Given all the variables it’s difficult to pinpoint a perfect day/time to send e-newsletters. However, a little observation and research might help you draw your own conclusions.

Mondays & Tuesdays
These days are usually spent addressing priority items, and it’s likely your email is not critically important. Statistics show that Mondays are also slow days for website traffic – an indication that people are simply busy with other tasks, making up for lost time over the weekend, or not surfing the web or writing/checking email on these days compared to the rest of the week.

Wednesdays & Thursdays
Statistically, website traffic is high on Wednesdays, indicating people have more time on a Wednesday, having settled into the work week and recovered from the weekend. The traffic spike evident on Wednesdays could also be an indication that consumers research and plan on Wednesdays more than any other day of the week.

Thursdays are popular days for email marketers. Keep an eye on the e-newsletters you receive, over half are likely to arrive on Thursday. The logic here is that consumers are starting to think about the weekend and are in a responsive mood; the perfect time for advertisers to deliver their pitch.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday
These can be good days to send e-newsletters, as it’s likely your audience has more downtime on these days than any others in the week. Email traffic is traditionally low on weekends – an indication that competition will be light. However, you should also consider that most people don’t work on weekends, and aren’t in front of a computer 9-5 like they are during the work week. Also consider that many people take Fridays off, and there are long-weekends or holidays to factor in, and if your e-newsletter is promoting a weekend event chances are your recipient has already made plans.

My advice: Experiment. Try sending your e-newsletters on different days of the week and track the results. Monitor the frequency of emails sent by your competitors and from others whom you feel are good email marketers. Consider the date of your event (or the day/time of your sale), and calculate how many days in advance you feel your audience needs to make a decision, plan and then respond.