Holiday Email Frequency Questions? Call Your Mother!

Blizzards and Black Friday. Tinseled trees. Hearing Mariah Carey belt out "All I Want for Christmas" every-friggin-where you go! Yes, these are all signs that the holidays have started. Being asked one of the following questions is another way I know the busiest time of year for commerce marketers is nigh:

• How many emails should I send?
• How can I tell when I'm sending too many emails?
• My boss said "send more, we'll make more!" What do I do?
• How many times should I call my mother?

OK, the last question isn't related to holiday email frequency, but it's just about as easy to answer. Before I get into the details, whether it's holiday email frequency or calling your mother, my overarching answer to these questions would be: There's no sliver-bullet number to aim for. Under- or overcommunicating could negatively impact the relationship. It can be difficult to know where you stand.

Let me explain:

How many emails should I send?
Most retailers will send more email during the holidays. As the season progresses, keep tabs on how you're tracking against your original holiday plan. It can be easy to lose track of how many messages have actually been sent, and you and your team likely spent a lot of time analyzing past holiday performance to develop this year's plan. Rather than asking, "How many emails should I send?" ask yourself, "Why are we sending more or less than planned?" Poor sales, low inventory or technical glitches could have led to a change in plan. Resolving these matters or adjusting cadence for the rest of the year may be a better way to spend your time.

The average number of emails sent per retailer on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday continues to increase. Retailers sent an average of 1.7 emails last year on Cyber Monday, according to Bronto's research, with 13.4 percent sending three or more emails within the 24-hour period. Relying on one email on these major shopping days could mean lost sales. This leads us to our next question.