Should I tell my subscribers I'm increasing email frequency?

It's best to communicate the anticipated increase in frequency clearly and repeatedly before you start. Explain the benefits to them and what new value the increased emails will provide. This manages their expectations and reduces the likelihood of negative reactions.

What is a recommended pace for gradually increasing frequency?

A gradual ramp-up is recommended. For example, if moving from 2x/week to 5x/week, you could go to 3x/week for a few weeks, then 4x/week, and then 5x/week. This allows both your subscribers and inbox providers to adjust. It helps with email frequency and volume management after any warming periods.

How can I ensure content remains valuable with higher frequency?

Focus on providing high-quality, relevant content that justifies the increased frequency. Utilize segmentation based on interests, roles, or engagement levels to deliver personalized content. Give subscribers control through a robust preference center where they can adjust their email cadence or content topics.

What metrics should I monitor during the frequency increase?

Monitor key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribe rates, and spam complaints very closely. If you see a decline in engagement or an increase in negative feedback, pause or reduce your frequency. Regularly performing an email deliverability test can also provide insights.

Does increasing frequency impact email deliverability or sender reputation?

While increasing frequency isn't primarily a deliverability issue if your list is healthy and permission-based, a sudden jump can indirectly affect your sender reputation. Inbox providers might view drastic changes as suspicious, potentially leading to increased spam placements or even a blacklist entry .

How should I gradually increase my email send frequency to a B2B list without causing unsubscribes? - Sender reputation - Email deliverability - Knowledge base

Increasing email send frequency to a B2B list is a common goal for many businesses looking to deepen engagement and provide more value. However, doing so without causing a spike in unsubscribes or, worse, damaging your sender reputation, requires a thoughtful and strategic approach. It's not just about sending more emails, but about sending the right emails at the right time, while managing recipient expectations.

The key is to approach this growth incrementally and with clear communication. A sudden shift from, say, two emails a week to daily sends can catch subscribers off guard and lead to negative reactions, even if they initially opted in. We need to consider how to prepare our audience for this change, ensure the content remains highly relevant, and closely monitor performance metrics to adapt as needed.

Communicating frequency changes

Before you even consider ramping up your frequency, it's crucial to communicate your intentions clearly to your subscribers. Unexpected changes in email cadence are a primary reason why engaged recipients might hit the spam button instead of the unsubscribe link. This proactive communication manages expectations and provides context for the increased volume.

Send out a dedicated email, or even a series of emails, well in advance. Explain the rationale behind the increased frequency. Will the new emails offer different types of content, more timely updates, or deeper insights into specific topics? Highlight the benefits to your subscribers and why this change will enhance their experience. This transparency can help mitigate negative responses.

Tips for communicating the change

When informing subscribers about an upcoming change in email frequency, consider these best practices to ensure a smooth transition and minimize potential negative impacts. Providing a clear value proposition and offering opt-down options are crucial steps.

Clear messaging: Explicitly state the new frequency and what recipients can expect. For instance, if you are planning to send more emails, an article about email marketing mistakes emphasizes the importance of a clear value proposition.
Reinforce value: Explain the added value that justifies more frequent emails. Why is this beneficial for them?
Preference center: Offer subscribers the option to adjust their email preferences, allowing them to choose a lower frequency or specific content topics. This gives them control and reduces the likelihood of unsubscribes.

Additionally, make sure that every email you send, regardless of frequency, includes a prominent and easy-to-use unsubscribe link. This is essential for compliance and good list hygiene, and it’s far better for a recipient to unsubscribe cleanly than to mark your email as spam.

Implementing a gradual ramp-up

When it comes to the actual increase in frequency, a gradual ramp-up is almost always the safest approach. This isn't just about managing subscriber expectations, but also about maintaining your sender reputation. Email service providers (ESPs) and inbox providers like

Google and

Outlook monitor sending patterns. Sudden, significant increases in volume can trigger spam filters or even lead to your domain or IP being placed on an email blocklist (or blacklist).

Instead of immediately jumping from 2x/week to 5x/week for your entire 16k list, consider a phased approach. For example, you could move to 3x/week for a few weeks, then 4x/week, and finally 5x/week. This allows both your audience and the inbox providers to adjust to the new volume. This is similar to the process of warming up a new domain or IP address.

Gradual increase

Start with a small increase in frequency, like adding one extra send per week. Monitor engagement and unsubscribe rates closely for a few weeks before adding another. This allows you to identify issues early.

Week 1-2: From 2x/week to 3x/week (e.g., Mon, Wed, Fri).
Week 3-4: From 3x/week to 4x/week.
Week 5+: Reach desired 5x/week frequency, if metrics remain positive.

Sudden increase

Jumping directly to a much higher frequency for your entire list can result in a sudden surge of unsubscribes and spam complaints. This negatively impacts your sender reputation.

Higher unsubscribe rates: Subscribers may feel overwhelmed or annoyed.
Increased spam complaints: Even opted-in users might mark emails as spam if the frequency is unexpected.
Reputation damage: Poor engagement metrics can lead to your emails landing in the spam folder for all recipients, impacting your domain reputation and potentially getting you on a blacklist (or blocklist).

