8 Mailchimp Pro Partners Answer How Often You Should Send Emails to Your Subscribers

Once a Month at Minimum, Once a Week Ideally

“It depends more on your own business and your customers (and subscribers), not necessarily the industry you are in. As a hard and fast rule, I would as a bare minimum go for a monthly email newsletter, but ideally, I would try to send an email each week and get into the habit of doing so. Instead of just rounding up news and stuff, then sending a newsletter, try to break the content up into smaller chunks and sending more often. At MailNinja our general rule of thumb is to add less content to each email, but send more often.”

– Doug Dennison, CEO & Co-founder, MailNinja

Send as Much High-Quality Content as Possible But Watch the Metrics

“There are no rules around frequency, but it is likely that most brands can be sending more email than they currently are. The caveat? The content or offer has to be high quality and desirable. Recipients do not get mad when they receive emails that are relevant, interesting, and helpful. Recipients do get upset when they receive emails that offer little value. My rule for frequency is to send as much high-quality content as you can and watch your reporting for two things. 1) A plateau or downturn in engagement (opens, clicks, and conversions) and 2) An increase in bad metrics (unsubscribes, spam complaints, or even lack of engagement). When you see bad metrics rising and good metrics swinging in a negative direction, you need to pull back on your campaign frequency. Until then, continue to send high-quality content as often as you can produce it.”

– Adam Q. Holden-Bache, Director of Email Marketing, Enventys Partners

There’s No Right Frequency, But at Least Every Month

“There is no ‘right formula’ that works for everyone, but I would say that a monthly email is the minimum viable frequency to avoid being forgotten!

Of course, writing often requires a constant generation of relevant information, be it original (or curated) editorial content or new products to promote, and the time to edit, schedule, read feedback and adjust things accordingly; given those circumstances, a weekly email sets a habit and reinforces loyalty. If you can’t sustain a weekly frequency, you could opt for a fortnightly newsletter, which is still better than a monthly one; if you have something to say every day, be it news or a tip or a piece of information, go for a daily newsletter, but it must be short and easy!”

– Alessandra Farabegoli, Digital Strategist, Co-Founder, Digital Update and Freelancecamp Italia

It Depends On Your Product, the Purchasing Cycle and Your Customer

“I reckon you should be sending an email every day of the week and twice on each day of the weekend…

…ok…I just wanted to be different from everyone else! The fact of the matter is that there is no ‘optimum’ frequency… and it depends on a few different factors:

• What is your product and what’s the purchasing cycle? High-frequency purchases are likely to suggest more frequent emails to be at the front of mind.
• Who is your customer? Anytime someone asks me about email, I always revert to this staple question – remember, your email is not actually yours, it’s theirs – it sits in their inbox and is read by them – so what would they expect and be happy with when it comes to frequency…. and also remember what their relationship is to you, how old is it?… This is why sending several emails early in the relationship may not be a bad idea as they’re “into you”… but if they are ‘long established’ then high frequency might not be the best plan.

…but the number one element is actually how good and relevant your content is… and how easy is it to maintain that standard? If you are able to ensure that you are sending ‘the most interesting email’ every day, then people would read it. Most businesses don’t have the capacity for this, and so firstly, for regular drip campaigns, you need to consider the best way to use the time and resources you’ve got to deliver great content – in every email.”

– Robin Adams, Owner and Founder, Chimp Answers

It Depends on the Types of Emails You’re Sending

“The first question is what kind of email?

Are we talking about receipts and shipping notices? Then even as frequently as a couple of times a day may be ok.

If we’re talking about sales emails, then sending daily for a short time may be ok.

If we’re talking about newsletters, then it depends on the info you’re providing your readers. A school may need to send several newsletters a week from different departments, different grades, different clubs/activities/sports. But one newsletter a month from a realtor would be perfect!”

– Amy Hall, Email Marketing Strategist and Certified Mailchimp Partner, amyhall.biz

Start Monthly, Then Look at Quantifiable and Qualitative Data

“There is no one-size-fits-all playbook to how many emails you or your business should be sending. This is holistically dependent on your business, especially if you’re a small business owner.

When deciding what’s a good email frequency you should look at your customers’ needs first and then your business operations.

Generally, you’d like to start off with a monthly email. You’ll want to take a look at quantifiable data like open rates and clickthrough rates. But, also qualitative data (what I call impact data) such as; email responses and shares of your content.

As you see more traction with your emails you can then bump your email frequency up as you see fit. The goal is to serve your email audience with as much content as they need and/or enjoy.”

– Sequoia Mulgrave, Owner, Dailymode Studio

A/B Test to Determine What Works for Your Subscribers

“There are no hard rules for how often you should send an email. Through A/B testing and getting to know what your audience wants, you can determine what is best for you. What works for a law firm will be totally different than a clothing e-comm retailer. However, I will say – send more email. Most clients we work with simply don’t send enough campaigns to really move the needle. I think once a week is a great frequency for most businesses, but again, comes down to testing to see what works best for your subscribers.”

– Emily Ryan, Co-Founder and Email Strategist, Westfield Creative

An Email Marketing Professional Can Help

“I have worked with clients that send email daily, others weekly and some monthly. I have some who will run multiple nurturing campaigns simultaneously, while others use them once in the subscriber cycle and not again. In my experience, the frequency for email ranges widely according to the business, the audience, the message and the need. Only through testing and measurement will you have solid, undeniable answers for what works with your list.

That said, if you work with an email marketing professional who can evaluate your subscriber base, business, available analytics and content, it can be possible to determine a good starting point based on industry norms, and develop a testing plan to bring the right program to life for your goals.”

– MaryAnn Pfeiffer, Digital Marketing Strategist, 108 Degrees Digital Marketing

Determine Optimal Email Frequency with Enventys Partners

Enventys Partners is passionate about email marketing and knows how to ensure your customers look forward to your emails with every send. If you need help with your email marketing strategy, reach out to the experts.