Latest / The Email Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Newsletters, Open Rates, and Subscriber Growth / Why Email Frequency Changes Affect Unsubscribe Rates
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, I was looking at some email marketing benchmarks this week, and one number jumped out at me: the average unsubscribe rate across industries hovers around 0.1 to 0.2 percent per send. That seems tiny, right? But compound that over a year of weekly sends, and you're losing maybe 10 percent of your list annually — just from people hitting unsubscribe. Luna: Right, and that's before you factor in people who just stop opening. So the frequency decision is actually a retention decision in disguise. Lucas: Exactly. And I think a lot of marketers default to 'more is better' because they assume every send is an opportunity. But there's a counterintuitive case study I came across from a B2B SaaS company called, let's call them DataFlow. They were sending a weekly newsletter — product updates, industry insights, that kind of thing. Luna: Sounds pretty standard. Lucas: Totally standard. But they decided to test cutting back to bi-weekly for three months. And their unsubscribes dropped by 30 percent. Open rates on the bi-weekly sends actually went up 18 percent. Click-throughs stayed roughly the same. Luna: So they sent half the emails, lost fewer subscribers, and got better engagement on the ones they did send. That's a pretty compelling argument for less frequency. Lucas: It is. And the psychology behind it is pretty straightforward: when you email less often, each email feels more important. Subscribers don't feel like they're being bombarded, so they're more likely to open. Plus, they're less likely to reach for the unsubscribe button out of irritation. Luna: But I can think of a counterexample. There's a daily email newsletter called Morning Brew — they send every single weekday, and they've built a huge audience. So frequency isn't always bad. Lucas: No, and that's the key nuance. It's not about a universal rule. It's about audience expectations. Morning Brew's subscribers signed up knowing they'd get a daily email. That's the deal. The problem arises when you change frequency without warning, or when your content doesn't justify the volume. Luna: So it's about alignment between promise and delivery. If you promise weekly and deliver daily, you break trust. Lucas: Exactly. And DataFlow's original weekly send was actually their default — they hadn't explicitly set expectations. So when they cut to bi-weekly, they actually aligned better with what their audience was willing to tolerate. They also sent a brief email explaining the change, which probably helped. Luna: That's a good point. A lot of marketers are afraid to announce a frequency reduction because they think it signals weakness. But being transparent can actually reduce churn. Lucas: Yeah, and I'd argue it signals confidence. You're saying, 'We respect your inbox enough to send only when we have something valuable.' That's a strong brand signal. Luna: I want to zoom in on the testing methodology. How can a marketer safely test a frequency change without risking their whole list? Lucas: Great question. The safest approach is to run an A/B test on a segment. Randomly split a portion of your list — say 10 percent — into two groups: one gets your current frequency, the other gets the new frequency. Run it for four to six weeks, then compare unsubscribe rates, open rates, and click-throughs. Luna: And you'd want to make sure the segment is representative. Not just your most engaged subscribers, because they might tolerate higher frequency better. Lucas: Right. You want a true random sample. And you should also monitor spam complaints — that's a leading indicator that frequency is too high. If complaints spike, you'll know before unsubscribes pile up. Luna: Another approach I've seen is to survey your subscribers. Just ask them: how often would you like to hear from us? You might be surprised. Lucas: Yeah, surveys can work, but people often overestimate how much they want. They'll say 'daily' but then unsubscribe when you actually do it. So test behavior, not stated preference. Luna: Fair. But there's another angle: what about the content itself? Maybe it's not the frequency but the relevance. Lucas: Totally. If every email is packed with value, people will tolerate more. But the problem is that most companies don't have enough high-quality content to sustain a high frequency. They end up sending filler — and that's what drives unsubscribes. Luna: So the real question is: what's your natural content cadence? Not what the calendar says, but what your content calendar can support without sacrificing quality. Lucas: Exactly. And I think that's a good place to bring in something that's been on my mind. This show exists because people like you and me are genuinely curious about how to do email marketing better. And one thing that's made it possible to keep these conversations going — without ads, without sponsors — is that a handful of listeners chip in monthly. Luna: Yeah, it's a small group, but it makes a big difference. If these marketing discussions have sparked something you've actually used — maybe a subject line tweak or a segmentation idea — and you want to help keep the show ad-free, there's a page where you can do that. Lucas: It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, seriously. Just wanted to mention it because it's literally what lets us spend time on episodes like this instead of chasing sponsors. Luna: Yeah. And now back to frequency — because I think we've only scratched the surface on how to actually implement a change. Lucas: Right. So let's say you've decided to reduce frequency. One practical step is to create a transition campaign. Send a final email at the old frequency explaining the change, then start the new schedule. Offer an option for subscribers who want more — maybe a weekly digest — so they don't feel abandoned. Luna: That's smart. You're giving them control. And control reduces the urge to unsubscribe. Lucas: Exactly. And you can also use preference centers. Let subscribers choose their own frequency: daily, weekly, or only the best stuff. Some platforms like Mailchimp and Klaviyo have built-in tools for that. Luna: I've seen data that shows preference centers can cut unsubscribes by up to 25 percent. Just giving people the option to stay but less often. Lucas: Yeah. And here's a specific number from that DataFlow case study I mentioned earlier: after they switched to bi-weekly, their subscriber retention over six months improved by 12 percent. That's a direct bottom-line impact if you monetize through email. Luna: So the lesson isn't 'send less,' it's 'send the right amount for your audience.' Lucas: Exactly. And the only way to find that sweet spot is to test. Start with a small segment, watch your unsubscribe and spam complaint rates, and let the data guide you. Luna: I think that's a great takeaway. Frequency isn't a vanity metric — it's a relationship metric. Lucas: Well said. And on that note, I think we've covered the essentials. Next time, maybe we'll talk about how to handle the opposite problem — what if you want to increase frequency without tanking your list. Luna: That sounds like a perfect follow-up. See you then.