When Is the Best Time to Send Cold Emails to Improve the Open Rate?

What Is a Cold Email?

Cold emails are a sales process performed by marketers to try and encourage action from potential new leads, such as investing in a product or service. “cold email” refers to an email sent to the recipient without prior communication. 

There are many reasons why someone may send a cold email, such as proposing a partnership with brands or recruiting new investors or customers.

Of course, the main issue with cold emails is that they may not necessarily be read if the recipient has had no prior contact with you. That’s why the best time to email:

• Is when the recipient is most likely online (i.e., coincides with the target audience’s active hours)
• Is when the inbox traffic is low (i.e., when the email stands out the most and ensures it doesn’t get buried)
• This is when the audience is most receptive
• Avoids weekends or holidays.

Additionally, if your cold email aligns with the recipient’s time zone, it maximizes the chances of being read and results in more responses.

Don’t forget that the more your emails are opened, the more it reduces the risk of being marked as spam.

How Do Cold Emails Work?

Sending a cold email is simple — it involves crafting a personalized email outlining your proposal or query and sending it to your intended recipients’ email addresses.

Bear in mind, however, that in a cold email, you need to outline a certain number of things in a relatively short period to capture their interest quickly.

Things to include:

• A snappy subject line
• Who you are and what you do (your company)
• Your experience
• What you’re offering and how it addresses your potential lead’s pain points
• An invitation to follow up for more information.

While cold call emails are the initial point of contact, don’t be afraid to leave an offer at the end of your communication, i.e., an invitation to coffee or lunch to discuss your proposition in person.

Does Timing Matter for Email Marketing?

Studies have shown that the time you send your email often dramatically impacts whether or not you receive a prompt reply — or any reply at all. Or if your email even gets opened, to begin with!

For example, if you email a business late in the evening (outside of typical working hours), your message won’t be seen until the morning.

On the other hand, sending a personalized email in the late morning or afternoon has been proven to increase click-through rates and is backed by data and research.

Businesses often get a flurry of emails in the morning, which they will likely prioritize. Your email from the evening before has been buried, and the chances of you receiving a response are significantly lower. 

Another study found that cold emails were best sent between 6–9 a.m. PST (9 a.m.–12 p.m. EST), with Mondays being the best day to ensure emails were opened.

As you can see, choosing an optimal time to send your email is essential for ensuring the email is opened and CTR results!

7 Benefits of Sending Cold Emails

Sending cold emails is a method of contacting potential clients and partners that is becoming increasingly common. But why is this the case?

Cost-Effective

One of the best things about cold emailing is that you won’t have to invest much money, as is the case with many other forms of promotion and outreach, such as advertising. 

Cold emailing can be done from home for little to no cost, and you can reach anyone with a public email address. 

Scalable

Cold emailing is scalable, so that you can customize it depending on your outreach needs. 

Whether you want to make just one specific contact or reach out to thousands of potential clients at a time, cold emailing can be altered to suit your situation. 

Direct Communication

One-to-one emails are personal and direct, without putting people on the spot like cold calling does.

Not only does this line of direct communication help you to make stronger connections with the individuals you are conversing with, but you won’t have to deal with being referred to different people or departments. 

Personalization

Cold emails allow for high levels of personalization to make your potential clients feel like they’re part of the family, and you can tailor your message to connect with the client or brand that you are reaching out to. 

Addressing the recipient by name and referencing specific needs and pain points or benefits they may gain by working with or buying from you is a great way to stand out.

Remember, it’s not just the actual cold email that you’ll want to make sure you personalize, but also your subject line. After all, the first hurdle is making sure your email gets opened!

Measurable

Since cold emailing is measurable, you can use the information you gain to improve future communication. 

Measuring the open rate, how well your cold emails are received, and the CTR rate will help you to identify what does and doesn’t work when it comes to your current tactics and adjust accordingly. 

Flexibility

Cold emails are flexible, meaning you can make customizations that will tailor your email to the client's or brand's specific needs and help you make an impression. 

