Ever ask yourself: how many emails are too many?

There's a natural hesitation to push "send" one more time — fears of annoying donors, driving unsubscribes, or seeing engagement slip.

At the same time, email is one of the most direct and effective tools we have to raise money. If you're not showing up often enough in a supporter's inbox, you’re leaving gifts on the table!

What feels like overload for one list might be the perfect cadence for another. The only way to know for sure is to test.

And that's exactly what Audubon discovered when they ran a simple but powerful experiment.

Case study: Audubon tests one appeal vs. two appeals per day
In May 2024, Stagecoach Digital and the National Audubon Society decided to put a bold question to the test: is doubling the number of appeals per day during a campaign worth the effort and expense?

They split their active email audience down the middle — with additional segmentation for lapsed donors, recent donors, and non-donors — and ran a campaign where half the group received one appeal per day while the other half received two appeals per day.

The topline results were striking: the higher-volume group generated 41% more gifts and 71% more revenue than the one-a-day group.

Just as important, Audubon found that the second daily message performed almost as well as the first. Despite costing 80% less to create and deploy, the second email brought in nearly equal revenue.

The result? A 295% higher ROI for message two compared to message one, and a 39% increase in overall ROI for the campaign.

Audubon’s takeaway was clear: when donors are primed to give, an extra appeal can be the nudge that makes the difference.

Far from causing backlash, the additional touchpoints helped more supporters see the opportunity to give and act — while making the entire campaign more efficient.

How to approach frequency tests
If you're curious about pushing volume, here are a few practical ways to do it without burning out your list:

  • Start with a controlled test. Split your list so one group receives a higher daily frequency and the other stays at your current baseline. Compare results on gifts, revenue, and unsubscribes.

  • Segment smartly. Your most engaged supporters can typically handle — and welcome — more appeals. Consider increasing volume only for these segments first.

  • Monitor donor behavior. Unsubscribes will happen, but keep an eye on whether rates spike beyond your norm. If revenue gains far outweigh modest attrition, the trade-off is typically worthwhile.

  • Think about timing. Moments like Giving Tuesday, year-end, or urgent advocacy pushes are natural times to test more frequent appeals. Donors expect to hear from you more often.

The bottom line
The Audubon test underscores that donors may be more tolerant of higher frequency than you think. By carefully experimenting, you can determine your list’s optimal volume and unlock new revenue opportunities.

Don't let fear of "too many emails" hold you back. Your list will tell you how much is too much — but only if you test.

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'Til next time!
Sara

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