Picture that sending calendar you’ve got lined up for the next three months (or, if it’s ready, go on and open it; we'll wait).

September was likely pretty quiet, and October likely picks up a little. But then November arrives, and, oh boy, it’s like every email marketer on the planet direct-injected Taurine into their veins and those emails just tsunami into our collective inboxes.

“Black Friday teaser this. Cyber Monday email that. Dammit, we forgot our "last chance" Halloween email. But wait, Thanksgiving and Christmas and Back to School and Happy 2027, but what about our Wrapped mails…”

Yeah, we see you sweating a little, aren’t ya?

Look at it this way: Klaviyo's senders alone pushed out more than 22.7 billion messages between Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year (up 25% on the year before).

Oh, and you newsletter senders, before you scroll past thinking this is a DTC problem... yeah, you've got your own version. We see those paid-tier discounts and sponsor-heavy issues (Q4 is when ad budgets get spent, after all).

Plus, all the giveaways and "best of’s", and the temptation to make sure you at least get seen amongst the plethora of inbox madness afoot.

Everyone ramps up all at once. But a big chunk of those sends go to the whole list (which includes the folks who haven't clicked a thing since March).

It’s a lot, guys.

First off, your readers DO notice, sure (they're drowning by mid-November anyway). But those paying the closest attention are actually the mailbox providers.

Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft and friends decide where your email lands based on how people respond to it. Do they click, reply and keep it, or do they ignore it, delete it and hit "spam"?

Picture a sender who's been mailing a few thousand engaged-ish readers all year, and then suddenly starts blasting three times that (much of it to people who've ignored them for months).

Their audience will see more emails, but do you know what those providers see? Yep, a spike in volume, a drop in engagement and, more often than not, a bit of an uptick in complaints and bounces.

And that pattern, dear gentle reader, looks an awful lot like spam.

The stakes have gone up, too. Since November last year, Gmail has gone from filtering rule-breakers into spam to actively rejecting their mail, temporarily or permanently. And both Gmail and Yahoo want your spam complaint rate under 0.1%, and treat 0.3% as the line you don't cross.

Let that sink in a little...on a list of 1,000 people, 0.3% is only three. Three people hitting "spam" (per send).

Keep that up, and you've got a problem.

And who are the most likely three? Well, the person who grabbed your lead magnet in 2024, forgot who you are, and suddenly gets four emails from you in five days…no bueno.

We forget this, but lists decay big time. Our friends at Bouncer put it at at least 22 - 30% a year, between people changing jobs, abandoning inboxes and all of those addresses that stop existing.

So if you last cleaned your list before last year's peak season, well, there's a fair chance more than a quarter of it isn't who (or what) you think it is anymore. Some of those addresses are gonna bounce, and some may have even been recycled into spam traps (yep, that's a thing, and it's as bad as it sounds).

In that same report, interestingly, nearly one in six marketing emails never reached the inbox. For Microsoft mailboxes, it was nearly one in four. And rejections spiked during the holiday rush, right as senders ramped up (based on another article).

Which brings us back to that send…

This is actually easy because it’s the whole-list blast to readers who've stopped listening.

More specifically, the slice of your biggest Q4 send going to anyone who hasn't clicked, replied or bought in the last 90 days (yeah, you can adjust that window to suit how often you send). Clicks and replies, mind you, not opens. Those are about as reliable as a paper umbrella at this point.

That's the send, guys. Cancel it, or rather, cancel them from it.

Yes, it'll shrink your send numbers. And, yes, it may feel wrong (we spent a whole volume on why that feeling fibs to us in Vol. 77). But a smaller send to people who actually want it lands better, gains more clicks per email, and protects every damn send that comes after it.

Including January's, by the way, especially when you're trying to hang on to everyone you won in Q4.

A big list that does nothing is just you stroking your own ego, unfortunately.

Sorry, this seems a little “doom and gloom” for the schedule, but the good news is it's early October. Black Friday is still like seven weeks away, which is enough time to do this properly instead of panicking on the 26th.

