How often should a small business send emails?

It is one of the most common questions we hear. Business owners worry that emailing too often will annoy customers, and that emailing too rarely means people forget who they are. Both worries are fair.

There is no single perfect number, but there is a sensible way to decide. It comes down to two kinds of email, what your customers expect, and how much useful stuff you actually have to say.

Separate automations from campaigns

First, it helps to split your email into two buckets.

• Automations are triggered by something the customer does: joining your list, a birthday, a visit, or a long gap since their last order. Each person gets these at their own pace.
• Campaigns are the emails you send to everyone at once, like a monthly newsletter, a seasonal promotion, or an event announcement.

Automations don't really count toward 'too often', because they are personal and well timed. A reminder that you're due for a haircut feels helpful, not spammy. When people talk about frequency, they almost always mean campaigns.

A sensible starting rhythm

As a rule of thumb, most small businesses do well starting with one or two campaign emails per month. That's frequent enough that customers remember you, and manageable enough that you can keep each email genuinely useful.

From there, adjust based on your business:

• Restaurants, cafés, and bakeries often have enough going on for weekly or every-other-week emails: specials, seasonal menus, events.
• Retail and e-commerce shops with frequent new arrivals can also send more often.
• Salons, gyms, and studios usually do well with every two to four weeks.
• Dental, auto, real estate, and professional services often do best monthly, with automations doing most of the heavy lifting.

Let your content set the pace

The best guide to frequency is whether you have something worth saying. Every email should give the reader a reason to open it. Before you send, ask yourself what the customer gets from it.

• Something new: a product, menu item, service, or team member.
• Something timely: a holiday, a season, an event, or limited availability.
• Something useful: a tip, a how-to, or advice related to what you do.
• Something valued: a thank-you, an exclusive perk, or early access.

If you can't fill in at least one of those, it is fine to skip a send. Sending for the sake of sending is how lists get tired.

Send when you have something worth reading, and make sure you often do.

Signs you're sending too much, or too little

• Unsubscribes jump noticeably after each campaign.
• Open rates slide steadily over several months.
• Customers mention, half-joking, that you email a lot.
• You're struggling to think of what to say each time.

On the other hand, watch for signs you're sending too little:

• Spam complaints rise when you finally do send, because people forgot they signed up.
• Customers tell you they didn't know about an event or a new service.
• You have news to share but it keeps waiting for 'the next newsletter.'

Timing matters too

How often is only half the question. When you send also makes a difference. Think about when your customers are likely to make a decision. A restaurant might send on a Thursday morning, just as people start planning the weekend. A salon might send early in the week, when people are looking at their calendars. A gym might send on a Sunday evening, when people are setting intentions for the week ahead.

Try a send time for a few months, then try another and compare. Small, steady experiments like this will teach you more about your own customers than any general advice can.

Give subscribers some control

If you send different types of email, consider letting people choose. Some customers only want offers and events, others enjoy every update. A simple preferences page can keep people on your list who might otherwise unsubscribe completely.

Finding the right rhythm takes a little testing, but it doesn't have to be guesswork. Get Repeat Customers plans a sending calendar around your business, writes the emails, and watches the results so the frequency stays right for your customers.