What's the Best Day to Send E-Mail?

This story appears in the October 2006 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Want to improve your e-mail open and click rates? Consider changing your broadcasting schedule. Simply sending your message out on a different day of the week could raise your recipients' response.

According to an eROI study of approximately 100 million marketing e-mail messages sent between January and March 2006, those received on Tuesday had the highest open rate (26.4 percent). Sunday was second best (25.9 per-cent). The worst day? Saturday, at 24.1 percent.

Remember, an open rate only means your e-mail is being seen, not necessarily clicked. Here, Monday ranked last (4.5 percent). Marketing e-mails received on Tuesday and Sunday boasted the highest click rates of the week (6.2 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively). Because they scored highest in the open- and click-rate categories, consider testing these days. But don't forget to consider your audience-Tuesdays may be better for reaching the at-work crowd, but Sundays may work for reaching those at home.

Of course, the ultimate statistics to consider are your sales. Knowing which day more customers click your e-mail and buy from you is far more important than knowing industry trends. That said, knowing what generally works for web marketers can certainly start you in the right direction.