Mastering Email Volume Consistency

Hey Matt here again, I recently talked about email deliverability 101 and the things you need to ensure great deliverability. Here is sometimes overlook, but very important component - cadence.

Mastering Email Cadence for Optimal Deliverability and Engagement

An often overlooked yet crucial element of email deliverability is the sending cadence and consistency. Maintaining an appropriate email marketing cadence is essential for building trust with Internet Service Providers (ISPs), engaging subscribers effectively, and ensuring the overall health and performance of your email marketing campaigns.

Understanding Email Cadence

Email cadence refers to the timing and frequency of your emails. This includes factors such as the day and time you send emails, the number of emails you send per week or month, and the type of content you include. Establishing a consistent email cadence helps create a predictable pattern that ISPs recognize, reducing the risk of being flagged as spam.

Aligning with Subscriber Preferences

One of the key factors to consider when setting your email cadence is your subscribers' preferences. The best way to know exactly what they want is to ask them directly. Conduct surveys or include preference options in your subscription forms to find out how often they want to receive emails and what type of content they're interested in. Tailoring your email frequency to meet their expectations can significantly enhance engagement and reduce the likelihood of unsubscribes or spam complaints.

Aligning with Business Goals

Your business goals will also influence your email cadence. If you're looking to drive sales, you might want to send more frequent emails with promotional offers. Conversely, if your focus is on building brand awareness, fewer emails with more informative content might be more appropriate. For instance, a weekly newsletter with industry news and updates can keep your audience informed without overwhelming them, while a series of emails promoting a time-sensitive sale might require a more frequent sending schedule.

The Impact of Content Type

The type of content you include in your emails will also impact your email cadence. Newsletters, promotional offers, event invitations, and transactional emails each have different optimal frequencies. For example, newsletters might be sent weekly or monthly, while promotional emails could be more frequent, especially around major sales events.

However, it's important to balance frequency to avoid fatigue and maintain high engagement rates.

The Importance of Consistency

ISPs favor consistency in email volumes. Abrupt spikes in email sending can flag your activities as spammy. Similarly, if you stop sending emails for a while and then suddenly send a large volume, it can cause deliverability issues. A significant increase in sending volume in a short period can also lead to higher spam and bounce rates. Therefore, strive to send roughly the same number of emails regularly to maintain a rhythm that ISPs recognize as legitimate.

Best Practices for Maintaining a Healthy List

1. List Hygiene:

• Monitoring Engagement: A consistent cadence allows for better tracking of engagement metrics over time. This helps identify inactive subscribers who can be removed to maintain a healthy list.
• Preference Management: It’s easier to adjust sending frequencies based on user preferences when you have a regular cadence.

2. Consistent Schedule: Choose a specific day of the week to send your emails and stick to it. For example, sending a newsletter every Tuesday ensures your subscribers know when to expect your emails. It's also okay to build in follow-up emails around that day, such as a reminder to non-openers.

3. Avoid Overloading: Sending too many emails too frequently can lead to subscribers marking your emails as spam or unsubscribing. Conversely, not sending enough emails can cause subscribers to forget about you or lose interest.

Conclusion

Mastering email cadence is about finding the right balance for your audience and your business goals. By aligning your email frequency with subscriber preferences and maintaining consistency, you can improve deliverability, build stronger relationships with your subscribers, and achieve better results from your email marketing campaigns. Remember, the key is to keep your communication predictable, relevant, and valuable.