How often should I email my list?

Picking the right time to send your newsletter can affect everything from open rates to click-through rates. And there are problems with both extremes:

• over-sending: reduced open rate, click-through rate, and email deliverability

• under-sending: lack of presence, lower life-time value if you're selling a product

That's why picking an ideal frequency is crucial, especially early on.

So, here are the 3 considerations to take into account before you pick your newsletter frequency (and specific timing):

Your Content

Depending on your content, your ideal newsletter frequency will differ based on:

• length - if it's a long form newsletter, once a week or even month is alright

• variety - if you're sending two different types of emails, for example, one is a breakdown and another is a curation, you can afford to send it twice a week

Your Schedule

Even if the ideal frequency for your newsletter may be daily, it is irrelevant if that cadence does not align with your personal schedule.

The only thing more important than your newsletter frequency is consistency.

So, while deciding on your newsletter frequency, take into account the time you are willing to spare for your newsletter - writing, reviewing, designing, and growing.

And make sure you set these expectations early, either on your newsletter sign-up page or in the welcome email - your audience should always know when to expect you.

End Goal

What you want to get out of your newsletter plays a crucial role in determining your ideal newsletter frequency, for instance:

• website traffic via email - you can justify an increased email frequency because you want to prioritize the number of clicks that you get to your blog or external website

• sponsorships - if you want to earn via your newsletter you'd want a high open and click-through rate for sponsorships, meaning less frequent but more valuable content

Ask yourself some reflective questions, pick your end goal, and adapt accordingly.

General Statistics

If you're just looking for a starting point, the best times to send your newsletters (to optimize for high open and click-through rates) include:

• 10 am

• 1 pm

• 6 pm

And the ideal frequency is lesser than twice a week but more than once a month.

Conclusion

Now, before you just pick the general stats and roll with it, I'd suggest you experiment a bit with the timings - send your newsletter once, then twice a week, in the morning for a while, and then in the evening instead.

See what works best and double down on that. But don't overdo it with the testing, it's always better when your readers know when to expect you.

P.S. To avoid upsetting readers, you can experiment with your low-engagement readers via our segmentation tools and then adopt the optimal strategy for everyone.