Email diet: The right mailing quantity

Email marketing can drive tremendous revenue for businesses when done right. However, determining the ideal sending frequency and volume takes testing and analysis. Sending too little means leaving opportunity on the table. Sending too much risks damaging your file health and subscriber engagement.

During our webinar, Rhon Bell, our Director of CRM Strategy, and Steve Lunniss, our Head of Deliverability chatted about how to balance short-term revenue demands with long-term subscriber health. Here are some key takeaways from their insightful discussion.

Watch the webinar

Keep an eye on key metrics

While open rates are less reliable after iOS 15, significant changes can still indicate issues. Watch for spikes or dips that deviate from historical trends. You can still use general open rate trends for measuring success. Even after iOS 15, Year-over-year or month-over-month open rate comparisons are still relevant. High click-through rates show your subscribers find value in your emails. Lower rates suggest your volume or content needs reevaluating.

Test different frequencies to find your sweet spot

Ideal send frequency depends on your business. Sectors like insurance or subscription services may only need annual renewal reminders. Others like retail and restaurant can send much more frequent product or service updates and offerings. The only way to truly understand the correct frequency is to test to find the right cadence for your brand. Ideally, you will want to balance revenue opportunity with potential fatigue (unsubscribe rates).

One way to test frequency is to segment your active subscriber file into 3 equal groups. Assign each a different email volume like 3, 5, or 7 campaigns per week. Run the test for 4 weeks and monitor performance.

Look at demand generated, click-through rates, and opt-out rates for each group. One may see a small increase in opt-outs but a large jump in demand that makes it worthwhile. The goal is to understand how your subscribers react to increased or decreased email volume over a period of time.

This test informs your overall sending strategy and cadence that you can adjust in different seasons. It helps you find the right balance between long-term subscriber health and demand. Continually test and iterate as your business needs shift.

Personalize to show value and build engagement

Segmenting by past purchases is a start, but personalized content keeps subscribers opening emails long-term. Segmentation says: Once a mountain bike customer – always a mountain bike customer. Personalization takes this a step further and says: A mountain bike customer may also be interested in other categories, but they have a propensity for mountain bikes.

With Cordial’s flexible data platform, you can go beyond just purchase data to build a more complete profile of subscriber preferences. Rank customers’ favorite categories or subcategories based on their browse, search, and cart activity, as well as consumers like them. Use this data to create meaningful product recommendations to surface in emails, SMS, and in-app messages.

Give control with preference centers so subscribers choose email types and frequency. 

Truly personalized content tailored to each subscriber’s demonstrated interests keeps them engaged over time. Map their journey and evolve recommendations as their needs change. The right personalized approach drives long-term value.

Monitor churn and grow your active file

Keep an eye on opt-outs, but also acquisition growth. Increasing your total acquisition means a healthier long-term file that is promotable. Aim for steady active list growth through expanding acquisition opportunities on your website and then build relevant messaging and quality content. Last, it’s critical to build meaningful campaigns to win back lapsing or lapsed subscribers before they fall off your active file or else unsubscribe. Sometimes this can be offer-based, but presenting them with outside-the-box content can be a useful tactic.

Automate for conversions and reactivations

Well-planned automations targeted to subscriber onsite, in-store, or email behavior generate more revenue. Create flows for activation, conversion, and reactivation. Give new subscribers a tailored onboarding journey for activation. Follow their path then read performance, test, and iterate as needed.

The right email volume aligns with your business model and subscribers’ expectations. Continually test and analyze performance to find the sweet spot, build in personalization, monitor churn, and automate to boost engagements. With the proper strategy and email marketing platform, you can achieve long-term subscriber growth and sales success.