- Cold Emails: Perform best on Wednesdays with a 37% open rate and a 7.2% reply rate. Send emails during 12 PM - 4 PM for higher engagement.
- LinkedIn Messages: Shine on Thursdays with a 20.32% reply rate. Aim for 8 AM - 12 PM or 12 PM - 4 PM for steady responses.
Quick Comparison
Metric | Cold Email | LinkedIn Messages |
Best Day | Wednesday | Thursday |
Peak Hours | 12 PM - 4 PM | 8 AM - 12 PM, 12 PM - 4 PM |
Response Rate | 1-5% | 10-25% |
Open Rate | 15-28% | 70-90% |
Cold Email Timing Best Practices
Best Days to Send Cold Emails
Research indicates that Wednesday is the top-performing day for cold email campaigns, boasting a 7.2% reply rate and a 37% open rate.
Here’s a breakdown of how each weekday performs:
Day | Open Rate | Reply Rate | Best For |
Monday | <35% | 6.5% | Follow-up sequences |
Tuesday | 37.2% | 7.0% | Initial outreach |
Wednesday | 37.0% | 7.2% | Peak engagement |
Thursday | 36.5% | 6.8% | Maintaining momentum |
Friday | 35.5% | 6.3% | Lower priority contacts |
"Mondays are the worst for sending emails. People open emails, but response rates are lower than on other days. If you want to send emails on Monday, create a value-adding follow-up sequence. We usually don't prospect and prepare campaigns on Monday. The biggest reason is that companies have meetings and weekly planning sessions, so they have limited focus on answering emails." – Antonio Gabric, outreach manager at Hunter.io
Once you’ve identified the best days, fine-tune your timing during those days to maximize engagement.
Best Hours to Send Cold Emails
Timing matters just as much as the day. Data highlights two key windows for sending cold emails:
- Morning Peak (7 AM – 11 AM):
- Best reply rates
- Recipients often check emails at the start of their workday
- Fewer competing emails in their inbox
- Afternoon Sweet Spot (12 PM – 4 PM):
- Open rates peak at 41%
- Engagement rises after lunch
- Decision-makers are more likely to respond
"Sometimes we experiment with emails sent on Sundays since some people check their inboxes on Sundays when they start to prepare for their working week. As for Fridays, we do not tend to be active on this day because, for some countries, this day is used to be a day off." – Maryna Nikitchuk, sales development director at AppsFlyer
To optimize further, account for time zones and adjust based on industry-specific habits.
Time Zone and Industry Factors
Aligning your emails with recipients' time zones and industry norms can make a big difference in engagement rates.
Key strategies to consider:
- Time Zone Management:
- Use scheduling tools to match the recipient's local business hours.
- Over 70% of people check emails on mobile devices, so timing is critical.
- Aim for delivery during their most active hours.
- Industry-Specific Patterns:
- B2B: Stick to standard working hours.
- SaaS: Target early mornings at the start of the week.
- E-commerce: Include evenings and weekends in your strategy.
For instance, SalesUP, a B2B sales agency, saw a 20% boost in email engagement after using Smartlead's timezone adjustment feature. Tailoring your approach in this way can lead to noticeable improvements.
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LinkedIn Message Timing Best Practices
Timing plays a big role in LinkedIn outreach, much like cold email campaigns. Let’s dive into when your messages are most likely to get noticed.
Best Days for LinkedIn Messages
Data shows that the middle of the week - Tuesday through Thursday - is when LinkedIn messages get the most responses. Here’s a breakdown of reply rates by day:
Day | Response Rate | Ideal Use |
Tuesday | 18.49% | Start new conversations |
Wednesday | 19.77% | Maintain ongoing discussions |
Thursday | 20.32% | Best day for outreach |
Friday | 18.48% | Use for lighter follow-ups |
Saturday | 2.65% | Not recommended |
Best Hours for LinkedIn Messages
Timing within the day matters too. These timeframes work best:
- Morning Peak (8:00 AM – 12:00 PM)
- Most responses come within 20 hours.
- Engagement peaks between 10:00 and 11:00 AM.
- Afternoon Window (12:00 PM – 4:00 PM)
- Steady engagement continues, but avoid sending messages after 5:00 PM.
LinkedIn User Activity by Industry
Knowing when specific industries are most active can help fine-tune your timing:
Industry | Best Times for Outreach |
Technology | 11:00 AM on Mondays |
Financial Services | 1:00 PM Wednesdays, 5:00 PM Thursdays |
Healthcare | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, Tuesday to Friday |
Professional Services | 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM on Thursdays |
InMails tend to get faster responses - about 16 hours on average - compared to connection requests, which take around 36 hours. For global outreach, adjust your timing for overlapping business hours in different time zones. Keep an eye on engagement data to optimize your messaging strategy.
