Email is like coffee: too much and you’re jittery, too little and you’re dragging. But just the right amount? That’s where the magic happens. With email marketing still delivering one of the best ROIs out there, it's no wonder brands keep coming back to it year after year.
The catch? With great ROI comes great responsibility. Send too many emails and suddenly you’re the clingy ex who won’t stop texting. Send too few and you’re the friend who ghosts for six months then pops back in asking for a favor. Neither is a good look.
That’s why marketers are constantly chasing the Goldilocks problem of digital communication: finding the cadence that’s juuuust right. Here’s the thing: there’s no universal formula. What works for a fast-fashion brand blasting flash sales won’t work for a B2B software company sharing quarterly updates. Your audience, your goals, and your content type all play into how often you should land in someone’s inbox.
So instead of looking for a one-size-fits-all answer, let’s dive into the signals, strategies, and smarter ways to figure out how often you should actually hit “send.”
There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Answer (Here’s Why)
Marketers love formulas — three emails per week, ten per month, one every other Thursday. Sadly, inboxes don’t work like that. Your ideal frequency depends on your business, your audience, and even the type of emails you’re sending.
Take industries, for example. A fashion retailer running flash sales can get away with daily updates, while a B2B SaaS company would come off as desperate doing the same.
Audience behavior matters, too. Some subscribers genuinely want more frequent updates, while others see too many emails as spam. Even the email type makes a difference. Transactional emails like shipping confirmations? People expect them instantly. But promotional or newsletter emails? Those need to be paced carefully.
The point is, the perfect cadence doesn’t exist. What matters most is how closely your frequency aligns with customer expectations and whether you’re delivering real value with each send.
Signs You Might Be Emailing Too Often
If you’re crossing the line from consistent to clingy, your audience will let you know. Sometimes subtly, sometimes loudly. One of the first signs is a rising unsubscribe rate. If people are fleeing your list faster than you can grow it, you’re likely overwhelming them.
Open rates also tell a story. A steady decline suggests inbox fatigue: people see your subject lines, but they’re no longer curious enough to click. Even worse? Spam complaints. Once subscribers start reporting you, you’re losing trust and hurting your deliverability for everyone else.
And then there are the not so subtle signs. Ever had someone reply “STOP” outside of your official opt-out system? That’s email marketing’s equivalent of a slammed door. If your campaigns are starting to feel like that friend who texts “wyd?” five times in a row, it’s time to pull back.
Signs You’re Not Emailing Enough
Silence can be just as damaging as over-sending. If you vanish for weeks at a time, your audience forgets who you are and when do you finally show up, it feels jarring.
One giveaway is low engagement. If people stop opening because they don’t remember subscribing, you’re not staying visible enough. Worse, they might even flag you as spam simply because your reappearance feels random. Revenue opportunities also slip away. Without regular promos, nurture campaigns, or seasonal reminders, you’re leaving money on the table.
And let’s not forget list decay. On average, email lists shrink by about 23% every year. If you’re not actively engaging subscribers, churn happens even faster. Think of it like ghosting a friend. When you finally reach out months later, don’t be surprised if they’ve moved on.
General Email Marketing Cadence Guidelines by Type of Email
There’s no universal formula, but some broad guardrails can help set expectations:
Newsletters
1–4 per month. Enough to stay visible without exhausting your readers.
Promotional Emails
1–2 per week. These can ramp up during sales, launches, or holidays. Just avoid making every email a discount.
Transactional Emails
As needed. Order confirmations, receipts, and shipping updates don’t count toward fatigue, they’re essential.
Drip Campaigns
Daily or every few days, but only for a short series (like a welcome flow or re-engagement campaign). These should feel purposeful, not endless.
Think of these as starting points, not hard rules. The real key? Whatever frequency you promise at sign-up, stick to it. Nothing tanks trust faster than saying “weekly tips” and suddenly showing up every day.
How to Find Your Ideal Email Frequency
Here’s where science meets art. The best way to find your cadence is to test, listen, and adjust:
Test and Learn
A/B test different cadences (weekly vs. biweekly) and watch engagement trends.
Watch the Metrics
Open rates, clicks, unsubscribes, and spam complaints are like your dashboard lights. They'll tell you when to slow down or speed up.
Segment Your List
Not everyone wants the same volume. VIPs may love more frequent updates, while casual readers prefer lighter touchpoints.
Ask Your Audience
A simple survey can reveal what cadence feels right to your subscribers. Bonus: it shows you care about their preferences.
Prioritize Value
Frequency only matters if the content is worth opening. If your emails don’t inform, entertain, or help, people will stop reading no matter how often you send.
Find Your Best Email Marketing Cadence with an Agency
Let’s face it: figuring out email cadence isn’t a one-and-done project. It’s an ongoing process of testing, optimizing, and refining (and doing it well takes time). That’s where agencies step in.
A good email marketing agency doesn’t just hit “send.” They map email frequency to your customer journey, align it with your business goals, and track the metrics that matter. They’ll also help segment your audience so your VIPs get one experience while casual browsers get another all while protecting you from burning out your list.
Agencies also bring perspective. They’ve tested cadences across industries, so they know what typically works and what doesn’t. They’ll help you avoid rookie mistakes like blasting daily promos to everyone or disappearing for months. Instead, they’ll help you build a sustainable rhythm that feels natural to your audience and effective for your bottom line.
And through Breef, finding that partner doesn’t require weeks of Googling or cold calls. You’ll get matched with vetted agencies who understand email strategy inside and out, so your campaigns aren’t just more consistent, they’re smarter.
Final Thoughts
So, how often should you email your customers? The unsatisfying but accurate answer: it depends. The real secret is paying attention: to your industry, to your audience, and to the signals in your data.
When you get it right, your emails stop feeling like noise and start feeling like value. And with the right agency partner (found through Breef 🤝) you’ll spend less time stressing about cadence and more time watching your emails actually work.
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