Latest / The Email Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Newsletters, Open Rates, and Subscriber Growth / Why Email Frequency Caps Boost Subscriber Trust
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this assumption in email marketing that more sends equals more sales. And a lot of brands still operate that way — they think every extra email is another chance to convert. Luna: Right, and the data often shows the opposite. I've seen it in enough audits now that I'm surprised when a client pushes back. But the fear is real — they worry they're leaving money on the table. Lucas: Exactly. And that's why I want to look at a specific example today. There's a mid-size e-commerce brand — let's call them 'Coastal Home' — they sell home decor, mostly through email. At the start of this year, they were sending five emails a week to their full list. Pretty standard for e-commerce. Luna: That's about one per business day, plus maybe a Saturday push. I've seen worse — some brands send daily. Lucas: Absolutely. But Coastal Home decided to test a frequency cap. They cut their sends from five to three per week, and they used behavioral triggers to decide which subscribers got which emails. So not a blanket reduction — they tailored it based on recent engagement. Luna: And what happened? Lucas: Over two months, open rates went from 28% to 41%. Unsubscribe rates dropped by 34%. And here's the kicker — revenue per email actually went up 12%. They weren't leaving money on the table; they were making more per send. Luna: That's a pretty dramatic shift. But I wonder — did they lose any revenue overall from sending fewer emails? Even if per-email revenue goes up, two fewer sends a week could mean less total revenue. Lucas: It's a fair question. Their total revenue from email stayed flat in the first month, then grew 5% month-over-month after that. The theory is that subscribers were less annoyed, more likely to click, and more likely to buy when they did get an email. So the quality of engagement outweighed the quantity. Luna: That aligns with what I've seen in a lot of list health studies. When you send too frequently, you train subscribers to ignore you — or worse, to mark you as spam. And spam complaints are brutal for deliverability. Lucas: Yeah, spam complaints are the silent killer. Even a small uptick can land you in the promotions tab or the junk folder. And once you're there, it's really hard to get back. So frequency caps aren't just about subscriber experience — they're about protecting your sender reputation. Luna: And the thing is, most subscribers won't tell you they're overwhelmed — they'll just stop opening. Or they'll unsubscribe quietly. Or they'll start ignoring your brand entirely. So a frequency cap is almost like a preemptive trust signal. You're saying, 'We know you're busy, we won't flood your inbox.' Lucas: That's exactly the framing. It's a trust signal. And it ties into something we've talked about before — preference centers. If you give subscribers a choice about how often they hear from you, they're more likely to stay engaged. Luna: Yeah, I think preference centers and frequency caps go hand in hand. You can set a default cap — say, three emails a week — but then let subscribers opt into a higher frequency if they want. That way, your most engaged fans get more content, but the rest of your list isn't burned out. Lucas: Right. Coastal Home actually added a preference center as part of their frequency cap test. They gave subscribers three options: daily, three times a week, or a weekly digest. Only about 8% chose daily. The majority picked three times a week or the weekly digest. Luna: That's fascinating because it shows that most people don't actually want to hear from you every day, even if they like your brand. And the ones who do self-select, so you're not guessing. Lucas: Exactly. And that self-selection improves engagement for everyone. The daily group had the highest open and click rates, but they were also the smallest. The bulk of your list is happier with less frequency, and they reward you with better engagement over time. Luna: So what's the right default cap? Is there a magic number? Lucas: I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all. It depends on your industry, your content, and your audience. But a good starting point is to look at your own data. Find the inflection point where open rates start to decline as send frequency increases. For Coastal Home, that was around four emails a week. So they dropped to three. Luna: And it's not just about total sends — it's about the spacing. If you send three emails in two days and then nothing for a week, that can feel more intrusive than one email every other day. Lucas: That's a great point. Consistency matters. I think a lot of brands also forget that frequency caps should be dynamic. A subscriber who just made a purchase might be okay with a post-purchase sequence, but they don't need the same promotional cadence as someone who hasn't bought in three months. Luna: Right, so you're really talking about behavioral frequency caps — adjusting send frequency based on where someone is in the customer lifecycle. That's more sophisticated than a blanket cap, but it's also more effective. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what Coastal Home eventually moved to. They started with a blanket cap, then layered in behavioral rules: new subscribers got a welcome sequence with higher frequency for the first two weeks, then tapered to three per week. High-engagement subscribers got an extra weekly email with curated content. Lapsed subscribers got a monthly re-engagement email instead of the weekly cadence. Luna: That makes sense. And I imagine that also helps reduce list churn. If you're sending less to people who are already disengaged, you're not annoying them into unsubscribing. You're giving them space. Lucas: Precisely. And that's actually a healthier way to think about churn — not as a failure, but as a natural filtering process. The goal is to keep the people who genuinely want to hear from you, and let the rest go. Frequency caps help accelerate that filtering in a way that feels respectful. Luna: Speaking of respect — and this might be a slight pivot — but I think what we're really talking about here is building a relationship with your subscribers. And that reminds me: if today's conversation has been useful to you, and you'd like to see more episodes like this stay ad-free, listener support is what makes that possible. You can toss a coffee our way at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure at all — just a way to keep the conversation going. Lucas: Yeah, and we really appreciate it. It lets us focus on the content without worrying about sponsorships. So thank you to anyone who's ever contributed. Luna: Alright, back to frequency caps. Lucas, you mentioned that Coastal Home saw revenue grow after the cap. Do you think that's replicable for most brands? Lucas: I think so, but it depends on how aggressive your current frequency is. If you're sending once a week, cutting to once every two weeks might not have the same effect. The biggest gains come from reducing over-sending. But almost every brand I've worked with has room to optimize frequency. Luna: And the risk is mostly psychological — the fear that you'll lose sales. But the data from Coastal Home and other case studies suggests that fear is usually unfounded. Lucas: Right. And you can test it. Pick a segment — say, your bottom 20% of engagers — and cut their frequency by half for a month. Measure open rates, click rates, unsubscribe rates, and revenue. If it works, expand the test to a larger segment. Luna: That's a low-risk way to start. No one's going to lose their job over a test on the least engaged subscribers. Lucas: Exactly. And the learnings can inform your entire strategy. I'd also recommend monitoring spam complaints closely during the test. A drop in spam complaints is a leading indicator that you're on the right track. Luna: So to sum up: frequency caps are a trust signal, they improve engagement, they protect deliverability, and they can even boost revenue. The key is to start with data, test, and layer in behavioral rules over time. Lucas: Well said. And if there's one takeaway for listeners, it's this: your subscribers aren't asking for more emails. They're asking for better emails. Frequency caps help you deliver on that promise.