For a B2B list, this controlled ramp-up is critical. Unlike B2C, where impulse purchases or daily deals might be more acceptable, B2B subscribers are often looking for targeted, valuable information without unnecessary noise. Respecting their inbox by gradually increasing volume demonstrates care for their preferences and helps maintain a positive relationship.

Content relevancy and segmentation

The success of increasing email frequency hinges heavily on the content you provide. If you're going from 2x/week to 5x/week, each of those new emails must deliver distinct and compelling value. Repetitive or uninteresting content will quickly lead to fatigue and unsubscribes, regardless of how well you've managed expectations.

Consider segmenting your audience based on their interests, role, or engagement level. This allows you to tailor content and, potentially, frequency to different groups. For example, highly engaged subscribers might be receptive to daily updates, while others prefer weekly summaries. A good resource for understanding this is mastering email frequency best practices, which highlights the importance of engagement.

Topic-based segmentation: If your daily emails cover different themes, ensure subscribers can choose which themes they receive. This provides them with greater control over their inbox and reduces the chance of irrelevance.
Engagement-driven frequency: Send more frequently to those who consistently open and click, and less often to those with lower engagement. This helps to improve B2B email deliverability by focusing on interested recipients.
Personalization: Utilize data to personalize content, making each email feel directly relevant to the individual recipient's needs and interests.

Ultimately, if your subscribers genuinely value the content you're sending, they will be much more tolerant of increased frequency. Focus on quality over quantity, even as you increase the latter.

Monitoring and adapting your strategy

As you gradually increase your email frequency, continuous monitoring of key metrics is indispensable. This data will tell you if your strategy is working or if adjustments are needed. Pay close attention to engagement rates, unsubscribe rates, and spam complaints.

If you see a notable increase in unsubscribes or spam complaints during the ramp-up phase, it's a clear signal to pause the increase or even dial back the frequency. It indicates that your audience might be feeling overwhelmed, or the content isn't hitting the mark. Your blocklist checker can also alert you if your sending behavior triggers a blacklist (or blocklist).

Utilize A/B testing to experiment with different frequencies, content types, or send times for various segments of your audience. This data-driven approach allows you to pinpoint what resonates best with your B2B subscribers. Remember, what works for one audience or industry might not work for another.

Metric	Why it matters	Actionable insights
Open rate	Indicates initial interest and subject line effectiveness. A decline suggests fatigue or irrelevance.	If dropping, test new subject lines, preheaders, or content hooks.
Click-through rate (CTR)	Measures how engaging your content is and how well it drives desired actions.	A low CTR means content isn't compelling enough, or calls to action are unclear. Revise content strategy.
Unsubscribe rate	Direct indicator of subscriber satisfaction with frequency or content.	Spikes indicate a need to reduce frequency, re-segment, or adjust content expectations.
Spam complaint rate	Most damaging metric. High rates signal subscribers view your emails as unsolicited.	Immediately reduce frequency, clean your list, and re-evaluate consent and content relevance to fix email deliverability issues.

Views from the trenches

Best practices

Clearly communicate frequency changes and benefits to subscribers.

Offer a preference center allowing subscribers to choose their desired frequency or content topics.

Segment your audience and tailor content and frequency based on engagement and interests.

Gradually increase send frequency over several weeks while monitoring metrics.

Prioritize content quality and relevance to justify increased email volume.

Regularly clean your email list to remove unengaged or invalid contacts.

Common pitfalls

Suddenly increasing email frequency without prior notice to subscribers.

Sending the same type of content more frequently without adding new value.

Ignoring rising unsubscribe rates or spam complaints during a frequency increase.

Not providing a clear and easy unsubscribe option in every email.

Failing to segment lists, leading to irrelevant content for some subscribers.

Over-optimizing for short-term gains at the expense of long-term sender reputation.

Expert tips

Consider a phased rollout for increased frequency, starting with your most engaged segments.

Leverage advanced analytics to understand content performance across different frequency tiers.

Implement a re-engagement strategy for subscribers who show signs of decreased interest.

Always link to a comprehensive preference center in your emails.

Regularly audit your email content for relevancy and value proposition.

Develop a playbook for responding to sudden drops in engagement or increases in complaints.

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks says they would increase frequency slowly to avoid a large spike in unsubscribes. For newsletters, they would start with Monday, Wednesday, Friday sends, and expand only if data shows positive engagement.

2022-08-16 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks says that anticipating increased frequency needs to be communicated clearly, and multiple times, before ramping up. Unexpected frequency is a major reason why opted-in people click the spam button instead of unsubscribing.

2022-08-16 - Email Geeks

Growing your B2B email program

Successfully increasing email send frequency to a B2B list without causing unsubscribes is a delicate balance of communication, strategy, and data analysis. It starts with transparently informing your audience about the change and providing compelling reasons for the increased volume.

A gradual ramp-up, coupled with highly relevant and segmented content, will help maintain subscriber satisfaction and protect your sender reputation. Continually monitor your performance metrics, and be prepared to adapt your strategy based on subscriber feedback and engagement data. By putting your audience's experience first, you can effectively grow your email program.