Which day of the week gets best Marketing cut-through?

After putting days or weeks into planning a marketing/promotional/PR campaign, then not putting any thought into when is the best time to send out that comms, can be a huge waste of time and money!

If you've made the effort deciding to do it, planning it, writing it, designing it, then presumably it is some sort of important information that deserves a few minutes thought as to when is the best time to send it out.

Think about your target market and put yourselves in their shoes..

What time of day might best suit them and their lifestyle? What would they be doing on a Thursday afternoon at 5.30pm - is really the best time to send those types of people an email about your product?

If you expect a response or action from the target customers, could it be better to wait until a day that is closer to the time you want their action, so that your message might be more relevant for them?

Have a good think about whether timing is a trigger for your customer and tailor your communications accordingly.

Here's a simple (and possibly entertaining) breakdown of a generalised working week to see if it can help shed some light on the answer:

Mondays - catch up on emails from Friday and then spend the first half of the day consuming coffee trying to get your head back into work mode.

Tuesdays - start work focused, clear inbox, book meetings and spend the afternoon powering through 2 days of work.

Wednesdays - are feeling inspired by Tuesdays efficiency and start the day well, clear the bulk of the week's work.

Thursdays - start the day relaxed knowing that the bulk of work has been done, but it is also a great day for work functions, late night shopping, work lunches, launch parties or networking events.

Fridays - spend the first few hours panicking, finish anything urgent, then start relaxing into weekend mode and cleaning out inbox, planning, filing and counting the minutes until 4/5pm..

In my experience in Direct Marketing and having had access to sophisticated campaign reporting systems, along with discussions with many marketers and research companies, plus a healthy dose of consumer/client insight, the conclusion is that the best response rates can be achieved on:

1. Tuesdays - the day when people are paying the most attention to what comes into their inbox/in-tray..

2. Wednesdays - the next best thing to Tuesday...

Goodluck and I would love to hear any thoughts you may have..