To send or not to send … that is the question.

3 minute read

Upland Admin

Part of the question, at least. What our clients really want to know is, just how often should you reach out to your subscribers? Daily? Weekly? Surely, monthly is the preferred frequency… Right? The answer is hard to find, because there is NO one-size-fits-all solution. Before determining the ideal frequency for your brand, let’s discuss the three things that every email marketer should consider:

1. Content

Your ability to supply readers with new and engaging content will be the greatest factor in determining your email frequency. Because, let’s face it, no one wants to receive the exact same email with new formatting for an entire week. Brands that produce large amounts of content or handle information that is constantly changing are great candidates for daily emails. This includes weather stations, news channels and sports networks. Meanwhile, brands that publish new information less frequently may be better suited for sending weekly or biweekly email updates instead. Smaller companies, retailers and policy writers are all examples of organizations that often opt for less frequent mailings. However, fewer mailings does not equate to a less successful email program! Once you establish a frequency that best fits your brand, you will become an eagerly-awaited part of your subscriber’s routine.

2. Automation

Once you determine the best frequency for your mailings, consider leveraging automation to deploy your emails. While sending can be done manually, that may not be the most effective strategy for your program! Manual sending lacks efficiency and increases risk, especially for brands sending daily mailings. How will you deploy your emails when key players are on vacation, or if someone is sick? How do you prioritize your workload if a more urgent project pops up? These are considerations that must be made when deciding whether or not to automate your email program. The best way to streamline the process and avoid unexpected roadblocks is to automate your sending. At PostUp, we provide customers with an integrated CMS & RSS solution, which makes this process seamless from day one.

3. Subscriber Tolerance

How frequently would your subscribers like to hear from you? Unlike content and automation, this consideration is not cut-and-dry. Understanding your subscriber’s tolerance is critical, as overwhelming readers can negatively impact your delivery rates and engagement. Keeping your email program healthy requires you to quantify and assess this tolerance, starting by tracking your subscriber open rates and click-through rates. Seeing these rates decline may indicate that you are sending too many emails! If the trend continues, you may consider re-evaluating your subscribers’ needs. Providing ways for subscribers to change how frequently they receive your mailings is key to preserving your audience; preference centers allow subscribers to opt down instead of opting out. Consider removing those who remain unengaged from your mailing list to get a better idea of how your active audience is responding.

These three considerations are good litmus tests to employ when determining how frequently you should communicate with your subscribers. If you still are not 100% sure, consider running a few additional tests. When the question is “To send or not to send?,” we guarantee that your subscribers will have the answer.

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