It’s a well-known theory that when there is less of something, it appears more valuable when received. This applies to emails as well, although it is really dependent on your business. For e-commerce stores, 2-4 emails per month is a suitable amount, as it allows large audiences to keep up to date with the promotions. However, for emails about services and newsletters, it is important not to overload customers with too much information. According to research gathered from 10 different studies, nearly 90% of customers stated that emails sent monthly, as opposed to weekly were ideal.

This is not a one size fits all type of question but rather depends on what business you do and the nature of your email. For example, if you are a marketing business, it would be ideal to send your marketing emails preferably during office hours on Tuesdays to Thursdays (try to avoid Fridays, Mondays, or the weekends). Office hours would be the best times, as it allows your audience to reach out to you via phone or email for more efficient customer service wait times. This will also increase your chance of conversion if they are satisfied with both your product and customer service.

 On the other hand, e-commerce websites such as clothing or electronic stores should send out marketing emails away from office hours and especially on the weekend or after working hours, as this is when most potential customers will be online shopping to destress from a busy day.

Emails should not be too long, as your audience does not have the time to read through lengthy emails. According to recent studies, 61% of emails are read for 8 seconds or more, almost a quarter of emails get skimmed, and 15% of all messages get less than 2 seconds of readers’ attention. It is extremely vital to ensure that emails are succinct and engaging so that customers spend more time on your email to increase your chances at a higher conversion rate.

There are several factors that contribute to a higher engagement rate such as:

• A good subject line
  • This is the first thing that clients see and should be luring, engaging, and enticing as it gives them an insight into what the rest of the email will be about.
• Feature your company’s name at the front line
  • Featuring your company’s name will allow clients to know exactly who you are and will avoid any potential mix-ups or confusion.
• Personalise your email, for example, include the audience’s name in the email
  • By personalising your email, your audience will feel valued and as though their investment in your business is deeply appreciated.
• Write to aim your readers and their interest.
  • Communication is key here- you should be talking to them like a friend, NOT a salesman. Only communicate content that is valuable for the clients.
• Having a clear design that is consistent with your brand
  • Ensure that you only have a specific design that fully represents your brand, as this allows your audiences to easier refer to your business when required.
• Clear call-to-action
  • Having a clear call-to-action plan will prompt your interested audience to act on their desire right away and having clear steps to help them achieve this will increase your conversion rate.

Below are three important metrics that should be viewed:

• Open-rate
  • The average open rate for all industries has been analysed to be around 20%. Monitoring these stats is important for you to determine whether the email strategy you are currently employing is working.
• Click-through rate
  • The average click-through rate is around 2% to 3%, meaning that a percentage of the audience showed some interest in what your email content had to say, and followed through one of the links which led them to your website.
• Unsubscribes
  • Although disheartening, viewing the unsubscribes and comparing them to the amount of those who are still subscribed allows you to understand if what you are doing is effective or not. This also allows you to reflect on the messages you are sending out, and whether they are targeting the right type of audience.

To avoid spamming your audiences and potentially losing them for good, it is important to gain permission from these audiences before sending them emails about promotions or messages.