Best days 

to send your email campaigns  

Notice how I’ve written days not day? Contrary to our previous findings when Tuesdays achieved the highest engagement rates, our recent analysis showed that there isn’t really a clear winner anymore.  

We suspect this is due to the fact teachers are now more digitally ‘switched on’ and continually checking emails whilst on the go rather than at set times during the working week. Our 2023 Schools Survey revealed that 90% of teachers access their emails on a smartphone and 70% access them on a laptop (so make sure your campaigns are mobile-optimised!). 

Our analysis showed that there are different perks to each day of the week, with only a few marginal differences in engagement rates setting them apart. 

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

As you can see, the stats are pretty close across the different weekdays, so here’s some advice to help you choose when to send. 

Best all-rounder? If you’re looking for a send day that’s a strong all-rounder, we recommend choosing Mondays. With it being the first day of the week, it’s a key time where teachers are busy planning and prepping. And with high open rates and click-to-open rates, it’s a great way to get connection-building. 

Best day for newbie marketers? If it’s your first time reaching out to schools, and building your brand awareness is your number one goal, we recommend opting for Fridays to boost your total open rate. The more views your email gets, the higher the likelihood of conversions. Visibility is key to the lead-generation process, so Friday is an excellent option to kickstart your marketing journey. 

Best day for follow-up email campaigns? If you’ve already established your brand with your target teachers, and you’re keen to get your click-to-open rate up, opt for Mondays or Wednesdays, as their high click-to-open rates mean teachers are engaging with email campaigns on these days and taking action too. Always remember to run follow-up campaigns to your engaged contacts – email campaign follow-ups are a lead-generation must!

Don’t forget! Test a few different send days to figure out what works best for you. Tuesdays and Thursdays offer great engagement rates so it’s worth sending campaigns on these days to identify whether they’re best for your unique organisation.  

Best times

to send your email campaigns  

Our campaign analysis threw another curveball – email campaigns sent before school did NOT achieve the highest engagement rates.  

We found that campaigns sent at the start of the school day, in between lesson times, and after school were the top-performers compared with those sent before 9am.  

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

As you can see, there are plenty of timeslots to choose from that achieve great engagement rates. 

To reiterate our earlier recommendation, it’s important to test what works best for you, as the optimum send time will vary depending on your offering and who you’re addressing. Site managers will have a different day-to-day schedule compared with science teachers, so make sure you consider the timetable of your target education staff. 

And remember, our email marketing to education trends are just a guide, so don’t be afraid to choose times different to the above – if they work for you, stick to them! 

Best months

to send your email campaigns  

January and November came out as the top-performing months overall in our 2023 analysis, but our stats showed fantastic open and click-to-open rates all year round.  

Before choosing when to send your campaign, consider timing your campaigns around the following: 

Optimum word count

for subject lines 

Subject lines are important, and the first few words really do matter as it’s your first chance to capture teachers’ attention. Your recipients might be able to view your entire subject line before opening your email, or just a few words (depending on how they’ve got their email inboxes set up). That’s why it’s important to select those first few words carefully. 

Ultimate top-performing subject line length:

5 words

Next best word counts:

3-5 words – Fantastic total open rates

6-8 words – Brilliant click-to-open rates

Consider your ‘from name’ (who it says your email has sent from in your recipients’ inboxes). If your organisation name is ‘Study Resources Limited’ then you’ll want to make sure your subject line adds to this and doesn’t reiterate what’s already pretty obvious. For example, having ‘Study Resources for your GCSE pupils’ in your subject line wouldn’t be an effective use of the word count as it’d say ‘Study Resources Limited: Study Resources for your GCSE pupils’.

Instead, tell teachers what exactly it is you’re offering and a benefit. Here’s an example: 

If your company or organisation name is a bit more obscure, then it’s especially important to spell out what you’re promoting in the first few words. Don’t risk having your email deleted before it’s been opened. 