Changing up the subject line, attachments, and other elements of the email will make it more memorable and allow you to A/B test your cold emails. Then, you can make decisions knowing that your cold email has been tested for effectiveness.

To make the most of this, ensure your cold email is frequently updated based on feedback!

Building Relationships

Emailing is a back-and-forth communication style, making it easy to build relationships. Having this direct line of connection to your recipients increases the likelihood of you building a professional relationship and rapport.

Identifying Your Target Audience

So, you’re ready to send off a cold email, but the question is: who exactly do you send it to, and how do you find potential clients or customers?

One recommended method to build your list is using a B2B prospecting service, such as BookYourData.

BookYourData is recommended by industry experts and has a 97% accuracy guarantee and real-time email verification. Consider purchasing an email list tailored to your needs to reach your target audience efficiently. That means you can rest assured that your emails are going to your desired potential leads!

Not only that, but BookYourData is also free to sign up for and will give you 10 free leads to start you off. That means 10 guaranteed leads to test your cold call emails on.

You should still identify your target audience to know what kind of leads you’re looking for when you sign up with BookYourData.

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Defining Your Buyer Persona

Your buyer persona is a theoretical, fictionalized representation of your ideal client or customer. By having a clear idea of the type of individuals you ideally want to be reaching out to, you will be able to locate these individuals much easier. 

Researching Your Prospects

Before sending a cold email, you must have some basic information on who you are talking to. 

This will allow you to tailor your email to reflect their needs and ideals and show the recipient that you care enough to go out of your way to learn about them. 

Analyzing Recipient Behavior Patterns

Analyzing the behavior patterns of your recipient can be extremely useful when determining the best time to send off your cold email, as well as what content to include in it. 

Consider the times that the recipient may be most active on social media, such as LinkedIn. Analytics from emailing marketing platforms revealing when your recipient was the most active during previous email campaigns may be available.

Crafting the Perfect Message

Even a cold email sent at the perfect time of day is no good if the message within the email is lacking. 

So, how do you craft the perfect message for your cold email that will catch the recipient’s attention?

Writing an Engaging Subject Line

The subject line of an email will be the first thing your recipient sees and will also determine whether or not they open the email. An engaging subject line almost always yields higher open rates.

Ensure that your subject line is unique, engaging, and relevant to the body message of your email. It is also good to ensure your subject line doesn’t sound too generic or robotic. Otherwise, your recipient may believe it to be spam! 

Personalizing Your Emails

The recipient of your email most likely wants to feel like they are talking to a natural person, not an automated email machine. 

Your email should be customized to reflect the recipient’s needs and ideals of who you are and what you provide. 

Personalization not only results in more answers to your email but is also a great way to build personal relationships with your recipient and make you stand out. 

Optimizing Email Content and Structure for Maximum Engagement

The content and structure of your email are significant and should be optimized for maximum engagement. 

This means:

• Including an optimal subject line
• Having a clear and readable message with line breaks
• Utilizing images and attachments (within reason) or links.

Try to use anything that will give your email a unique edge while remaining clear and professional. 

Avoiding Spam Filters with Proper Formatting and Phrasing

There is a collection of spam trigger words that, when used in emails, will be flagged by filters and send your email straight to the spam folder. 

Words and phrases such as “my friend” rather than the recipient’s name, excessive capital letters and punctuation (e.g., !!!), and abnormal coding or fonts within the message will activate the spam filter. 

Keep your message clear and avoid any odd-looking phrases or dodgy external links, as this reduces the risk of it being marked as spam.

Determining Optimal Time to Send Cold Emails

Once you have identified your target recipient, done further research, and crafted the perfect email — how do you know when to send it?

Identifying Time Slots for Maximum Response Rates

Find the time slot that will give you the best chance of getting a prompt response to your email. 

For most individuals and businesses, this time slot is around 6–9 a.m. PST (9 a.m.–12 p.m. EST) on weekdays, but this can differ due to several factors. 

If you are emailing a business, consider their time zone, days of operation, and working hours. 

