Did you know?

Since the release of GroupMail version 5.3.0.108, tracking the open and click-through rates of your GroupMail campaigns is as easy as 1-2-3, literally.

So what is the best day to send email?

I don’t cook much, but every now and then my appetite convinces me that it is worth the time and effort. Recently, I thought that it would be a good idea to do some baking with my daughters. We decided on cookies, unanimously.

My daughters cooking (without a recipe!)

I pulled the tried and tested Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook off the shelf and we rummaged through for something that met the approval of our mutual taste buds. Thirty minutes later, there were crumbs on the floor and a sink-full of dishes. Mission accomplished!

Recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar or 1/4 cup honey
1 egg 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

* bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes or till bottoms are lightly browned. Cool cookies on wire rack. Makes about 36.

Some email marketers use a similar approach when determining the best day to send email. They decide what to send and then look for an available recipe for good send dates. There are some good email marketing metrics available, like eROI’s Quarterly Email Statistics Report.

When betting on horses, a conservative bettor will play the odds. He might not get a huge payoff, but it is the safest way to play the game. Conservative email marketers are no different. They will play the odds and use benchmark data to determine when to send email.

Here’s the rub.

It costs the same whether you send your message out on Tuesday or Saturday. So the horse analogy doesn’t quite fit this scenario. Also, not all recipes are created equal. We enjoyed our cookies this weekend, but I’ve had much better in local bakeries where they created their own custom recipe rather than using the Betty Crocker benchmark. The same it true with email marketing benchmarks. Industry averages can be telling. But they are not necessarily the best fit for your own particular audience.

The only way to really know the best day to send email is to create your own recipe by running tests on your own, unique audience until you find the best response. Track your own email, testing open and click-through rates on different days of the week over a predetermined time period.

…and always keep in mind that an old recipe can get stale after a while. Your audience can change their habits and the best day to send email can too.

Open and Click-through rates with GroupMail

Here is a sneak preview of the new interface, showing opens over time, overall campaign results and the clicks on individual links.

The numbers are based on an actual campaign sent, so for me it is interesting that a couple of months after the send there are still people opening and clicking on links in the message – at least I’m not the only one behind on my email !

Once the new version of GroupMetrics is completed and put live (in next couple of weeks), we intend to have an update of GroupMail available shortly afterwards that will make it really easy to optionally incorporate open and click-through tracking in your campaigns (up to now this involved having to manually insert the open and click tracking code in your messages which is a PITA).

I guess even if incorporating open, click-through and goal tracking in your email marketing campaigns is not important to you at least it will help you brush up on your world geography !

Email Marketing Reports Click-throughs

So what do you think ?