How Email Frequency Affects Revenue

Understanding email frequency is crucial for maximizing revenue and engagement without overwhelming subscribers. Find the right balance for success.

August 22, 2025

Table of Contents

Email frequency directly impacts your revenue and subscriber engagement. Send too few emails, and you risk losing sales. Send too many, and you could overwhelm your audience, leading to unsubscribes. Studies show that 33.3% of marketers send weekly emails, and this often aligns with the best results for engagement and revenue. However, the "right" frequency depends on your audience and business type.

Key takeaways:

  • More emails = higher revenue (if done thoughtfully): For example, doubling email frequency boosted HubSpot's click-through rates by 53%.

  • Too many emails = unsubscribe risk: 73% of people unsubscribe when overwhelmed.

  • Segment and personalize: Tailoring email frequency based on engagement or purchase history can improve results.

  • Track key metrics: Monitor open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and unsubscribe rates to find your optimal frequency.

The sweet spot for most businesses is 2-3 emails per week, but testing and adjusting based on your audience's behavior is crucial.

Email Marketing Frequency: How Often Should You REALLY Send Newsletters?

Research Data: How Email Frequency Affects Revenue

Recent studies shed light on how email frequency influences revenue and customer engagement. The data reveals clear connections between how often emails are sent and key metrics like open rates, clicks, and conversions.

Benefits of the Right Email Frequency

Getting your email frequency right can lead to impressive revenue growth. Here's what some companies have discovered:

  • FulcrumTech tested sending the same email to a subscriber list for five consecutive days. The results? A 103% increase in open reach and a 269% jump in paid subscription sales.

  • HubSpot found that doubling their email frequency from once a week to twice a week led to a 53% rise in click-through rates and a 50% boost in open rates.

  • The Hustle adopted a daily email strategy with engaging, conversational content. This approach resulted in a 55% growth in subscribers, a 57% improvement in open rates, and a 3.3x increase in revenue.

The takeaway? Increasing email frequency often correlates with higher revenue - if done thoughtfully. Personalization is key here. For example, personalized emails can increase open rates by 26% and make recipients 80% more likely to convert.

A great example is Sephora, which used customer behavior, preferences, and purchase history to tailor their emails. This led to a 70% increase in email revenue, a 59% rise in open rates, and a 44% boost in click-through rates.

Problems with Too Many or Too Few Emails

Striking the right balance is critical, as both over-emailing and under-emailing come with risks.

  • Too many emails can backfire. A study by Return Path found that complaint rates spiked when businesses sent more than five emails per week, and spam reports surged after seven emails per week. Similarly, a 2015 TechnologyAdvice survey revealed that 43% of respondents wanted fewer emails from businesses, and 45.8% said they'd mark emails as spam if overwhelmed by frequency. Spam complaints don’t just cost you subscribers - they can harm your sender reputation, affecting deliverability for your entire list.

  • Too few emails can hurt revenue. For instance, one e-commerce store saw a 30% revenue drop after adding a weekly newsletter because they reduced their overall email frequency.

Some companies have found success by adjusting their approach. Expedia, for example, cut back from daily emails to twice a week, while keeping personalization at the forefront. This change led to a 33% increase in click-through rates and a 57% rise in revenue per email.

Over-emailing risks alienating your audience, while under-emailing means missed opportunities for sales and engagement.

"Your email marketing frequency impacts campaign and automation performance beyond open and click rates. Finding the optimal frequency for your audience will help to drive conversions, revenue, and subscriber satisfaction, whereas too many or too few emails will lead to poorer results." - Aistė Jočytė, Omnisend

Finding the Right Balance

While a Return Path study suggests that weekly emails often achieve the best read rates, preferences vary. For example, a 2015 MarketingSherpa survey found that 86% of consumers preferred at least monthly promotional emails, while 61% wanted them weekly.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. The best frequency depends on factors like your audience, industry, and how well you tailor your content. Companies that see the most success are those willing to test different strategies and adapt based on what resonates with their subscribers.

Metrics to Track Email Frequency Performance

Keeping a close eye on specific metrics can help you fine-tune your email frequency strategy to boost revenue while maintaining subscriber satisfaction. These numbers provide a snapshot of how your audience is responding and can signal when adjustments are necessary.

Open Rate and Click-Through Rate

Open rates and click-through rates are your first line of insight into how well your email frequency is performing. Together, they shed light on whether your audience is still engaged or beginning to lose interest.

Open rates show how many recipients are actually opening your emails. Across industries, the average open rate is 20.81%. Tracking this metric over time can help you identify trends, such as "frequency fatigue." For example, if you increase your email cadence and notice a drop in open rates, it’s a sign that your audience may feel overwhelmed.