Selecting the Right Day of the Week to Send Outreach Emails

Getting the timing right when sending cold emails is crucial. If you miss the opportunity to engage your recipients, your email will be ignored or, worse, marked as spam or deleted. In the end, it might hurt your sender's reputation, and the entire campaign will be in vain. Finding the right time requires a lot of testing, intuition, and data analysis.

Not only is the approach you take to what time you send your email important but so is the day of the week. 

Saturdays and Sundays are never a good choice, as businesses are often closed, and your recipient is probably offline and unplugged. 

Mondays have been flagged as the day that most people open their emails; however, Wednesdays have the most CTR. Generally speaking, the later in the week your cold email is sent (i.e., Thursdays and Fridays), the less likely it is you’ll get a response.

With all that considered, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are the best days to send cold emails to either. You are more likely to have your email opened on one of these days and get a response if your cold email offer is firm.

Interestingly, during the holiday season (i.e., November, December, and January). During this time, people are far less likely to open or respond to emails than during the rest of the year (i.e., February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, and October).

So, to achieve the best cold email results during the holiday season, send your emails:

• Two days before Thanksgiving or one week after
• The week before Christmas
• Four days after New Year.

6 Things to Consider When Choosing a Time to Send Cold Emails

Now you know what days and times are typically the best for sending cold emails, but there are a few other factors to consider when selecting a time to send your email.

Time Zone

Something that is often overlooked is the simple fact that your recipient may be in a different time zone than you. 

During your initial research process, be sure to check what time zone your potential recipient is in so that you can calculate the time difference and ensure your emailing schedule aligns with their time zone.

Audience Behavior and Demographics

Consider your target audience or demographic and when they will likely check and reply to emails. When it comes to businesses, this will typically be during standard working hours. 

However, if you want to send a sales email to clients or customers to advertise your product or service, it may be best to reach out a bit later. Often, people will check their emails later in the evening, once they have returned home from their jobs. 

Whatever the case, ensure that the time you send your cold email coincides with your target audience’s active hours.

Device Type

If your target recipient is a frequent smartphone user, they can check and reply to emails at almost any time of day. This means you can be more lenient when it comes to the time that you are sending your cold emails.

That being said, if your target recipient exclusively opens and replies to emails using a laptop or desktop computer, this is something that you should take into consideration.

You are far more likely to get an answer if your email is received while your recipient is at their computer. 

Use Scheduling

If you often find yourself busy with other matters when sending your cold emails is optimal, you can always use the email scheduling function.

This is a great way to have your cold email sent at precisely the right time without you waiting around at your desk to hit send.

Plan Your Follow-ups

Before you hit send on your initial cold email, planning your follow-ups in advance is a good idea. If you do not receive a response to your initial email, try to send a follow-up after a few days.

Sending one too early, such as within the same day of the initial email, will flood the recipient’s inbox and likely leave a wrong impression.

On the other hand, sending a follow-up too late, such as a few weeks after the initial email, is just as bad. By this stage, the recipient must remember your original email or believe you are not enthusiastic or invested in the communication. 

Weekend Rest

The weekend is generally a time for rest, and businesses and customers alike will typically not respond well to an email sent during the weekend — most likely, they will not respond.

Make sure you only send cold emails on weekdays, aside from exceptional circumstances, such as reaching out to potential customers who may be busy during the week. 

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Analyzing Your Email Campaign Performance

By analyzing your email campaign performance, you can see what strategy worked and which did not. You will be able to determine which day of the week and time of day is optimal for sending your cold emails.

This will also display whether or not the structure and content of your email are ideal, depending on the open rate compared to the response rate. 

Track Email Traffic in Google Analytics

You can track your email traffic using Google Analytics by creating an account and then a tracking pixel. This is a great way to stay on track and keep all your relevant information in one place.

Google Analytics is a quick and easy way to see how well an email campaign performed and make adjustments accordingly. 

Always A/B/C Test Your Campaigns

A/B/C testing is one of the most effective strategies to measure how well your email campaign is performing and what changes need to be made to enhance this performance. This type of testing is one of the best tools for making valuable changes to your email campaign.