Email vs LinkedIn Timing: Direct Comparison
Timing plays a major role in how well outreach performs on both email and LinkedIn.
Timing Performance Data
Here’s a quick look at key metrics for each channel:
Metric | Cold Email | LinkedIn Messages |
Open Rate | 15–28% | 70–90% |
Response Rate | 1–5% | 15–25% |
According to Brevo, 85% of email opens and 95% of clicks happen on weekdays. These numbers highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each platform, setting the stage for a deeper dive into their advantages and drawbacks.
Pros and Cons of Each Channel
These metrics help outline what each method brings to the table:
Cold Email Pros
- Scales easily without connection limits
- Allows for detailed, well-formatted messages
- Works well for formal proposals
- Easy to track and measure performance
- Effective across different time zones
Cold Email Cons
- Lower response rates (around 8.5%)
- Can get flagged by spam filters
- Limited access to recipient profiles
- Requires careful timezone adjustments
LinkedIn Pros
- Engagement rates are three times higher than emails
- Access to detailed profiles enables personalization
- Real-time availability insights
- Professional context fosters trust
- Great for building relationships
LinkedIn Cons
- Limited by connection request caps
- Communication tends to be less formal
- Timing depends on platform activity
- Heavily reliant on user presence
"Every email subject line should make the person say, 'Woah, I need to open that because it's going to be useful to me,' or 'Man, I need to find out what that is.' Where you don't want to be is between utility and curiosity." - Dan Pink
Interestingly, Artemis Leads discovered that combining email and LinkedIn outreach leads to better results. This approach ensures you reach more decision-makers, especially when some prefer one platform over the other.
Timing strategies should also consider industry-specific trends. For example, software companies often see higher engagement with emails sent in the afternoon, emphasizing the importance of tailoring timing to your audience.
Using Both Channels Together
Why Use Multiple Channels
Combining email and LinkedIn outreach is an effective way to connect with decision-makers. Since prospects engage with multiple platforms daily, this strategy caters to their varying preferences.
"Timing your outreach helps increase the chances of your message being seen and acted upon." – Saurav Gupta, Founder & CEO, SalesRobot
Coordinating Email and LinkedIn Timing
To get the most out of both platforms, align your outreach timing strategically:
Time of Day | Email Strategy | LinkedIn Strategy |
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Send initial cold emails | Monitor activity and engage |
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Send follow-up emails | Send LinkedIn messages |
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Plan next-day emails | Connect with new prospects |
Spread out your communications to avoid overwhelming prospects. Automation tools can help simplify this process. For instance, Linked Helper can extract LinkedIn contact data and sync it with email tools like Snov.io, ensuring your messaging stays consistent across platforms.
This coordinated timing has been shown to improve outreach results.
Multi-Channel Success Story
Artemis Leads showcases how aligning email and LinkedIn outreach can boost results. By timing their communications based on prospect activity, they ensure their messaging reaches nearly all of their ideal customers, resulting in higher engagement rates.
Key factors in their success include:
- Time Zone Awareness: Sending messages at times convenient for the recipient.
- Platform-Specific Timing: Using LinkedIn during peak activity hours while leveraging email’s broader reach.
- Cross-Channel Coordination: Spacing out interactions to stay visible without overwhelming prospects.
This method strengthens your message through multiple touchpoints and works especially well during weekdays, when email and LinkedIn activity is at its peak.
Conclusion
Timing Strategies Recap
When it comes to cold email and LinkedIn outreach, timing is everything. Cold emails tend to perform best on weekday mornings (8:00–10:00 AM), while LinkedIn messages see higher engagement midweek. These patterns show why combining efforts across platforms can lead to better results.
Success comes down to using these platform-specific timing trends effectively and staying consistent across channels. Companies that align their outreach strategies with these insights often see more engagement and stronger campaign performance.
Actionable Steps for B2B Outreach
To make the most of these insights, consider these practical steps for improving your B2B outreach:
- Set Up a Testing Framework: Monitor key metrics for different time slots to find the best sending windows for your audience.
- Coordinate Across Channels:"The best time we've seen to increase the reply rates is not only following up at the right time but following up with a multichannel approach. It means sending a text message or a phone call, or engaging on the content on LinkedIn, or speaking back to the emails, or trying to book an appointment. Those touches with your prospects on multi-channels allow you to stand out."
- Adjust for Time Zones: Segment your campaigns by time zone and industry trends. For example, companies like Artemis Leads have shown that tailoring outreach to time zones can boost international engagement rates.