Click-through rates, on the other hand, reflect deeper engagement. As Erin Aguilar, Senior Customer Success Manager at Klaviyo, explains:

"Click rate is a true indicator of customer engagement".

Studies reveal that the highest click-through rates occur with the first and second emails sent per week, averaging 4.88% and 3.53% for newsletters. However, sending more than two emails weekly often leads to diminishing returns, as click-through rates begin to decline.

If your open rates are steady but click-through rates drop, the issue likely lies in your content rather than frequency. But if both metrics decline, it’s a clear sign that your email frequency may be too aggressive.

From here, conversion metrics can provide a clearer picture of how frequency impacts your revenue.

Conversion Rate and Revenue Impact

Conversion rates and revenue per email are the ultimate indicators of how email frequency affects your bottom line. These metrics reveal whether sending more emails leads to meaningful sales growth or just spreads existing revenue over additional messages.

Conversion rates measure the percentage of email recipients who take a desired action, such as completing a purchase. This metric directly ties your email strategy to tangible business outcomes.

Revenue per email calculates the monetary value generated by each email. It’s a key metric to determine whether increasing email frequency is boosting overall revenue or merely diluting its effectiveness. Randy McHugh, Founder of Stimulate Agency, emphasizes:

"The best way to optimize email revenue per recipient is by refining your segmentation strategy".

Email marketing proves its worth by delivering 174% more conversions than social media, making it essential to strike the right balance in frequency.

When increasing your email volume, watch these metrics closely. A decline in conversion rates alongside higher email frequency often signals that subscribers are receiving too many messages. The goal is to identify the sweet spot where both metrics align to maximize revenue.

But revenue isn’t the only factor - subscriber loyalty also plays a critical role in long-term success.

Unsubscribe Rate and Customer Lifetime Value

Unsubscribe rates and customer lifetime value (CLTV) help you gauge the long-term effects of your email frequency strategy. These metrics provide insight into whether your approach is fostering lasting relationships or pushing subscribers away.

Unsubscribe rates act as an early warning system. On average, the unsubscribe rate across industries is 0.26%, with ecommerce businesses slightly higher at 0.27%. Rates above 1.5% are considered high and suggest that your frequency or content isn’t resonating with your audience.

Milda Bernatavičiūtė, Senior Content Marketing Manager at Omnisend, highlights:

"The unsubscribe rate of your emails indicates subscriber sentiment and whether your messaging is reaching the right inboxes".

High unsubscribe rates don’t just reduce your audience - they can also harm your domain reputation.

Customer lifetime value (CLTV) measures the total revenue a subscriber contributes over time. This metric is critical for assessing whether short-term gains from frequent emails are worth the risk of losing long-term value. When subscribers leave due to frequency fatigue, you’re not just losing one sale - you’re losing all the future purchases they might have made.

Together, these metrics tell a powerful story about subscriber health. For instance, 45.8% of subscribers mark emails as spam when they feel inundated with messages. Monitoring both unsubscribe rates and CLTV ensures your email strategy supports sustainable growth. A slight uptick in unsubscribes might be acceptable if CLTV remains strong, but sharp spikes in unsubscribes are a clear red flag.

Best Email Frequency: What Research Shows

Research highlights that the ideal email frequency depends heavily on the type of business and its audience. Industry-specific benchmarks are a great starting point for testing and refining your email strategy.

Best Frequency by Business Type

The right email frequency can significantly impact revenue growth, but it’s not one-size-fits-all. Different industries have unique customer expectations and buying cycles, which influence how often emails should be sent.

For e-commerce businesses, frequent emails tend to work well due to their transactional nature. For instance, clothing retailers typically send about 6 emails per week, while general e-commerce businesses average 4 emails weekly. This approach helps maintain engagement and drives revenue, with many e-commerce brands attributing 15% to 30% of their total revenue to email marketing.

On the other hand, B2B companies operate under different dynamics, with longer sales cycles and more thoughtful purchasing decisions. For these businesses, sending emails no more than twice a month is often more effective. Similarly, service-based businesses like those in hospitality often see success with monthly emails.

As Svitlana Fursa, Head of Retention Marketing at Promodo, notes:

"It's a mistake to think that one frequency fits all for a particular business niche, say twice a week for everyone. In practice, it depends on the audience".

To truly optimize, consider adjusting email frequency based on audience behavior.

Customizing Frequency by Audience Segments

Tailoring email frequency to different audience segments can enhance both engagement and revenue. Segmentation allows you to send emails that align with subscriber behavior and preferences.

One effective method is engagement-based segmentation. For example, you could group subscribers based on how recently they’ve interacted with your emails - whether that’s within the last month, three months, six months, or longer. Adjusting frequency for less engaged subscribers can prevent them from feeling overwhelmed. In fact, 63.3% of marketers reduce email frequency for disengaged subscribers to avoid further alienation.