1. Find out who's actually listening (this week). Pull that engaged segment - That’s all those clicks and replies in the last 90 days (DTC folks, add purchases). We rattled on about leading with this number back in Vol. 74, and it matters even more now. This is the audience your Q4 plan should ideally be built around, and for most of us, it's a fair bit smaller than the total on the dashboard (soz).

2. Ramp up gradually (starting now). If you're planning to send more in November, start sending a little more in October to your engaged folks first (with caution, mind you). Adobe's deliverability team suggests keeping any jump to roughly 25% above your previous volumes is safe (yeah, for certain senders. Only take this advice if you plan on ramping up those emails this quarter).

And give those readers something worth engaging with while you're at it. The norm in these here parts is value, always. How you build on that is up to you, but start seeding in more engagement points, asking for replies more actively, heck, even get folks doing more polls or quizzes if you need to. Those are the positive signals you're banking on before those busy weeks hit.

3. Deal with the quiet ones now (not mid-November). If you aren’t automating it, run your re-engagement (or sunset) flow this month. Ask the ones ghosting you whether they still want to hear from you. The ones who say yes come back in.

The ones who don't, you let go (hygiene, not cruelty, remember?). Then verify your list (use this) before the big sends start, so the dead addresses never get the chance to bounce.

DTC friends, this applies to you too, hey, but just with bigger numbers and higher stakes. That 2 am "we saved this just for you" blast to your entire customer list ain’t gonna cut it. Send it to your engaged segment first (and at an appropriate time, for the love of our sleep cycle) and see what happens.

Yeah, yeah, we hear you. But the marketing bros aren’t always right, you know. Sometimes, on the day, they do, and blasting the full list on Black Friday can bring in a few extra sales (if you’re lucky).

But that money comes with a bill attached, and it tends to arrive in December or January…That's when your inbox placement starts nose-diving, and your January campaigns land in spam for the readers who actually wanted them.

There's the upside here. In the loudest month of the year, the sender who shows up a little less often, with a little more relevance, and a solid plan built around their audience is the one people are going to notice. Restraint stands out when everyone else is shouting.

You can't sweet-talk your way back into the inbox in January. Earn it starting now.

Okay, if you’ve read this and are listening, open your Q4 planning and find the send with the biggest audience on it.

Then ask yourself how many people on that list have done anything (clicked, replied, bought) in the last 90 days?

The gap between those two numbers is the emails you need to cancel.

And, as always, you’re not alone. If you'd like a second pair of eyes, fire over your Q4 plan along with your biggest planned send, and we'll tell you (honestly) who we'd cut and perhaps impart our sage-like wisdom around what we'd do with the next seven weeks instead.

Now go forth and send less, friend. Your January self will thank you 🙌

What have we found to expand your email knowledge today?

Here are a few of our favourite links from across the email and business world, carefully curated just for you:

Find of the week ⭐

So, technically, this isn't a find (we've mentioned it already). But if you've been meaning to start your own newsletter (especially if you're a podcaster), consider this your sign.

Owned kicks off on Tuesday, 13 October, and this is your last chance to grab a spot.

It's the 8-week live cohort we're running with the rather brilliant Arielle Nissenblatt, and it takes you from zero to a live newsletter you actually own. The strategy, the infrastructure, the tools, the community, the works.

By the end, you'll have your ACTUAL newsletter: live, sending, with the strategy behind it and a community around it so it sticks.

Got a podcast? Arielle knows that world better than almost anyone alive, so that's a bonus on top. No podcast? Fret not, it's for anyone who's been sitting on the fence about finally starting that newsletter.

And funnily enough, it fits this week's theme too. A list of people who actually want to hear from you beats a big one that doesn't, and Owned is about building that kinda list from day one 😉

If "one day" has been the plan for a while now, make it happen this October.

Grab your spot in Owned before the 13th 👈

We're also constantly on the lookout for new resources, news, tools and links, so hit us up if you've got something valuable to feature!

If you’re forced to use Outlook…

We’re so sorry 🙃

Is your email strategy due for a tune-up? GURU Conference (powered by Constant Contact) is back Nov 12–13, 100% free and virtual. You'll get email tactics you can steal the same day from top B2B and B2C marketers. Last year, 29,000+ marketers showed up. Save your free spot.

Yes, Save My Spot!