StrongMail found delivering email content at specific times is critical to a campaign's success.

A report from StrongMail found that 80 percent of marketers delivering content through email have seen marked improvements when recipients receive messages at specific times. According to the study, 61 percent noted their campaigns yield less traffic, clicks and conversions when emails arrive too early or late.

With the holiday shopping season approaching, fine tuning email marketing campaigns to optimize performance is crucial for many, especially B2C sites relying on ecommerce. Consumers that enroll in email campaigns typically enjoy learning of new offers or accessing content companies share. More than 64 percent of marketers found this strategy increases recipient engagement.

According to StrongMail, 53 percent of marketers currently have no strategy for testing delivery times. The study highlights one company that developed a careful plan for delivering relevant content to its target audience at the same time everyday. The results included greater clicks and more visibility for the brand.

“For our moms, checking zulily is part of their morning ritual, and they’ve come to depend on their 6 a.m. email from us,” Jessica Shapiro, director of brand communications at zulily, told StrongMail.

“For us, it’s critical we hit this tight delivery window to meet our moms’ expectations and to maximize views and open rates.”

Email success also relies on the content marketers include within their strategies. Brafton recently highlighted data from AYTM Market Research, which suggested that 40 percent of consumers enrolling in email campaigns do so to learn from brands. Including relevant information from content marketing helps sites foster a stronger rapport with their target audiences and guide recipients toward conversion.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.