Another approach is to segment by purchase history. New customers might benefit from more frequent onboarding emails, while long-term customers may prefer fewer but more targeted messages.

Additionally, preference centers give subscribers control over how often they receive emails. This not only respects their preferences but also provides valuable insights into what frequency works best.

Natalia Kovalenko of Promodo advises:

"If they are promotional or content-related emails, then a maximum of 2-3 emails per week is ideal. The key is not to send emails two days in a row, as this can overwhelm customers".

Table: High vs Medium vs Low Email Frequency

Here’s a breakdown of how different email frequencies impact revenue, engagement, and unsubscribe risks:

Frequency Level

Emails Per Week

Revenue Impact

Engagement

Unsubscribe Risk

Best For

High

5-7 emails

Higher short-term revenue but potential long-term decline

Initially strong, may decrease over time

Elevated risk – 73% unsubscribe due to frequency

E-commerce, fashion retailers, highly engaged segments

Medium

2-3 emails

Balanced revenue and retention

Consistently strong

Moderate and manageable

Most businesses, general audiences, mixed engagement levels

Low

1 email or less

Missed revenue opportunities

May decline due to lack of presence

Very low risk

B2B, hospitality, low-engagement segments

For most businesses, 2-3 emails per week strikes the right balance. It keeps subscribers engaged without overwhelming them. However, context is key. For instance, a fashion retailer that increased its frequency to five emails per week saw a boost in revenue but also faced significant customer attrition, which ultimately hurt profits. Conversely, an insurance company experienced a 45% revenue increase by raising its email frequency, while an e-commerce store saw a 30% revenue drop after cutting back to one email per week.

Triggered emails, in particular, outperform regular email campaigns. They generate 320% more revenue, with 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher click rates.

This data underscores an important takeaway: while frequency matters, relevance and timing are often even more critical. The most effective email strategies combine the right frequency with highly targeted, behavior-driven content that delivers real value to subscribers.

How to Optimize Your Email Frequency

Finding the right balance for your email frequency is key to keeping subscribers engaged while maximizing revenue. Once you understand how frequency impacts performance, you can take actionable steps to fine-tune your approach.

Review Your Past Campaign Data

Your previous email campaigns hold valuable clues about what works - and what doesn’t. Dive into metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, unsubscribe rates, and spam complaints to uncover trends and patterns.

For example, if you notice a drop in open rates or a spike in unsubscribes when increasing the number of emails sent, it’s a clear sign to reassess your strategy.

Benjamin Tom, a Digital Marketing Expert at Electricity Monster, ran a four-month test across three states with weekly, biweekly, and monthly email schedules. The results showed stark regional differences: Queensland subscribers disliked weekly emails, with unsubscribe rates hitting 4.8%, whereas biweekly emails worked best in New South Wales. In Victoria, engagement peaked with monthly emails.

It’s also important to align your email frequency with your audience’s buying habits. A B2B company with long sales cycles might need a different cadence than an e-commerce business with frequent repeat purchases. Don’t forget to factor in all the emails your subscribers receive - not just marketing campaigns.

Hugh Dixon, Marketing Manager at PSS International Removals, reduced weekly updates to biweekly emails for customers who had already booked a move. By focusing on relevant content like customs tips and packing advice, they saw a 20% boost in open rates and fewer unsubscribes.

Use Segmentation and A/B Testing

After analyzing your data, segmentation and A/B testing can help you refine email frequency for different groups. Research from MailChimp shows that segmented campaigns achieve 14.31% higher open rates compared to their non-segmented counterparts.

Segment your audience based on factors like engagement, demographics, purchase history, or behavior. This allows you to tailor your email cadence to meet the specific needs of each group.

Georgi Petrov, CMO of AIG MARKETER, divided their email list by engagement levels. Highly engaged subscribers responded well to two emails per week, while less active users preferred a biweekly schedule. Adjusting the frequency led to a 22% jump in open rates and a sharp drop in unsubscribes.

A/B testing is another powerful tool. Try experimenting with different frequencies across segments to determine what works best.

Spencer Romenco, Chief Growth Strategist at Growth Spurt, tested weekly, twice-weekly, and thrice-weekly schedules. They found that sending emails twice a week was optimal, reducing unsubscribes by 21% and increasing click-through rates from 2.9% to 4.5%.

Sometimes, less is more.

Westfield Creative ran a test comparing weekly and twice-weekly emails. The group receiving fewer emails saw a 15% increase in open rates and a 10% boost in click-through rates, proving that reducing email frequency can prevent fatigue.

Keep in mind that sending more than five emails per week can lead to increased complaints, according to Return Path. Use this as a general benchmark to avoid overwhelming your audience.

For a more dynamic approach, consider automated systems that adjust frequency based on subscriber engagement.

