There's no universal best time to send marketing emails or texts. The best time is when your own customers respond, which you find by testing. For US texts, stay within 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and for both channels, send in each person's local time.
Studies that name "Tuesday at 10 a.m." describe someone else's customers, and if everyone follows the same advice, that's when inboxes are fullest. It's a reasonable place to start, but your test will tell you more.
How are the rules different for email and text?
| Text | ||
|---|---|---|
| Legal hours | None in CAN-SPAM | US telemarketing rule: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. recipient's local time; some states are narrower |
| How it's read | When they check their inbox, often hours later | Usually soon after it arrives |
| Cost of poor timing | Lower: it waits in the inbox | Higher: a text at dinner can earn an opt-out |
| Reasonable start | Mid-morning local time | Late morning or early evening local time |
| Frequency | Weekly or more, if engaged | A few a month, unless they asked for more |
How do you find your best send time?
- Check your own orders: When do people buy from you? Compare weekdays, evenings and weekends.
- Choose two times to test: Pick clearly different ones, such as 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
- Split one audience at random: Same email, same day. The only change is the time.
- Judge by clicks and orders: Opens are unreliable. Allow a day or two for results to come in.
- Repeat a few times: One result can be noise from a holiday or the news.
Our guide to email A/B testing covers sample sizes and common mistakes.
Why send in the recipient's local time?
A 10 a.m. Eastern campaign lands at 7 a.m. in Los Angeles. For an email, that's a small problem. For a text, it can be a legal one. Local-time sending delivers to each customer at the same time on their clock, so a single campaign can roll across time zones over several hours. Plan around that when a sale starts or ends at a set moment. A flash sale ending at midnight Eastern needs to go out early enough for everybody.
How often should you send?
Send as often as you have something worth reading, and watch for damage. If unsubscribes and complaints rise while clicks stay flat, you're sending too much. Offer a way to get less, and send your most frequent mail only to engaged customers. Use a frequency limit so flows and campaigns don't stack up on the same person in one day.
What does a simple test look like?
| Week | Group A | Group B | Measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuesday 10 a.m. | Tuesday 7 p.m. | Clicks and orders after 48 hours |
| 2 | Thursday 10 a.m. | Thursday 7 p.m. | Same |
| 3 | Tuesday 7 p.m. | Tuesday 10 a.m. | Swap the groups to rule out group effects |
If one time wins each week, by more than random noise, use it as your default. If there's no clear winner, stop testing the clock and spend your effort on the offer and audience.
When should timing matter less?
- Triggered flows: A cart reminder or welcome email goes out based on what the customer did, so its delay matters more than the clock. Just hold texts for quiet hours.
- Your strongest offers: People who want it will find it. Spend your effort on the offer first.
- Big sale days: On Black Friday, send earlier than usual to get ahead of the rush. See the BFCM checklist.
How SmartyTap handles timing
In SmartyTap, each workspace sets its own send time, and local-time sending delivers it in each recipient's time zone. That's a setting you choose rather than an AI prediction. Quiet hours hold marketing texts for the recipient's time zone, and Smart Sending keeps someone from getting another marketing email within 16 hours, or text within 24 hours. Flow delays can wait until a set time of day in the customer's time zone. Glossary: quiet hours, send-time optimization.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best day to send marketing emails?
It depends on your customers, so test it. Midweek is a common starting point, but weekends can work for many stores. Your own clicks and orders are better guides than any published study.
What time should I send SMS marketing messages?
In the US, between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and some states are narrower. Within that window, late morning or early evening is a sensible place to start testing.
How often should I send marketing texts?
A few a month is a common starting point. Tell people the expected frequency when they sign up, and watch your opt-outs.
What is local-time sending?
Sending a message at the same clock time in each recipient's time zone, rather than all at once. A 10 a.m. send reaches New York first and Los Angeles three hours later.
Written by
Claire Mitchell
Lifecycle Marketing Lead, Chargezen
Claire leads lifecycle marketing at Chargezen, and writes about customer engagement and the growing role of AI in customer retention. She explores how businesses use email, SMS, messaging platforms, and behavioral data to deliver more relevant customer experiences throughout the customer journey. Her writing focuses on marketing automation, intelligent segmentation, personalized campaigns, and the strategies that help brands increase repeat purchases and customer lifetime value.
