across regions, this feature alone can boost your open rates significantly.

For businesses working with limited budgets, there are practical ways to handle this without expensive tools. Check out our guide on email marketing on a budget for more ideas.

Behavioral triggers and timing

Beyond scheduled sends, some of the most effective email timing is based on subscriber behavior. These triggered emails arrive at exactly the right moment because they respond to something the subscriber just did.

Welcome emails

When someone signs up for your newsletter, the welcome email should go out immediately. Open rates for welcome emails are significantly higher than regular newsletters because the subscriber is actively engaged with your brand at that moment.

Abandoned cart reminders

For e-commerce brands, abandoned cart emails sent within one to three hours of the abandoned cart tend to perform best. Wait too long and the purchase intent fades.

Re-engagement emails

If a subscriber has not opened your emails in a while, a well-timed re-engagement email can bring them back. These work best when sent during the time window where the subscriber historically showed the most engagement.

Consistency builds trust

Once you find a send time that works, stick with it. Consistency helps build a habit with your readers. If your newsletter arrives every Tuesday at 10 AM, subscribers start to expect it. Some will even look forward to it.

This predictability builds trust and can improve your open rates over time. It also makes your planning easier since you know exactly when each edition needs to be ready.

Keep adapting based on metrics

Finding your best send time is not a one-time task. Audience behavior shifts over time. Seasonal changes, work schedule adjustments, and even global events can all affect when people check their email.

Review your email performance metrics regularly. If you notice open rates declining, it might be time to run a new round of A/B tests. Look at trends over weeks and months rather than reacting to a single send.

Pay attention to more than just open rates too. Click-through rates and conversion rates tell you whether the people opening your emails are actually engaging with the content. A high open rate with low clicks might suggest that while your timing is good, your content or calls to action need work. For tips on making your emails more engaging, take a look at our article on why newsletters lack interaction.

Practical tips to get started

If you are new to optimizing send times, here is a simple plan to follow. Start by picking a midweek morning slot, around 10 AM in your primary audience’s time zone. Send consistently at that time for four to six weeks while tracking your metrics. Then run an A/B test with a different time, like early afternoon. Compare the results and adjust.

Repeat this process a few times a year. Small improvements in timing can lead to meaningful gains in engagement over the long run.

There is no universal “best time” to send a newsletter. The best time is whenever your specific audience is most likely to open, read, and engage. Use industry benchmarks as a starting point, lean on A/B testing to validate your assumptions, and keep refining your approach as your audience grows and evolves.

The effort you put into finding the right timing will pay off in stronger relationships with your subscribers and better results from every email you send.