Does specific newsletter send time impact sender reputation and deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say15Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests avoiding sending at :00 or :30 minutes, recommending instead to pick less common times like :08 or :37 for better delivery.
Email marketer from HubSpot shares that you should consider your target audience and industry when deciding on optimal email send times. They state that businesses in the real estate industry will have very different results than those in the tech industry, so it's up to the individual business to decide what's best for them.
Email marketer from Coschedule shares that the best days to send email are Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 9 AM and 11 AM, as those times tend to have higher open and click-through rates, based on their research.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that one of the most important factors for deliverability is sending emails at the right time for your audience. Sending emails when they are most likely to engage will improve engagement and deliverability.
Email marketer from SmartrMail says that when considering best times to send newsletters, businesses must account for their respective industry. They highlight key times for the fashion and beauty industry, food and beverage industry and travel industry.
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that the best time to send newsletters is typically between 9 am and 11 am, but also emphasizes the importance of knowing your audience and testing different times to see what works best for them.
Email marketer from OptinMonster says that that the best time to send emails to increase open rates is between 8 AM and 10 AM. They found that people are most likely to check their emails first thing in the morning.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains mistrusts ESPs to send emails precisely at the specified time (e.g., 6:30), noting potential variations and limitations in scheduling options.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends deviating from standard send times like :00, :15, :30, and :45, but cautions against simply choosing :59 to appear strategic.
Email marketer from Reddit states that there is no universal "best time" and depends on your audience. However, they also share that mid-week, mid-morning is a good starting point, then adjust based on analytics.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests in a Reddit thread that analyzing your own email data to determine when your audience is most active is crucial. They state general best times may not apply universally, so personalized timing based on recipient behavior is key.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor says that the best time to send emails is between 9 AM and 11 AM. They also recommend sending emails on Tuesdays and Thursdays to increase open rates.
Email marketer from NeilPatel.com explains the best days to send emails are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. He also shares that the ideal times are 8:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 4:00 PM, based on studies analyzing open rates.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that the default setting of HH:MM with minutes defaulting to 00 in job picker UIs contributes to compute spikes at the top of the hour, and that changing the send time to something like 23 minutes after the hour is often the first step in performance engagements.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that for some ESPs, specifying a send time (e.g., 7 AM) triggers segment calculation, which delays the actual send time. This required adding a feature to pre-calculate segments for senders with strict timing requirements.
What the experts say7Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares to offset send times by a few minutes (e.g., 6:23 instead of 6:30) to avoid competition for inbox placement with other senders.
Expert from Spamresource says that engagement, and content are key influencers of deliverability and inbox placement. They do not directly address send time.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that sending emails only to engaged users and suppressing unengaged ones can protect sender reputation more effectively than optimizing send time alone.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that consistent sending volume, instead of sending time, is important for ISPs to identify your traffic patterns and build a reputation.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that sender reputation is based on how recipients react to your mail, questioning the idea that sending at 7:00 would damage reputation compared to 6:30 unless it leads to increased spam reports.
Expert from Email Geeks notes that ESPs often only prioritize delivery-related development when major ISPs like Yahoogle demand it, suggesting that potential ISP blocking of bulk mail at :00 and :30 would quickly lead to resource allocation for addressing the issue.
Expert from Email Geeks advises offsetting send times, even by a few minutes, to reduce congestion and delays, especially on ESPs that heavily utilize common intervals like :00, :15, :30, and :45.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from SparkPost says that sending emails at the same time can trigger spam filters. They state that if you send at the same time everyday, spam filters will learn to block you at that time.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools states that consistently sending emails from the same IP address and domain can help build a positive reputation over time, which improves deliverability. They do not provide info on send time.
Documentation from Microsoft explains maintaining consistent sending volumes and avoiding sudden spikes can help to improve deliverability. They also state that sending emails at times when recipients are most likely to engage can improve engagement metrics, positively impacting sender reputation. They do not provide info on specific send times.
Documentation from Mailchimp suggests segmenting audiences based on time zone and sending at optimal local times to improve engagement and avoid sending emails at inconvenient hours. They mention scheduling emails based on time zones, meaning someone will get it at their local timezone at the time you specify.