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How Many Emails Are Too Many?

Posted by Sheera Eby on February 27, 2014

Email is one of the most common channels marketers are using. With over 145 billion emails sent annually, averaging 9,000 emails a year per user, marketers are constantly wondering, “How much email is too much?” In contact strategy design, clients often ask us, how many emails are acceptable to send, and over what period of time?
We’ve compiled a list of stats that can help you gauge where your marketing programs fall among the norms of email marketing frequency.

 The reality is that user tolerance is fairly high for emails that have perceived value. The best way to determine whether your company is sending too many emails is to monitor opt-outs, opens and other email metrics. Not all marketers have the same relationship with their customers and prospects. Some marketers have user acceptance with sending daily emails, where other companies would suffer significant opt-outs from employing the same email frequency. Monitoring and measuring your company’s email activities will always result in driving the optimal email frequency for your organization.

Click here to download your Email Marketing Best Practices eBook.

Here are a number of email stats and facts that can be considered as guidelines in developing your optimal email frequency.

 

1. About 65% of email opt-outs are for reasons other than email frequency.1
This email stat might underscore the need for ensuring your email content, offers and communications deliver value. About 65% of email opt-outs are for reasons other than email frequency. The reasons cited include “inbox overloaded, lack of relevancy and tired of the brand.” Frequency still leads the unsubscribe reasons with 35% of those who unsubscribe citing this as the reason. The reality is that users are demanding value, relevancy and a reason to keep subscribing. Frequency in and of itself is likely to be a deterrent if users don’t value your email marketing communications. With so many marketers using email, it’s critical to ensure your company’s emails are breaking through the cluttered inbox and delivering relevancy. To learn more about how to personalize and tailor emails, check out my article on email personalization, Impact of personalizing email.

 

2. Almost half of all consumers will trade their email address for empowerment.1
Part of consumers’ objections to email frequency stems from lack of control. Almost half of consumers would consider staying on a list if it allows them to change their frequency options. If consumers see value in your email marketing, they might be less likely to unsubscribe, but might prefer more control over the number and frequency of their control. Despite this finding, the reality is that only 30% of marketers actually allow consumers to choose how frequently they receive emails. So if you are making decisions on frequency on behalf of your users, you aren’t alone.

 

3. A small majority, only 14% of companies, never send more than a single email a month to their subscribers.2

The vast majority of organizations, about 86%, report sending more than one email a month to their customers. The DMA National Client Email Report states that 47% of all organizations will send less than six emails a month. This email stat isn’t a surprise, that the vast minority, only 14% of companies, report sending one or fewer emails per month. This email frequency actually runs the risk of consumers or businesses forgetting they have signed up to receive emails, reducing the impact and effectiveness of email marketing.

 

4. Almost half of marketers have a cap or internal policy that guides their email frequency strategy.2
Many companies have complex organizations with multiple groups sending email marketing communications. In an effort to coordinate and manage email frequency, many of these organizations establish a cap on the number of emails that will be sent to any one user over a defined period of time. Organizations typically broker these email “slots” across organizations and determine a priority order for messages. Interestingly, almost 20% of these marketers view weekly email blasts as the max, while 16% view biweekly email blasts as the cap. This frequency doesn’t consider operational emails or emails that are sent as a follow-up to a user-driven action.

 

5. Only 37% of users report that they receive more email than they thought they would.
This email statistic from Return Path implies that the majority of users who have signed up for emails believe they are getting either the correct amount of emails or even fewer emails than they had suspected they would get. The amount of users who get more emails than expected is the minority rather than the majority.

 

6. Emailing the same message 4 times can provide a 460% lift over one email contact.3
While many marketers are concerned about over-emailing their customers and prospects, the reality is that more touch points improve your chance of conversion. We’ve seen over a 460% lift in architecting a contact strategy that can deliver multiple touch points to the same universe. While it’s fair to be concerned about the intervals in between emails, be sure to follow the email frequency best practice of multiple touch points.

 

7. Bonus stat: 42% of companies send a promotional email on Friday.2
Many companies have found that emails are more likely to be read on Fridays, especially emails that are promotionally retail-driven. According to the Retail Email Unsubscribe Benchmark Study, over 40% of businesses in the United States will send a promotional email on Friday.2

 

 

Email continues to grow as one of the most widely used marketing channels. Hopefully this article provided helpful benchmarks to assist you in establishing your email frequency strategy. Need help ensuring your emails have the perceived value necessary? Our free email marketing assessment provides practical applications to ensure the effectiveness and success of your email marketing communications.


Sources:

1. Bluehornet
2. Email Stat Center
3. J&C Aggregated Email Campaign Performance Study

Topics: Email Marketing

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