Learn more about Web clinics here: http://www.marketingexperiments.com/about-web-clinics.html

1. When Should You Send An Email?
How one of the largest banks in the world discovered when
to send their emails.
Educational Funding
Provided By:
#webclinic

2. Join the conversation on Twitter
#webclinic
#webclinic

3. Today’s speaker
Dr. Flint McGlaughlin
Managing Director
#webclinic

4. When is the best time to send
? your email?
#webclinic

5. When to Send an Email: Proposed Answers
3:00 AM
Source: MailerMailer
#webclinic

6. When to Send an Email: Proposed Answers
2:00 – 5:00 PM
Source: MailChimp
#webclinic

7. When to Send an Email: Proposed Answers
Weekends
Source: HubSpot
#webclinic

8. A Case Study
#webclinic

9. www.act-on.com
Sales: 1 877.530.1555
Act-On's fresh approach to marketing automation gives you full, complex-free functionality. With a
streamlined user interface and first-rate marketing tools at your fingertips you will be able to:
Manage your online Get higher-quality Align sales and Track and measure
Marketing leads marketing your results
All the tools you need, in Solutions that drive lead Integrations that work >> Real-time, actionable
one place >> generation >> reporting >>
www.act-on.com | @ActOnSoftware | #ActOnSW

10. Experiment: Background
Experiment ID: TP2087
Record Location: MarketingExperiments Research Library
Research Partner: Protected
Research Notes:
Background: A large financial institution offering a financial service requiring
an application to consumers
Goal: To increase the amount of completed applications
Primary Research Question: Of the send times tested, which time will result
in the highest rate of completed applications to delivered emails?
Approach: A/B multifactor sequential test
#webclinic

11. Experiment: Design
14 Total Email Sends During Week of Test
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
AM Email AM Email AM Email AM Email AM Email AM Email AM Email
1 3 5 7 9 11 13
PM Email PM Email PM Email PM Email PM Email PM Email PM Email
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
The test had a total 14 treatment paths - each path had the same Subject
Line and Email.
The Treatment values included sending two emails each day of the week
Monday thru Sunday, at 3am and 3pm.
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12. ? Which Time of Day Will Perform Best?
3:00 AM or 3:00 PM?
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13. Experiment: Clickthrough rate by time of day
13.5% Increase in clickthrough rate
Sending at 3:00 PM increased clickthrough rate by at least 13.5%
Clickthrough Relative Statistical Level
Time of Day
Rate (%) Difference of Confidence
3:00 AM 1.076% - -
3:00 PM 1.220% 13.5% 99%
 Whatinyou email to understand: Recipientsalso significantly out- to
click an
need
sent at 3:00 PM. Sunday
were 13.5% more likely
performed every other day of the week.
#webclinic

14. ? Which Day of the Week Will Perform Best?
Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., Sun.
#webclinic

15. Experiment: Clickthrough Rate by Day
Clickthrough Rate By Day
Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun
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16. Experiment: Clickthrough rate by day
23.2% Increase in clickthrough rate
Sending on Sunday increased clickthrough rate by 23.2% over Tuesday
Day (in order of Clickthrough Rate Statistical Level of
Relative Difference
performance) (%) * Confidence
1. Tuesday 10.47% - -
2. Monday 10.90% 4.1% 72%
3. Thursday 11.01% 5.1% 82%
4. Friday 11.59% 10.7% 99%
5. Wednesday 11.64% 11.2% 99%
6. Saturday 11.84% 13.1% 99%
7. Sunday 12.90% 23.2% 99%
 Whatinyou email to understand: Recipientssent on Tuesday. Sundayto
click an
need
sent on Sunday than one
were 23.2% more likely
also significantly out-performed every other day of the week.
#webclinic

17. Experiment: Interpretation
Sunday Reader
Possible Reasons for Higher
Clickthrough on Sunday
• Less distractions on Sunday
• Advent of mobile attaches
recipients to email 24/7
• Personal nature of financial
product causes higher
clickthrough outside of work
#webclinic

18. Experiment: Interpretation
Weekday reader
Possible Reasons for Lower
Clickthrough during Week:
• Higher level of distraction
• Customers are in “work” mode
and less likely to be interested in
financial application
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19. What we discovered
 Key Principles
1. There is no “one-size-fits-all” time/frequency for an email send.
2. However, the universal goal of email timing is to synchronize your email’s
delivery with the cognitive psychology of the customer’s purchase cycle.
3. There are 5 consistent factors from campaign to campaign that will
impact your customer's purchase cycle:
1. Decision cycle
2. Utility
3. Relevance
4. Nature of Product
5. Expectations
#webclinic

