Summary
The consensus among email marketing experts and documentation from major providers is that email marketers should generally avoid drastically decreasing email volume on major holidays. Periods like Thanksgiving and Black Friday/Cyber Monday often see high email activity. Maintaining consistent sending patterns is crucial for a healthy sender reputation, as sudden drops in volume can negatively impact deliverability and signal problems to mailbox providers. Instead, strategies such as segmenting audiences, personalizing content, adapting offers to the holiday season, and analyzing past performance data are recommended. B2C and B2B approaches may differ, and not all countries observe the same holidays.
Key findings
- High Email Volume Periods: Thanksgiving and Black Friday/Cyber Monday are periods of high email volume.
- Maintain Consistent Volume: Consistent email sending volume is crucial for a healthy sender reputation.
- Negative Impact of Volume Drops: Drastic decreases in email volume can negatively impact sender reputation and deliverability.
- Audience Segmentation and Targeting: Segmenting the audience and sending targeted, personalized emails is key for engagement.
- Strategic Approach Required: Decreasing volume should only be done with a well-thought-out strategy to minimize negative impact.
- B2C vs B2B Differences: B2C sends may increase on Thanksgiving, while B2B sends should potentially decrease.
Key considerations
- Sender Reputation: Prioritize maintaining a good sender reputation to ensure email deliverability.
- Alternative Strategies: Explore alternative strategies like audience segmentation, personalized content, and targeted campaigns instead of volume reduction.
- Content Adaptation: Adapt email content and offers to match the holiday season and audience interests.
- Global Holiday Awareness: Consider that not all countries observe the same holiday periods and adjust strategies accordingly.
- Data Analysis: Analyze past holiday performance data to inform current strategies.
- A/B Testing: Implement A/B testing to determine the most effective email strategies.
- Plan Well In Advance: Start planning early to capture the most audience engagement.
What email marketers say
14 marketer opinions
Most email marketing experts and resources advise against drastically decreasing email volume on major holidays. Instead, they recommend strategies such as segmenting audiences, personalizing content, adapting offers to the holiday season, and maintaining consistent sending habits for optimal deliverability and engagement. B2C and B2B strategies may differ, and analyzing historical data is crucial. For the news industry there is a slow down because of resource and staff limitations. Maintaining consistency and segmenting emails for retail for Black Friday and Cyber Monday is key.
Key opinions
- Maintain Consistency: Drastic decreases in email volume can negatively impact sender reputation and deliverability. Consistent sending patterns are crucial.
- Audience Segmentation: Segmenting audiences and tailoring content to specific groups allows for more relevant and engaging emails, which can improve overall campaign performance.
- Personalization: Personalizing email content and offers increases engagement and relevance, leading to better results during the holiday season.
- Analyze Past Performance: Reviewing historical data can reveal optimal sending frequencies and engagement patterns during previous holiday seasons.
- B2B vs B2C: B2C sends increase on Thanksgiving, while B2B sends should decrease.
Key considerations
- Content Adaptation: Adapt email content and offers to match the holiday season, making them relevant and appealing to the target audience.
- A/B Testing: Implement A/B testing to determine the most effective email strategies for maximizing engagement and conversions.
- Timely Offers: Focus on timely offers and promotions, especially in the days leading up to major holidays.
- Re-engagement: Utilize re-engagement emails to improve open rates and reconnect with inactive subscribers during the holiday season.
- Strategic Planning: Plan well in advance to capture audience attention before competitors do.
- News Industry: News media slows down newsletters for holidays like Thanksgiving because of staff being off.
- Retail Strategy: Retail should segment and consistent emails on the days leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit r/emailmarketing suggests analyzing past holiday performance data to determine the optimal sending frequency. They note that engagement often peaks right before major holidays.
26 Apr 2023 - Reddit r/emailmarketing
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks says that email volume tends to increase during the holiday period.
19 Apr 2025 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
5 expert opinions
Email marketing experts generally advise against dramatically decreasing email volume on major holidays. Thanksgiving and Black Friday/Cyber Monday see high email activity. A well-thought-out strategy is necessary if decreasing volume. Segmenting the audience and sending targeted emails is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation. Considering that not all countries observe the same holiday periods, strategies should be tailored accordingly.
Key opinions
- High Email Volume: Thanksgiving and Black Friday/Cyber Monday are periods of high email volume.
- Maintain Consistency: Sudden drops in email volume can negatively affect sender reputation and deliverability.
- Audience Segmentation: Segmenting the audience and sending targeted emails is key.
- Strategic Planning: A well-thought-out strategy is crucial before decreasing email volume.
Key considerations
- Sender Reputation: Consider the impact of volume changes on sender reputation.
- Targeted Campaigns: Focus on sending targeted emails to relevant segments.
- Global Holidays: Consider that not all countries observe the same holiday periods.
- Strategic approach: Avoid making ad-hoc, last-minute changes. Ensure the strategic approach is in place
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks points out that many people/countries do not take a four-day weekend during Thanksgiving.
29 Jul 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that Thanksgiving is a single day recording setting day for most ESPs every year, indicating high email volume.
18 Dec 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Email deliverability documentation from major providers (Mailchimp, Google, Microsoft, and SparkPost) uniformly advises against drastically decreasing email volume on major holidays. Maintaining consistent sending patterns is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation. Unexpected drops in volume can negatively impact deliverability and signal potential problems to mailbox providers. Instead of decreasing volume, documentation suggests focusing on audience segmentation and targeted campaigns.
Key findings
- Consistent Volume: Maintaining consistent email sending volume is essential for a healthy sender reputation.
- Negative Impact: Drastic decreases in email volume can negatively impact sender reputation and deliverability.
- Audience Segmentation: Focusing on audience segmentation is a better alternative to reducing overall volume.
- Targeted Campaigns: Targeted campaigns are preferred over broad volume reductions.
Key considerations
- Sender Reputation: Prioritize maintaining a good sender reputation to ensure email deliverability.
- Alternative Strategies: Explore alternative strategies like audience segmentation and targeted campaigns instead of reducing volume.
- Avoid Sudden Drops: Avoid sudden and significant drops in email volume.
- Mailbox Provider Signals: Be aware that mailbox providers interpret sending volume changes as signals of potential problems.
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft Outlook Postmaster encourages maintaining consistent sending habits, as unexpected changes in volume can negatively affect your sender reputation. Consider targeted campaigns and segmentation.
5 Jan 2025 - Microsoft Outlook Postmaster
Technical article
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools highlights the importance of consistent sending patterns for maintaining a good sender reputation. Drastic changes in volume could be interpreted negatively.
19 Jul 2021 - Google Postmaster Tools
