This year, more than 281,100,000,000,000,000 emails were sent every day. Most business people get more than 122 emails a day, and that number is expected to go up in the next five years.

Marketing Sherpa’s new data shows that “getting too many emails” is the number one reason people stop getting emails.

This means that sending emails at the right frequency is very important if you want your customers to see them in their inboxes instead of their spam folders.

We’ve put together the most up-to-date data on email frequency to help you figure out how often to send emails so that you can keep your customers for as long as possible. This way, you can send emails with confidence and not worry about adding to a crowded inbox.

How often emails should be sent for the best results
The Manifest just finished a piece of research that looked at when and how often businesses sent emails and what happened as a result.

From the chart below, it’s clear that most businesses send emails once a week or once a day:

Also, big businesses sent more often than small businesses, which may have been because of budgets and the size of their customer bases.

And let’s be honest: Your customers don’t need (or want) to hear from you every day, no matter what business you’re in. That means industry factors and the size of a business have a big impact on send rate.

So how do you figure out what the right send rate is for your business?

1. Look at the statistics for the industry
   As we’ve already said, how often you send depends on your industry and the size of your business.

Some businesses, like large retailers, app developers, technology and business-management operations, travel-related businesses, and others, can send more often.

Even if they’re not directly promoting a product, they probably have content that customers will find interesting and useful, which is key to staying in the inbox.

2. Think about how relevant your brand is
   Do you do plumbing? Then you don’t have to send an email every day or week because your customers probably won’t need plumbing services that often.

But if you do lawn care for someone and you have a contract with them, you can send more often.

In fact, your customers might love getting timely, relevant emails about seasonal maintenance, gardening, and other related topics. You could use these emails to upsell customers or get referrals without seeming too pushy.

If you sell a product that is likely to be reordered, like vitamins or groceries, your frequency can keep time with the product’s lifespan.

Or, if your product is subject to buying trends, like clothes, jewelry, or makeup, your customers may want to hear from you more often to stay up-to-date and in style with the latest styles.

3. Think about what kind of email you’re sending
   Different emails will require various frequencies. For instance, a welcome series of emails is usually sent more often than other emails because you’re trying to get the person’s attention and build trust.

Over time, the number of welcome emails will go down, and you’ll move customers into different lists for future marketing. You’ll also start reengagement campaigns for customers who have stopped paying attention, and you’ll get rid of people who have unsubscribed.

On the other hand, promotional emails need to be handled carefully because subscribers don’t like getting too many emails that try to sell them something.

But onboarding emails can come quite often, especially if a customer has opted in or signed up for a membership. This is because they send relevant content related to the opt-in, and your customers are probably looking forward to it.

4. Let customers have their say
   Asking your recipients directly is one of the best ways to measure and make sure your email frequency is working. You can do this through simple email preference surveys, like the one below:

This email lets people choose how often and what kind of content they want to get, showing that Archant respects their time.

Using a preference center not only helps you figure out how often to contact your target audience, but it also gives you another way to talk to them and keep them interested.
Check out the following example from Auto Trader:

They have made it clear what the different options are and why using the preference center is a good idea.

Even in your preference center, creativity and brand personality can still come through, so use this tool to get people more involved.

5. Check, check, and check again
   Testing is a good way to find out how often you should send emails for your brand.

Don’t be scared by the idea of running your own data. It’s easy once you break the process down into smaller tasks.

Let’s take a quick look at how testing can be made easier.

Wrap up
Using information from industry sources, your customers, and your own testing will give you a good idea of how often you can send emails without annoying your audience or making them leave your list.

Customer feedback is important and helpful, but testing is a much better way to figure out how often you should send emails for your brand and email type. Learning how to test yourself is a valuable skill that you can use for future email marketing campaigns and other parts of your business.

It will also help you understand the data and how each part of your campaign is working in relation to your marketing goals.

Keep testing over time to keep up with changes in your industry and markets and to see how customers respond. This will help you get the best results and the best return on your investment from your campaign.