20. Today’s Focus
Today we are going to walk through these 5 factors to
help you get “in the zone” for understanding the
optimal send time/frequency of your emails
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21. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
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22. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
 Key Principles
1. The optimal frequency of an email is directly related to the decision
cycle of the offer (how often a decision is required) – the shorter the
cycle, the greater the frequency.
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23. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
 Experiment ID: (Protected)
Location: MarketingExperiments Research Library
Research Notes:
Background: Large ecommerce company with strong online presence.
Goal: To find the optimal send frequency for a segment of their email
list.
Primary research question: Which email frequency will generate the
most revenue without increasing the rate of unsubscription?
Approach: A/B email frequency test ran over a period of 60 days.
#webclinic

24. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
This group was currently sending emails with a frequency ranging
from once a week to multiple times a day. But what was the the
optimal frequency?
Optimal Frequency
Total Revenue
Unsubscribes
Email Sends
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25. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
Test list Frequency
Full List
Three weeks
Two weeks
10 days
Week
5 Days
3 Days
2 Days
• Took a segment of their large subscriber base (more than one billion emails a year)
• Segmented that group into seven different email frequencies mentioned above
hoping to find the frequency “sweet-spot”
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26. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
What do you think will be the optimal monthly frequency
for this company?
1. 1-2 per month
2. 3-4 per month
3. 6-9 per month
4. 10-15 per month
#webclinic

27. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
Estimated Monthly Revenue vs. Email Send Frequency
100,000
90,000
80,000
Estimated Revenue ($/mo)
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Send Frequency (sends/mo)
• Projected monthly revenue rose consistently with increasing send
frequency and the amount of sends did not have a significant impact on
the overall rate of transaction.
#webclinic

28. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
Average No. Unsubs Per Month at Each Send Frequency
3,500
Ave No. Unsubs. per Month
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Send Frequency (sends/mo)
• Though projected unsubscribes rise with more sends…
#webclinic

29. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
• …the unsubscribe rate
on a per-message basis
does not rise
significantly.
• This does not suggest a
greater level of
irritation, but rather
simply more
unsubscribe
opportunities offered at
higher frequencies.
#webclinic

30. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
• Open-rate also does not
appear to be significantly
influenced by send frequency
within the range of
frequencies tested.
• There is no significant
correlation evident between
send frequency and open rate.
#webclinic

31. Factor #1: Decision Cycle
3x Increase in Projected Monthly Revenue
Increasing email frequency yields three times the projected revenue
Estimated Monthly Revenue vs. Email Send
Frequency
Estimated Revenue ($/mo)
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Send Frequency (sends/mo)
Whatayou need to understand: Whenthree times the amount of of
once week this company is missing
sending email at the rate
revenue it could be making if sending once every other day without
negatively affecting unsubscribes or opens.
#webclinic

32. Factor #2: Utility
#webclinic

33. Factor #2: Utility
Promotional Useful
• Direct Offers • Newsletters
• Deals/Sales • Articles
• Product Launches • Content Digest
• Coupons • Announcements
• Requests for action • Customer Service
#webclinic

34. Factor #2: Utility
Promotional Useful
• When the nature of product becomes more complex, is a bigger
purchase commitment, and has a longer sales cycle, it will necessitate a
focus on high utility emails. Essentially this is lead nurturing.
#webclinic

35. Factor #2: Utility
Promotional Useful
• When the nature of product becomes less complex, an easy purchase
decision, and is purchased often, it will permit a more promotional email
strategy.
#webclinic

36. Factor #3: Relevance
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37. Factor #3: Relevance
 Key Principles
1. The relevance of an email can be based upon 1) the internal
motivations of the recipient and 2) the external events
surrounding a recipient. The timing of your email must account
for both.
#webclinic

38. Factor #3: Relevance
Internal Relevance External Relevance
• Personal interests • Seasonality
• Demographics • Special discounts
• Shopping habits • Limited-time offers
• Personality • News events
• Communication styles • Competitive initiatives
• Level of engagement
#webclinic

39. Factor #3: Relevance
Example – Case Study
5 Key Email Segments:
Current Current Lapsed Lapsed Has Never
Subscriber Subscriber Subscriber Subscriber Subscribed
Never Has Has Given Never Has Has Given Has Given
Given a Gift a Gift Given a Gift a Gift a Gift
• This company segmented the current email list into five distinct groups (as
seen above) for a holiday email campaign.
• They sent targeted email messages relevant to each group.
#webclinic

