Its an answer to the marketer’s dilemma – when is the best time to send email messages: A tool which predicts the ideal time has been launched by international marketing solutions provider, Silverpop.

The Send Time Optimization feature joins the company’s Engage online marketing suite and offers impressive results.

The feature analyses recipient behaviour on a rolling basis to predict the ideal message delivery time for each address on the mailing list.

The system then individually delivers messages to recipients at the precise day and time they’re most likely to be in their inboxes. Scheduling delivery at the optimised time also solves international mailing challenges. With a single send, messages are delivered at the optimal time, worldwide, eliminating the need to schedule multiple sends across time zones.

The feature addresses a long-held challenge for email marketers: identifying the best day and time to send email. This issue was highlighted in a study conducted by the Beta Research Corporation. The survey, which was sponsored by AOL, found that 34 per cent of Internet users surveyed check their email throughout the day while 23 per cent prefer to read their messages as soon as they wake up. Other times people indicated their email was top of mind included when getting home from work, during lunch and before bed.

Bill Nussey, CEO of Silverpop, said: “Marketers obviously want their messages to have high visibility when the recipient is looking at his or her inbox, but until now, predicting that ideal delivery time has been impossible. Silverpop clients can now send emails that reach recipients exactly when they’re most likely to engage with them.”    

Encyclopaedia Britannica participated in the beta test sending its promotional spring sales email with the new feature. It sent half its list emails delivered at the same time and half using the Engage Send Time Optimization feature. Emails sent using the latter generated 40 per cent more revenue than those not using the feature.