If you’re sick of people not replying to your emails, a new report has found you might be sending them at the wrong time or on the wrong day.
According to Axios HQ, the best day and time to send an internal email is Sunday between 3pm and 6pm, which recorded an average open rate of 94 per cent.
The study analysed data from 8.7 million email deliveries through Axios HQ across 215 organisations sending internal communications from January 2022 through March 2023.
It found the best time of day to send an internal email is between 3am and 6am, with 70 per cent being opened on average.
The next best time slot was between 12am and 3am, which had an average open rate of 65 per cent.
In contrast, the worst time to send an email was between 9pm and 12am, when just 37 per cent received a response.
The best days of the week to get your email read are Sunday and Monday, which receive a 54 per cent open rate.
The next best is Tuesday and Wednesday sends, which have an average open rate of 52 per cent, while the worst day to send an email is Saturday, which only achieves a 31 per cent open rate.
When you combine both day at time, Sunday between 3pm and 6pm is optimal.
While the worst combination was sending an email on Saturday between 6am and 12pm. Just 21 per cent of those emails were opened.
“Many of the ‘best send’ windows — at organisations of all sizes — land on Sunday afternoons or in the earliest hours of a weekday morning,” the report said.
“You may see stronger engagement if your vital communications are at the top of employee inboxes before the hustle and bustle of the day begins.
“While far fewer essential communications are sent Saturday and Sunday — about 2 per cent of deliveries — updates sent on those days earn the highest open rates.”
The report said it’s also important to understand that for some organisations, sending updates outside of normal working hours may feel like an infringement on employee time or team culture.
“Remember, send windows don’t always equate to reading windows,” the report said.
“Shipping an internal communication during low-competition times, like Sunday night, can ensure they are top of mind — and top of inbox — during your readers’ most available hours, like first thing Monday morning.”
The study also looked at how the size of an organisation impacted open rates.
For small organisations, Sunday sends between 3pm and 9pm have an average open rate of 92 per cent – 94 per cent.
Mid-sized organisations also saw improved results on a Sunday between 3pm and 9pm, with an average open rate of 84 per cent – 94 per cent.
While for larger companies, the best day and time to send an internal email is Wednesday between 9am – 12pm, which achieved a 73 per cent open rate.
The report said sending effective emails and getting them opened often comes down to sending a lot of them.
“There’s a lot, and it’s mostly noise — like marketing and other nonessential outreach that rolls in — with most employees receiving hundreds of messages on channels that aren’t effective for them,” the report said.
“You’re playing a volume game.
“And while you can’t control when brands and other organisations will send marketing-style outreach, you can understand it and use it to your advantage.
“Focus on sending essential, recurring communications during data-backed send windows — boosting the chances folks see it quickly and read it fully.”
