For many years, email etiquette has said not to send emails at night.
There has been a shift in that thinking and experts now say that decision was based on time when, in reality, it should’ve been based on energy.
Emails, which are considered a low energy task, should be sent when it’s convenient. If you happen to be a night owl perhaps reading and responding to emails works best for you at 11 pm. It’s unlikely you’re expecting an immediate response from the recipient at that time.
If you put off sending emails simply because of the time, you’ll be:
- Destroying your own productivity
- Hurting team communication
- Possibly forgetting to send important emails
If you are a late-night email sender, communicate with your team to clarify expectations. Let them know the timing works for you but that you don’t expect an immediate reply, and that you expect them to reply on their timeframe.
If you’re worried about sending late-night emails to a client, consider investing in email scheduling technology which allows you to control when the email is sent.
Still unsure if it’s okay to break etiquette?
An Experian study showed the highest email open rates (nearly 22%) were between 8pm and 11:59 pm; the second highest open rate (nearly 18%) was between 12 am and 4 am.
Our friends at HubSpot explored the issue in greater detail in their recent post, Why “Don’t Send Emails At Night” Is Terrible, Outdated Advice