Everything is subject to diminishing returns. Your emails may be expertly designed, professionally written, and planned out to perfection ahead of time. However, the frequency in which you send them is also an important topic.
You don’t want to keep your subscribers waiting and underperform as an email provider. But, on the other hand, you don’t want to overload them. Too much content can make subscribers start skimming rather than reading, or even consider unsubscribing altogether.
How often should you email your list? What factors go into determining the perfect frequency?
What is the right cadence for your email list?
There have been plenty of studies about the proper send cadence. Determining your send cadence often depends on when your emails are most likely to perform, testing along the way to see what resonates with your audience.
Sending emails two to three times per week seems to be the peak stat. Once per week and four to five times per week both showed associated data trailing off. The data you’re looking for, when it comes to determining a send cadence, involves what keeps your subscribers engaged.
Keeping them engaged means more opens, more clicks, and more revenue down the road.
Let your subscribers decide.
As you gained subscribers, one thing you’ve probably noticed is how they all seem to have their own preferences. These preferences also include how often they receive emails. If you aren’t sure what each subscriber would want, let them decide by setting up a preference center. They can choose what content they want and in what amount.
Consider goals when sending out emails.
Remember, certain situations may necessitate a change in your normal schedule. If big changes are going into effect or if you have a time-sensitive offer, this may mean you should send out more emails because the occasion calls for it.
How to measure email list frequency
The best way to tell if your send schedule is appropriate is to keep tabs on your engagement. Are subscribers staying subscribed? Or are they falling away? Are open rates and click-throughs going up? Remember that it isn’t just your content that affects these numbers; it’s also how often you send that content out.
Does it really matter?
Knowing how often to send emails is critical to the success of your marketing. Finding that perfect frequency means your content will go further and build a better connection with the reader.
There’s also the matter of what it won’t do. Sending too many emails is a sure way to make people unsubscribe. A survey that asked how companies could improve their email marketing had reduced sending at the top, nearly double the rate of the next-highest entry.
Source: Technology Advice
As an email marketer, you’ll find that the biggest changes to your numbers come from small adjustments made off data points. Everything from your subject lines to your content’s length is usually considered. However, you should also factor in your sending frequency.
73% of people cited sending too frequently as their reason for unsubscribing.
Even though you may set your ideal cadence when you launch your program, this can be changed depending on the results. If sending a little more or a little less frequently reflects well in your metrics, alter your schedule accordingly.
What now?
You know the ideal frequency and the factors that can push it in either direction. You also understand how to gauge the efficiency of your schedule and edit it accordingly. The next step is to take this data point and implement it into your email strategy as a whole.
You can keep cadence in mind when you send one-off messages or even full campaigns. Learn how to create great newsletters and master the proper sending cadence for them.