Simply put, an A/B/C experiment involves sending the same cold email to three different recipients, with a tiny change made in each email. From there, you can monitor the responses and which email performs better.

This will help you to determine whether you need to implement this change in all future cold emails. 

Open vs. Click-Through vs. Reply Rate

Measuring the open, click-through, and reply rates of your cold emails will help immensely when it comes to determining how successful your emails are.

In terms of numbers, you should aim for an open rate of 15–25%, a click-through rate of 2.5%, and a reply rate of around 10%. 

Analyze Monthly, Quarterly, and Annually

When analyzing your email campaign performance, you shouldn’t do it once and be done with it.

Keep up with your progress and check how any implemented changes have been performed by evaluating your campaign monthly, quarterly, and annually.

5 Tips to Send Out Cold Emails to Increase Open Rate

If you’re looking for ways to boost your cold email open rate extra, here are our top five tips!

Use a Professional Email Address with Your Name

When recipients receive a cold email, one of the first things they will check is who it is from. Ensure you are sending your cold emails from a professional email containing your name.

People want to know who they are talking to, particularly when it comes to spontaneous online communication. 

Write Compelling Email Subject Lines

The subject line of an email is almost always the first thing that your eye gravitates to. Make a great first impression by writing a compelling email subject line.

You can make This slight change to an email that greatly maximizes the chances of being read.

Keep the Email Short and Sweet

If your recipient receives an email outreach, clicks on it, and faces a massive wall of text, chances are they won’t read any further.

Keep your email short, sweet, and to the point. This will ensure that your email is read through and not dismissed out of hand. 

Keep a Clean Email List

Ensure that your email list addresses are valid, active, and relevant to your target audience or industry.

Regularly check your email list to ensure no cuts or edits are needed. This will help to avoid a high bounce rate and will keep you from putting in the effort of crafting an email to an inactive or irrelevant account.

Remember that when you sign up to BookYourData with 10 free credits, the real-time email verification will ensure that your lists are always up-to-date and accurate!

Always Add Value

Rather than sending a cold email about yourself and your business, product, or service, send an email centered around the recipient. Discuss the benefits you can bring to the recipient and the value you can provide.

This will significantly increase your chances of a response.

How Often Should You Email Your Prospect List

While there are no specific guidelines regarding how often you should email your prospect list, being consistent is a good idea.

Whether you send out emails weekly or monthly — or even daily — make sure you are consistent, as this is the most effective method for growth and success.

FAQs for The Best Time to Send Cold Emails

Does the best time to send cold emails vary for B2B vs. B2C audiences?

While the best time for sending B2B cold emails is between 6–9 a.m. PST (9 a.m.–12 p.m. EST) on weekdays, the best time for B2C cold emails differs depending on the customer.

Prospect research on the recipient and their most active response times will help you determine the best time for B2C cold emails. 

When to avoid sending cold emails?

Avoid sending cold emails on weekends and outside of business hours. This increases the chance of your email being opened and receiving a response and also avoids peak spam periods.

Should you send cold emails on weekends?

No, you should generally not send cold emails on weekends. Both businesses and potential customers tend to respond poorly (if at all) to cold emails sent on the weekends.

Wrapping Up: Crucial Reminders on the Best Time to Send Cold Emails

When sending cold emails to improve the open rate, many factors must be considered. It may seem daunting at first, but once you’ve built your prospect list and done appropriate research, it is only a matter of selecting the optimal time specific to your recipient and crafting your email.

A compelling subject line, clean formatting, and a professional email address will all contribute to your email campaign's success. How well each factor performs can be checked through A/B/C tests, changed as needed, and reviewed when you analyze your campaign performance.

So, now that you know how to send the perfect cold email, you can work with BookYourData to level up your B2B prospecting.

With over 100k+ users and 20k+ paying customers since 2015, Bookyourdata is the top choice for B2B data, whether you’re an innovative startup or a market giant.

Simply head over and sign up with BookYourData with 10 free credits for free today to begin building your lists!

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