No one likes being over-emailed. It’s one of the fastest ways to drive unsubscribes, suppress open rates, and signal to inbox providers that your messages aren’t wanted. The challenge? Most marketing platforms don’t stop you from sending too many emails — that’s on you.
The goal is to create a safeguard: logic that ensures each contact has breathing room between sends, without having to micromanage every campaign.
Solution: Throttle Frequency at the Contact Level
What you’re looking to build is a send frequency buffer — a system that checks when a contact last received an email and suppresses them from new sends within a given time window.
This isn’t just good etiquette. It’s good ops.
How We Do It in Mailchimp
Step 1: Create a Custom Contact Field
Create a field called Last Email Sent Date. This will be updated via automation after every campaign.
Step 2: Build a Segment with Date Logic
Use advanced segmenting to filter out contacts where Last Email Sent Date is within the past 48 hours (or whatever buffer you choose).
This becomes your suppression group for each send.
Step 3: Update Field Post-Send
Set up a post-send automation that updates Last Email Sent Date for all recipients. This keeps the logic evergreen and avoids manual updates.
How We Do It in Zoho Campaigns
Step 1: Leverage Engagement Tagging
Zoho allows you to tag contacts post-campaign. Create a tag like Recently Emailed.
Step 2: Use Tag-Based Suppression in Future Campaigns
Exclude contacts with the Recently Emailed tag from your next campaign.
Tags can be set to auto-expire after a set time (e.g., 2 days), which acts as a natural throttle.
Step 3: Add Conditions to Automated Journeys
If you’re using workflows or journeys, add a condition like:
“Only proceed if contact is not tagged ‘Recently Emailed’”
This prevents back-to-back automation sends and marketing blasts from colliding.
Pro Tips
- Let your suppression logic be dynamic — driven by timestamps, not lists
- Consider different buffer windows for different content types (e.g., newsletters vs promotions)
- Document your logic and standardize the field/tag name so it can be reused across campaigns
- Run a monthly audit to spot any contacts receiving high frequency due to automation overlaps
Final Thought
Frequency caps aren’t just a courtesy — they’re a quiet form of control that protects your sender reputation and keeps your campaigns human. Even the best content can wear out its welcome if it’s sent too often, too fast.
Want to build this into your stack once and for all? Langer Labs can handle it.