Be an Email Pro

Email is such an instant and easy way of communication that we often take it for granted. Personal email may be done in your own sweet time, but when it comes to work-related email, you can’t just send it as soon as it comes to mind and hope that the recipient will get back to you pronto with good feedback. When it comes to work email, timing is everything.

Best time of the day to send email: 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Most people check their emails first thing in the morning. The first thing that anyone would want to do is clear up their inbox and delete as much spam as they can. That last thing you want is for your email to be brushed off as unimportant. “You don't want them to see your message when they are in a deleting frenzy,” said Jason Lexell of businessemaillists.com.

If you want your email to be noticed, it’s best to send it at around 10:30 a.m., where the person is most likely done with the “deleting frenzy” and is ready to focus on the more important emails. One o’clock p.m. is also a good time, because this is when everyone has just finished lunch break and is ready to get back to the grind.

Best days to send important email: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays
The “deleting frenzy” is especially prevalent on Mondays or the day after a holiday. You’ve just gotten over your relaxing weekend and you want your first day of the workweek to start off easy. Majority of leftover email from last Friday and a barrage of emails from your workaholic colleagues who work on weekends are the first to greet you on a Monday. A typical worker would want to delete as many unnecessary emails on a Monday, so you don’t want your important email to be misjudged as an unimportant solicitation or offer.

As for Fridays, people are keen on wrapping things up for the weekend. “And anyone who didn’t read the email on Friday will find it at the very bottom of their inbox on Monday morning,” said lawyercasting.com. Weekends are off-limits.

The middle weekdays are the perfect days to send proposals, tasks, project reports, and other important emails to your direct clients, bosses, teammates, and colleagues. According to businessemaillists.com, people have already recovered from the Monday blues and are geared up to work at their full potentials on these middle days.

Best time to send promotions or newsletters: Tuesday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
If you work in a company or department that sends out promo emails or e-newsletters to clients and customers, then the best time to send an email blast is during the three middle workdays. This only works for the general market, as people are mostly at work, online, checking important emails at those hours.

Your best bet is to carefully study your target market and see which times of the day they are usually online and not overwhelmed with work or tasks. Teenagers, for example, are usually in school from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m., so you should send them e-newsletters on a weekend to expect the best response. Working parents, on the other hand, are most likely to have access to email on the regular 9-5 workdays.