To get teachers interested, use topical education phrases and buzz words such as: ‘Free Resources’, ‘Opportunity’, ‘Evidence-based’, ‘Proven to’, ‘Accredited’.

Also consider including phrases that match Ofsted’s criteria, as schools will be keen to evidence their performance in the assessed areas. 

To help you find out what works best for your organisation, run A/B tests to see which subject lines perform best for you. This is where a small percentage of your mailing list is split into receiving subject line A and subject line B – whichever subject line achieves the highest open rate is then sent to your remaining recipients (the majority of your mailing list). A/B tests offer invaluable insights into your email open rates and are a great way to improve the effectiveness of your future campaigns. You could try different styles and tones e.g. friendly vs. informative, different wording, and different focuses.  

Direct vs. General

email addresses

When we analysed the campaigns we sent direct to teachers’ inboxes (e.g. sarahmurphy@stmarys.org) in comparison to those sent to general school email addresses (e.g. info@stmarys.org), we found the former came out on top.  In fact, direct emails received up to 40% higher click-to-open rates! 

Sending targeted campaigns is a great way to boost your engagement rates and increase your chances of converting teachers into warm leads, and we highly recommend adding this step to your marketing strategy. If you need any support with reaching teachers’ direct inboxes, just let us know. 

Optimum email word count

Wondering how long your email campaigns should be? Our 2023 campaign analysis revealed that the best word count length was 250 words. So we recommend sticking to between 201-300 words to keep your campaigns informative but not too long.  

If you need any help with writing your email campaigns, our creative copywriters are on hand to craft punchy copy that gets results.

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

• Don’t waffle – Cut to the important info straight away and position the benefits of your offering at the top of your email so they’re within teachers’ eyelines as soon as they open it.
   
• Avoid jargon – Although your knowledge and industry-specific vocabulary is impressive, try to keep your content as clear and easy to understand as possible. Teachers haven’t got time to spend working out what it is you’re offering.
    
• Include testimonials – Use quotes and testimonials from schools and teachers you’ve worked with to demonstrate your credibility.
   
• Use clear call to actions (CTAs) – Make it clear what action you want teachers to take from your email with clear buttons or links e.g. ‘book a free demo’ or ‘sign up to our free webinar’.
   
• Optimise your headers and sub-headers – Split your email up into digestible chunks with clear headers. Use concise, persuasive copy in your headers that encourages teachers to read on.   

TOP TIP

Put yourself in the shoes of your recipients and ask yourself, would you want to carry on reading? Are you hooked? 

Top education contacts

to target

Of all the client campaigns we sent last year, there were some teachers and decision makers who engaged the most.  

To sum up our findings, heads are key! So, make sure to include them in your mailing lists if you want to make headway (pun intended) with your marketing. 

We also recommend including education staff who have an important say in the school spending process. This can be key influencers like teachers but also support staff too.  

To support with your mailing list planning, here are some stats from our 2023 Schools Surveys: 

• 52% of the teachers we surveyed said they have their own budget responsibility.  
• 66% of head teachers and business managers said they are required to approve all school spending.

With over 134 job roles in schools to choose from, understanding who to target your marketing at can be tricky. If you need any support with understanding the different education job roles, you’ll find our free resource really helpful. 

Round up

Hopefully you’ve found our email marketing to education trends useful for revising your existing marketing strategy and planning your next steps. 

Take some time to reflect on your campaign timings, your target audience and your marketing content to identify any blind spots – could you be generating more leads by sending to a different job role or school type? 

Lastly, always keep in mind what works for others might not work for you. There are so many variables at play with marketing to education, so allow yourself time to figure out your own rhythm. 

If you’ve got any questions about our email marketing trends, or would like some support in strengthening your strategy, get in touch!

Want the short and sweet summary of our key stats and insights?

Our digital resource is a visual guide of our 2023 client campaign analysis that you can dip in and out of throughout the year to optimise your email marketing to education campaigns. 

Check it out