This is an inevitable question for those who are new in email marketing. As you can imagine, there is no exact answer to this question. The frequency of your e-mails depends on many different factors. Nevertheless, we will analyze together a few scenarios and we will see which solutions are best adapted to the different situations. Our team assembled the different factors that influence your campaigns in 3 main categories.
1. The nature of your business
All communication strategies can be summarized to one main objective: to reach the client. This is why your company exists and this is why you must adapt to his needs. If your business is a chain of supermarkets for example, your customers will need your products daily. You can therefore afford a more frequent communication. Tell them about your promotions and show them your new products at the store. In this case your most effective strategy would be to emphasize that the loyalty of your customers gives them advantages in your store. So you can inform them in advance about your future promotions (even before the release of the brochures) or offer them coupon codes they can use during their next purchase. The possibilities here are literally innumerable. If your company offers rentals of holiday homes by the sea for example, your communication strategy would be of course totally different. And the frequency of your e-mails would therefore be adapted to it. In summer, and especially during the holiday period (and a little before) your newsletters will have to be quite frequent. For this type of business you should make your communication plan for the whole year: in this way you can, season by season, date by date, decide when it would be and when it won’t be effective to send an e-mail. For example, many French people request their summer holidays in January. So it's a good time to inspire them by sending them pictures of your gorgeous home, even if it's still winter. Nevertheless, you should keep other details in mind: we often plan family vacations. This is why it would be even a better strategy to send your offers during weekends and school holidays.
Our advice: Always plan the schedule for your e-mails in advance. Use a calendar and the correct sending frequency will become much clearer for you!
2. The date of subscription
It is also a factor that has a major role in the frequency of the e-mails you send. If a customer has just subscribed, he’d like to be able to hear from you. Answer his request by sending him information quite often, otherwise it will simply forget you. Increase gradually the frequency of the e-mails you send with time.
Our advice: Organize your contacts well and group them according to different criteria in order to adapt the amount of e-mails you send to the expectations and the needs of your customers.
3. The subscriber’s preferences
As mentioned in our article about the mailing lists, it is preferable that you let the client manage himself the frequency and type of information he receives. This is especially true for large companies that offer a wide range of products and services. It is better to send a monthly newsletter about a specific product to a customer than to send him nothing at all.
Our advice: Respect the customer and do not force him to receive more than he wants. If at first it seems difficult to find the right quantity, ask directly to customers. This will help you to adapt to their individual needs but also to analyze the interest rate on the different products and services you offer.
