When creating an email campaign, it’s hard to figure out how to space out your emails. Send too frequently, and you might be doomed to the spam folder. But send too sporadically, and you’ll get lost and forgotten in the oceans of emails flooding your subscribers’ inboxes. So, how do you strike a balance? 

There’s a lot of factors to consider when deciding how to pace your email campaign, but taking these things into account will help you both engage your readers and keep them from unsubscribing. 

What to consider when sending nonprofit email

Type of email

Are you sending an update email, a newsletter, or are you asking for donations? Sending an email newsletter at regular intervals develops consistency and will allow your audience to anticipate your messages. Newsletter emails allow your followers to keep in touch with your organization and feel connected to your message. 

However, sending donation request emails too frequently can exhaust and annoy your reader lists. It’s important to balance the frequency of nurture emails and donations emails, so that your readers don’t feel like you only contact them to ask for money. 

Past open rates

If you’ve been running email campaigns for a long period of time, use the information you’ve gathered to determine what frequency yields the most success. According to Campaign Monitor, the average open rate for nonprofits is around 37 percent. Analyze your past open rates and see how frequency has impacted whether or not your messages get read.

Your audience 

Consider what kinds of people are in your audience and how they will respond to your emails. One option is to allow people to signify how often they want to be contacted when they sign up for your email list. You can also send email surveys to your readers to determine what kind of content they want to see, and how often they want to see it. 

Taking these factors into account will help you create an email campaign that resonates and connects with your audience. And, if readers feel connected to you and your goals, they’re much more likely to open their wallets for your cause. 

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