40. Factor #3: Relevance
Example – Case Study
Email Sample Current
Subscriber
Has Given
a Gift
External Relevance: Uses the holiday
season to motivate recipients – “It’s
already too late to send through snail
mail…”
Internal Relevance: Messaging ties into
previous actions of the recipient –
“You’ve recently given one of your
friends…” as well as appealing to
personality – “You know how great it is
to be a subscriber…”
#webclinic

41. Factor #3: Relevance
Example – Case Study
Current
Email Sample Subscriber
Never Has
Given a Gift
External Relevance: As before,
this email uses the holiday
season to motivate recipients.
Internal Relevance: Messaging
speaks more to the subscriber
who hasn’t sent a gift to anyone
before – “Did you know you can
give a… a subscription to….”
#webclinic

42. Factor #3: Relevance
Example – Case Study
Experiment ID: TP2004
Record Location: MarketingExperiments Research Library
Research Partner: [Protected]
Research Notes:
Background: A large media company offering a free trial of day trading
instructional content
Goal: To increase the amount of free trials
Primary Research Question: Of the send times tested, which time will result
in the highest rate of free trial sign ups for the content?
Approach: A/B single factor sequential test
#webclinic

43. Factor #3: Relevance
Example – Case Study
Product: Equity Screening Database
The main offer for
this campaign was a
free trial giving the
reader access to an
equity screening
database for day
traders.
#webclinic

44. Factor #3: Relevance
Example – Case Study
Email A Email B
Send Time: Monday Send Time: Thursday
(Beginning of Week) (End of Week)
#webclinic

45. Factor #3: Relevance
Example – Case Study
30% Increase in free trial sign ups
Sending at the end of the week increased sign up rate by 30%
Free Trial Rate Relative Statistical Level
Part of Week
(%) Difference of Confidence
Beginning
4.34% - -
(Monday)
End (Thursday) 5.65% 30% 95%
 What youinvestment opportunities on the weekendsday traders mayare
research
need to understand: Due to the fact that
when markets
closed, the email sent on Thursday performed 30% better.
#webclinic

46. Factor #3: Relevance
Example – Case Study
Why did the end of the week timing win?
Closed Stock Market External Relevance
• Our researchers hypothesized that
this 30% lift in conversion for the
Thursday email was due to Day
Traders doing their research on
the weekends, when markets are
closed.
• The research offer of the
company was relevant to the
Source: Wall Street Journal external closing of the markets.
#webclinic

47. Factor #3: Relevance
 Key Principles
1. The relevance of an email can be based upon 1) the internal
motivations of the recipient and 2) the external events
surrounding a recipient. The timing of your email must account
for both.
2. Relevance is intensified by the importance and urgency of the
solution.
#webclinic

48. Question #1: Email Timing and Relevance
Urgent
Urgent Urgent,
and not
Important Important
Important Not Important
Not
Important
Important,
not Urgent
not Urgent
Not Urgent
#webclinic

49. Factor #4: Nature of Product
#webclinic

50. Factor #4: Nature of the Product
 Key Principles
Email timing is affected by inherit emotional response produced by the
a product will affect the optimal time for sending emails:
1. Emotionally Negative (Aging, Health, Mortality)
– Optimal frequency will be lower
2. Emotionally Positive (Hobbies, Leisure, Self-improvement)
– Optimal frequency will be higher.
#webclinic

51. Factor #5: Expectation
#webclinic

52. Question #2: Email Timing and Expectations
 Key Principles
The expectation of email timing is set by two elements:
1. The implied promise of industry standards
#webclinic

53. Question #2: Email Timing and Expectations
Example – Industry Standards
Groupon APMEX
Expectations related to Expectations related to Precious
Coupon Industry: Metals Exchange Industry:
• Emails once a day • Timing of an email message can be
• Usually in the morning completely tied to unpredictable
activity of the market.
#webclinic

54. Question #2: Email Timing and Expectations
 Key Principles
The expectation of email timing is set by two elements:
1. The implied promise of industry standards
2. The implied promise of the email capture form messaging
#webclinic

