Optimizing Your Email Frequency: A 5-Step Plan

Frequency is always an important topic for email marketing.

As marketers, we are afraid to overload our customers. We often forget that email is a channel that requires consumers’ permission before communicating with them. As consumers, we don’t opt-in to Staples television commercials, Dunkin’ Donuts billboards, or hearing Geico pitches on the radio. These media channels are not concerned with overloading us with frequency. In fact, that’s usually their intent.

Email, however, is different. Consumers are very sensitive to what they receive in their inboxes and they decide whom, exactly, to allow there. So where do you start to build the right email frequency strategy?

1. Set Benchmarks

Take a very close look at your existing email program. Set your benchmarks, such as:

• Opens.
• Clicks.
• Conversions.
• Unsubscribe rates.
• Revenue generated per campaign.
• Revenue generated per email sent.
• Average order size.
• Lifetime customer value.

Identifying lifetime customer value is very complex. However, it is vital to know a customer’s overall behavior while interacting with your emails and how that relates to his or her ultimate purchase decision.

2. Measure Benchmarks

If you have the capability, segment your file based on customer types or behavior, such as purchases, clicks, or opens. This will give a more detailed picture of how the different segments of your file perform, to determine frequency for each.

3. Test Frequencies

Analyze the number of emails you send and record your stats. Track how the benchmarks start changing to determine whether the increase is bringing the desired results without causing negative impacts, such as increased unsubscribe rates.

4. Identify the Plateau

Identifying the point at which you are not seeing any positive lift in your email metrics for the increase in frequency can be very difficult to determine. There really is no single right way to measure, aside from pulling together all your stats and reading the big picture as best you can. Listen to feedback. Stats and benchmarks play only one important role in how your customer perceives you. If you are receiving anecdotal negative feedback, it is probably a sign you may be over-emailing.

5. Guage Increased Frequency

More then ever, ISPs are monitoring increased volume to non-responsive subscribers as part as your reputation score. Over-emailing non-responsive subscribers could potentially hurt your deliverability over the long term. Short-term profits may not equal maximizing long-term customer value if you cannot get your messages delivered.

Don’t forget about automatically triggered email emails – such as order confirmations and shipment notifications–increase frequency, too.

A Real-life Example

I subscribe to Omaha Steaks’ email program but I haven’t purchased from the company in over two years. Theoretically, it may make sense to reduce frequency to a subscriber with my behavior. But, I recently received an email from Omaha Steaks promoting free shipping. I decided to purchase something for a relative’s birthday. If I hadn’t received that email that day, I would not have bought the product, nor would I have thought to go to the site to shop.

So, don’t dismiss a customer simply because he or she hasn’t been active for a period of time. This is especially true given current economic conditions. As consumer confidence grows, your buyers for the last 12 months may not be representative of those that buy from you in the future. Buyers who have gone dormant for a long period of time may become active as the economy improves.

Bottom Line

Remember, your subscribers requested to get information from you. Tell them during the subscription process how many email communications they can expect. Let them choose their email frequencies if you have that capability.