How Often Should You Really Email Your List? (Data, Not Opinions)

Every marketer asks this question eventually. Usually late at night, staring at their audience stats, second-guessing everything.

How often should I email my list?

The internet has opinions. Lots of them.

“Never more than once a week.”

“Every single day or they’ll forget you exist.”

“Only when you have something valuable to say.” (Thanks, Captain Obvious.)

I’ve been sending emails since 1998. I’ve managed campaigns for a major high street retailer—half a million pounds of goods distributed daily. I’ve worked with a gambling brand generating a million pounds in monthly profit. I’ve tested frequency more times than I can count.

So let me save you the confusion. Here’s what the data actually says. Not opinions. Not guesses. What I’ve learned from decades of hitting “send.”

The short answer

Here it is: it depends.

I know, I know—that’s not the satisfying answer you wanted. You wanted a number. “Send 3.7 times per week for optimal results.” Something you can implement and stop worrying about.

But anyone giving you a specific number without knowing your audience, your product, and your industry is guessing. Worse, they’re guessing based on what worked for them, not what will work for you.

That said, I can give you something better than a number. I can give you a framework for finding your number. And I can share what the data from thousands of campaigns has taught me about frequency.

The retail experiment

Early in my career, I worked with a major high street retailer. We were responsible for moving half a million pounds worth of goods every single day. Email was a big part of that.

We tested frequency obsessively. For six months, we split the list into segments. Some got emails once a week. Some got two. Some got three. Some got five.

The results surprised me.

The “once a week” group had the highest open rates. Looked great on paper. But their overall revenue? Meh.

The “five times a week” group had lower opens, higher unsubscribes, and—here’s the important part—significantly more revenue.

Why? Because retail is different. People shopping for goods expect frequent updates. New products, sales, restocks—they wanted to know. The ones who didn’t? They unsubscribed. And that was fine, because they weren’t the core audience anyway.

The lesson: frequency depends on what you’re selling and what your audience expects.

The gambling brand surprise

Then there was the gambling client. Million pounds in monthly profit. Highly engaged audience. You’d think they’d want daily emails, right?

Wrong.

We tested similar frequency splits. And with this audience, daily emails tanked performance. The sweet spot? Three times a week. Any more, and engagement dropped. Any less, and revenue slipped.

Same testing methodology. Opposite results.

Because gambling audiences are different. They’re engaged, but they’re not looking for a constant stream of offers. They want the right offers at the right time. Frequency mattered less than relevance.

What industry data shows

I’m not the only one testing this. Industry studies (from Mailchimp, HubSpot, etc.) consistently show the same pattern:

• Open rates decline as frequency increases. This is almost universal. More emails mean fewer opens per email.
• Unsubscribes increase with frequency. Also universal. Some people will leave if you email too much.
• Revenue per subscriber often increases with frequency. This is the counterintuitive one. Even with lower opens and more unsubscribes, the people who stay often buy more.

The net effect? There’s usually a “sweet spot” where total revenue peaks, even if individual metrics look worse. Finding that spot for your list is the game.

How to find your number

Enough theory. Here’s how you actually figure this out for your own list.

Step 1: Know your audience’s expectations

What did they sign up for? A daily deal site? A weekly newsletter? A monthly update? If you promised “weekly tips” and start emailing daily, people will feel misled. If you promised “updates” and email monthly, they’ll forget you.

Match frequency to expectation. Then test from there.

Step 2: Segment and test

Split your list. Send one segment your current frequency. Send another segment a different frequency. Track revenue per subscriber over 30, 60, and 90 days. (Not just open rates. Actual revenue.)

Do this for at least 90 days. Frequency effects take time to show up.

Step 3: Watch the “quiet unsubscribe”

People who don’t leave but stop engaging are dangerous. They hurt your deliverability. If increasing frequency leads to more disengaged subscribers, you’re harming your long-term results even if short-term revenue looks good.

Track engagement rates alongside revenue. If engagement drops sharply, pull back.

Step 4: Consider content type

Educational content can often be sent more frequently than promotional content. People will accept daily tips. They won’t accept daily “buy now” messages.

Mix it up. Value emails build trust. Offer emails convert. Find your ratio.

Some rough guidelines

I’m not going to give you a single number. But here are some observations from 25 years:

• E-commerce/retail: Can often email 3-5 times weekly. Audiences expect it. Revenue per subscriber usually peaks on the higher end.
• Info products / courses: 1-2 times weekly often works well. Enough to stay top-of-mind, not so much that people feel overwhelmed.
• High-ticket / B2B: Weekly or even bi-weekly can work. These audiences are busy. They need fewer, more targeted messages.
• Daily deals / flash sales: Daily works. It’s literally what people signed up for.

Notice the pattern? Frequency follows expectation. Always.

The myth you can ignore

You’ve heard it: “Email too often and everyone will unsubscribe.”

Here’s the truth: the right people won’t unsubscribe. They’ll welcome more of you. The wrong people will leave—and that’s a good thing.

I’d rather have a smaller list of people who actually want to hear from me than a larger list of people who ignore everything I send. Every unsubscribe is a gift. It cleans your list, improves your engagement, and makes your metrics more honest.

Don’t let fear of unsubscribes dictate your strategy. Let data and revenue dictate it.

What I actually do now

These days, semi-retired in Southeast Asia, my approach is simple:

• I email when I have something worth saying. That might be twice in a week. It might be once in two weeks. It depends.
• I watch revenue per email, not open rates. If an email makes money, I send more like it. If it doesn’t, I rethink.
• I never apologise for emailing. “Sorry for the extra email” is the worst opening line. If you’re sorry, don’t send it. If you’re not sorry, own it.

This approach won’t maximise short-term revenue. But it keeps my list healthy, my sanity intact, and my readers actually happy to see my name in their inbox.

Here’s the truth

There’s no magic frequency. There’s only your audience, your offer, and your testing.

Start with what you promised. Test from there. Watch revenue, not vanity metrics. And ignore anyone who gives you a single number without knowing your business.

The right frequency is the one that makes you money while keeping your list engaged. Only you can find it.

— Robert Carey

P.S. The retail client that emailed five times a week? They’re still going strong. The gambling brand that found their sweet spot at three times? Also thriving. Find your number, not someone else’s.