55. Question #2: Email Timing and Expectations
Example – Karma Loop Case Study

MarketingSherpa Case Study
Record Location: MarketingSherpa Research Library
Company: Karma Loop
Research Notes:
Background: An e-retailer catering primarily to teen shoppers, their house email
list topped 300,000 addresses, yet they felt they were not maximizing the list’s
potential.
Goal: To increase email revenue by increasing the relevance of their emails.
Secondary research question: Can we increase email revenue by increasing the
relevance of emails?
Approach: Sequential multi-factoral experiment.
#webclinic

56. Question #2: Email Timing and Expectations
Example – Karma Loop Case Study
• The standard email
capture was located on
the home page and the
navigation throughout
the site.
• With this prominent
placement they
successfully captured
thousands of email
addresses.
• However, response was
less than optimal
because expectations
were not set on front
end.
#webclinic

57. Question #2: Email Timing and Expectations
Example – Karma Loop Case Study On the product landing
pages, an email alert specific
to the product was added.
This achieved four things:
• Related the email capture
directly to the content on the
current page
• Segmented the list to include
only customers interested in
the specific product
• Delivered only product-
specific emails to this list to
improve CTR and conversion
rate.
• Created the expectation that
they would receive an email
for timing of sales/new
arrivals related to their
selected brands.
#webclinic

58. Question #2: Email Timing and Expectations
Example – Karma Loop Case Study
Email revenue increased 318%
The new design increased conversions to sale by 53.3%.
Revenue
What you need tocapture offer to the
relating the email
understand: By
specific product and timing
expectations of potential subscribers,
this company was able to increase
revenue by 318% and conversions by
53.3%.
Before After
#webclinic

59. Evaluating your Email Campaigns
#webclinic

60. Quick Audience Poll
Audience Poll: What Web clinic time works
? best for you?
#webclinic

61. February 19-22, 2013 - Las Vegas
Interactive, How-to Training Sessions on email and Proven Email Strategies, campaigns and tactics you
social media integration, mobile, list growth tactics, can immediately apply to get more done with fewer
relevancy, deliverability and measurement. people, less time and more limited budgets.
Latest 2013 MarketingSherpa Email Research and Interaction with Colleagues sharing successful
Benchmark Data on spending, tactics, conversion campaigns and tactics to inspire and hone your
rates, budgets and more. marketing skills.
Interactive Panel Discussions with subject matter Become a Certified Professional by taking a pre- and
experts on optimizing your email program, increasing post-Summit workshops taught by email experts, who
ROI, creating relevant contagious content, and more. provide a proven methodology with step-by-step
tactics on how to maximize your email results.
Extended Face-to-Face Networking Opportunities
with seasoned professionals, trainers and peers over
meals, breaks and receptions.
See More: MarketingSherpa.com/EmailSummit
#webclinic

62. Educational funding provided by…
#webclinic

63. www.act-on.com
Sales: 1 877.530.1555
Act-On's fresh approach to marketing automation gives you full, complex-free functionality. With a
streamlined user interface and first-rate marketing tools at your fingertips you will be able to:
Manage your online Get higher-quality Align sales and Track and measure
Marketing leads marketing your results
All the tools you need, in Solutions that drive lead Integrations that work >> Real-time, actionable
one place >> generation >> reporting >>
www.act-on.com | @ActOnSoftware | #ActOnSW

64. Live Optimization
Carpingo
Primary objective(s): Drive
clicks to contest promotion and
reservations
Value proposition of
email: Carpingo cares
about their community
and is value-driven
Target audience: Members of
our car sharing service
Page URL: http://bit.ly/V3urlK
#webclinic

65. Live Optimization
CR England
Primary objective(s): Get
people to apply for a job as a
truck driver
Value proposition of
email: Find a job with a
national and credible
company.
Target audience: Truck drivers
Page URL: http://bit.ly/TZx1dI
#webclinic

66. Live Optimization
Payscale.com
Primary objective(s): To get
users to fill out our survey
Value proposition of
email: Find out how
much you should be
earning
Target audience:
Career-minded professionals
Page URL: http://bit.ly/UqgFcP
#webclinic

67. Live Optimization
Goodwill Easter Seals
Primary objective(s): Education
and engagement
Value proposition of
email: With your
support, people with
disabilities can find jobs
Target audience: Donors,
advocates, volunteers and
hiring partners
Page URL: http://bit.ly/Y8qErY
#webclinic

68. Live Optimization
Puzzle Warehouse
Primary objective(s): Sales
Value proposition of
email: Save money on
puzzles and games
Target audience: Parents,
puzzle lovers and previous
customers
Page URL: http://bit.ly/TZs98c
#webclinic

69. MarketingExperiments Optimization Newsletter
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