Michelle Garrison, Event Tech and AI Strategist at We & Goliath, implemented a system that tailored email frequency to each subscriber’s activity. Highly engaged users received more frequent updates, while others got a weekly digest. This strategy reduced total sends by 40% and increased clicks by 28%.

Resources for Advanced Email Frequency

To stay ahead of evolving subscriber preferences, leverage advanced tools and techniques. Marketing automation platforms can streamline your campaigns and improve engagement. Additionally, send time optimization (STO) tools analyze individual behaviors to determine the best delivery times, helping you optimize both timing and frequency.

Using regression analysis on historical data can also help pinpoint the ideal number of emails to send each month. This statistical method uncovers deeper patterns that might not be immediately apparent.

For expert advice, consider resources like The Cluck Norris Method, which offers a twice-weekly newsletter packed with proven strategies, segmentation tips, and analytics insights to help marketers fine-tune their email campaigns for better results.

Continuous monitoring is essential.

Brandon Amoroso, founder of Electriq, emphasizes: "The ability to ingest data from your e-commerce platform and all other third-party apps is crucial. If you don’t have all the data on your subscribers in one place, you can’t effectively deploy an email segmentation and personalization strategy".

Finally, give subscribers control over how often they hear from you. Preference centers not only respect their choices but also provide valuable insights into what each segment wants, making your efforts more precise and impactful.

Conclusion: Finding the Right Email Frequency for Growth

Deciding how often to send emails isn’t just about keeping in touch - it’s a key factor in driving revenue. While email marketing is known for delivering strong ROI, the trick lies in finding a balance: staying top of mind without overwhelming your subscribers.

What works for one business might not work for another, and even within your audience, different segments might respond in unique ways. This makes it essential to fine-tune your strategy based on your audience's preferences and behaviors.

Key Takeaways

Let data guide your decisions. Keep an eye on your unsubscribe rate - it’s a reliable indicator of how well your frequency strategy is working. If it’s under 0.5%, you’re in good shape. A rate below 0.2%? That’s even better. These benchmarks provide a clear way to measure your success.

Segmentation boosts engagement and revenue. Research shows that segmented campaigns can achieve 50% higher click-through rates. Plus, increasing customer retention by just 5% can lead to a profit increase of 25% to 95%. By tailoring email frequency to specific segments - based on factors like engagement levels, purchase history, and preferences - you’re not just reducing unsubscribes; you’re creating more chances to convert.

Testing and monitoring are non-negotiable. While the average email engagement rate across industries is 36.5%, your audience might behave differently. Regularly review metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to refine your approach. A/B testing can uncover what resonates best with each segment, helping you continuously improve.

It’s worth noting that 45% of people unsubscribe due to too many emails, and 43% leave because the content isn’t relevant. This highlights the importance of personalization and segmentation over simply sticking to a fixed number of emails.

The best email marketers know that optimizing frequency isn’t a one-and-done task. It’s an ongoing process of analyzing data, experimenting with new strategies, and adapting to your audience’s changing needs. By doing so, you can strike the perfect balance that keeps subscribers engaged and drives revenue growth.

Stay flexible as your business evolves. The key is to remain focused on data-driven strategies while prioritizing a subscriber experience that keeps your audience coming back for more.

FAQs

What’s the best way to figure out how often I should email my audience?

Finding the right email frequency for your audience starts with analyzing key engagement metrics - open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates are great indicators of how well your emails are resonating. You can also ask your subscribers directly through surveys to get a clearer picture of their preferences and expectations.

Try segmenting your email list into smaller groups to test different sending frequencies. This allows you to see how each group responds without risking your entire list. While sending 1-3 emails per week works for many businesses, the perfect frequency really depends on how your audience interacts with your content. Pay attention to their behavior and feedback, and tweak your approach to maximize results without overwhelming your readers.

How can I send frequent emails without losing subscriber interest?

To keep your subscribers interested while sending frequent emails, it's crucial to understand what they want. Dive into tools like surveys, past email performance, and engagement stats to figure out the ideal frequency. Tailor your content to their preferences, break your audience into segments based on their behavior or demographics, and make sure every email delivers real value. For a lot of businesses, sending 2–3 emails a week works well - it keeps you visible without overwhelming their inbox. The secret? Stay consistent and make your emails relevant to their needs.

How does segmenting your email list enhance the success of your campaigns?

Segmenting your email list helps you send targeted, meaningful content to specific subscriber groups. By aligning your messages with their interests, actions, or demographics, you can see higher engagement, more conversions, and better ROI.

For instance, you could send exclusive offers to customers based on their purchase history or create re-engagement campaigns aimed at inactive subscribers. This strategy ensures your emails connect with the right audience, boosting campaign results and building stronger customer relationships over time.