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Statistics compiled from all users of AWeber Communications’ automated e-mail marketing system this past April reveal Thursdays as the optimum day of the week for e-mail open rates.

And here you thought Tuesdays or Wednesdays were the most promising.

So much for believing everything you read, huh?

That’s why you shouldn’t believe this either.

The thing with e-mail marketing is that it’s all relative. There is no “best” day and time. Delve deeper into AWeber’s study and you’ll see why.

“If everyone switches their sending schedule to send on, say, Thursday, then recipients will start getting a ton of e-mail that day, and start paying less attention to each individual e-mail,” says Justin Premick, author of the post on AWeber’s blog.

“One possible reason for Thursday’s success [in April],” he continues, “may be that it wasn’t as popular as, say, Tuesday or Wednesday for sending e-mail.”

To prove his theory, another set of stats show the percentage of newsletters sent by day in April:

So what’s the lesson here? Don’t follow the leader – because there is no leader when it comes to e-mail marketing. Sure, some companies may have more success than others, but it’s likely that they’re putting more effort into testing to find the best days and times that their particular customers open e-mails.

You should do the same. Try a Tuesday one month and a Wednesday the next. Heck, try a Saturday if you have a hunch that you’ll get a better response.

That’s the beauty of this business: You’re in control – to an extent – of your Internet marketing campaign. And finding that perfect time to send it is just half the fun.

Do you have an opinion on the best days and times to send e-mails to customers? What’s worked for you, and what’s failed miserably? Let us know in the comments section.