When Should You Start Your Holiday Email Marketing Campaign?

As marketers, there are so many ways to reach your target audience in the digital space, but email marketing remains one of the most integral parts of any company’s internet marketing strategies. But to stand out in the sea of crowded inboxes, you should be strategic about how you set up your email marketing campaign. More specifically, holidays are one of the most lucrative times for businesses, where you can use email marketing to increase conversions. Obviously, subject lines and copy are important, but before you get to that point, ask yourself the question – what’s the best time to send emails?

Optimal Days of The Week

Market researchers and companies have done various studies to try to understand consumers’ email habits. The research shows that Tuesday is the best day to send emails, with Wednesday and Thursday being close seconds. With Mondays usually being a catch-up day, and Fridays most being ready for the weekend, the middle of the week makes sense to get your emails clicked on and read.

The Holiday Season

Digging a little deeper, the trends suggest that there are optimal times to send promotional emails for holiday campaigns. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday-themed emails had an average open rate of 12.7% in the weeks preceding the holiday and 14.7% on the week of the holiday. This research indicates that for these three holidays, the week of is the best time to send promotional emails – with so much going on around the holiday season, people may be neglecting their inbox, but play catch-up that week to make sure they don’t miss out on any last-minute deals or promotions.

The Christmas Newsletter

Your company’s Christmas or holiday-themed newsletter is a great way to connect with customers and promote the holiday. However, during Christmastime, many people tend to be out of the office, enjoying time with family, and are not actively checking emails. Statistics show the week before Christmas open rates for emails rise by 6%, and then have a steep drop on Christmas Eve, which maintains until 4 days after New Year’s. So, the optimal time for a holiday-themed email, 18th-23rd, is the best for Christmastime, and starting January 4th, you can start sending out Happy New Year messages.

Don’t Slack on The Summer Months

The traditional holiday season isn’t the only time to utilize your holiday-themed email marketing campaigns. When it comes to summer holidays, there are great opportunities to capitalize and connect with consumers. Tuesday after Memorial Day and through that week, engagement increases by 19%, as people catch up on their emails after the long weekend. Since many people travel and take time off for
the holiday and are planning ahead, the Thursday before the 4th of July has the highest open rates for emails.

Find Your Best Strategy

The numbers show these are the best times to send marketing emails based on the data indicated by average open rates. There’s no foolproof way to develop a marketing strategy – because every industry, company, and customer is different, and you have to keep your target market in mind with every marketing decision you make. Obviously, depending on your goals for your campaign, you should fine-tune your strategies accordingly. Also, keep an eye on your analytics for your email marketing efforts and adjust them as you see fit.