The 3x Weekly Publishing Secret: Why More Frequent Newsletters Create Stickier Audiences

Once a month? Weekly? Multiple times per week?

Each option comes with tradeoffs, but increasingly, successful local newsletter publishers are finding that more frequent sending schedules—specifically three times weekly—creates significantly stronger audience relationships.

Shane Brady, who runs two thriving local newsletters in small-town Ontario with a combined 13,000 subscribers, discovered this through direct experience. His newsletters publish three times weekly, a schedule that's helped him capture an impressive 25% of his town's adult population.

Most new newsletter publishers start conservatively, sending just once a week (or even less frequently). The reasoning makes sense: nobody wants to annoy subscribers and trigger mass unsubscribes.

Shane initially shared this concern. When transitioning from weekly to three-times-weekly publishing, he braced for backlash.

"The first week of three newsletters, there was a higher than average churn rate," Shane explains. "I got a few complaints and worried this might be detrimental to the entire newsletter."

But something interesting happened next: the complaints stopped almost immediately, and churn rates returned to normal. Subscribers quickly adapted to the new cadence, and the initial resistance faded away.

After running his newsletter at the increased frequency, Shane noticed something remarkable: the more frequent schedule actually strengthened his relationship with readers.

"It made it stickier because we were more relevant with our content," he says. "I was able to put different content pieces in that I wasn't able to before because now I have the extra room."

Here's why publishing three times weekly creates a stickier audience relationship:

With a once-weekly schedule, your newsletter appears in subscribers' inboxes just four times per month. That's simply not enough to become a meaningful part of their routine.

At three times weekly, you're showing up 12+ times monthly—enough to establish a genuine habit and relationship.

"When you're just once a week, especially if you're not doing anything else significant, you're just not hitting people enough for it to feel like this true brand that they know and care about," Shane observes. "It's too rare."

The increased frequency allows you to cover time-sensitive news while it's still relevant.

"If there's a city council meeting on Tuesday and I tell people Wednesday morning, that's right there," Shane explains. "It wouldn't have worked if I was talking about it the next Tuesday."

This timely coverage transforms your newsletter from a periodic summary into an essential information source that helps readers stay current on community happenings.

Multiple sending days opens up new ways to engage subscribers through interactive features. Shane leverages this by including polls and questions in one issue, then sharing results in a subsequent issue later that week.

"We're doing more polls now. I'm asking people more questions. I'm providing the answers back in the next newsletter," he says. "It's not like poll on Tuesday and then all the way to next Tuesday. It's poll Monday, answers Wednesday."

This quick feedback loop creates a more dynamic, conversational relationship with your audience that's impossible with weekly publishing.

From a business perspective, three newsletters weekly means triple the ad inventory compared to weekly publishing—without needing to add more subscribers.

For Shane, this expanded inventory has been crucial for monetization. His newsletter is now 90% booked with advertisers for the next six months.

If you're currently sending weekly and want to increase your frequency, here's how to make the shift successfully:

Don't add sending days just to have more content. Each additional newsletter should serve a specific function in your overall content strategy.

"It really came down to: am I getting serious about this or not?" Shane says of his decision to increase frequency. "When the answer was yes, that meant I had to go more days."

More frequent sending requires a broader content strategy. You'll need to diversify beyond your current format to avoid repetition.

Shane's newsletter includes news, sports, events, press releases, community updates, and charity information—enough variety to sustain three distinct issues weekly.

Before increasing frequency, develop systems to handle the additional workload. Shane automates much of his content gathering through RSS feeds, Slack integration, and AI assistance.

"If I was going to continue this once a week, I don't know if I'll ever monetize this to the point where it's worth it for me," Shane admits. The increased frequency demanded more efficient processes—which ultimately made the newsletter more sustainable.

When changing your sending frequency, set clear expectations with your audience. Explain why you're increasing frequency and what value they'll receive from the additional newsletters.

After making the change, watch your metrics closely. Pay particular attention to:

Use this data to refine your approach over time.

Ultimately, publishing frequency represents a crucial decision point for any serious newsletter publisher.

"When I found the answer was yes, that meant I have to go more days, and I'm just going to rip the bandaid off and do it," Shane explains. "I'm either going to find out I'm unable to do this with the amount of time I have in my life really quickly, or I'm going to continue to do this once a week and I don't know if I'll ever monetize this to the point where it's worth it for me."

For Shane, the increased publishing cadence transformed his newsletter from a hobby into a genuine business—even while maintaining his full-time job.

If you're serious about building a sustainable newsletter business, consider whether a more frequent publishing schedule might be the catalyst your publication needs to reach the next level.

Before we dive into this week's insights, I want to make sure you know about all the resources available to support your local newsletter journey:

🎙️ The Podcast - Deep-dive conversations with successful newsletter operators sharing their playbooks and lessons learned | Link

📧 This Weekly Newsletter - Quick, actionable tips delivered straight to your inbox every week | Link

🧠 1:1 Consulting - Personalized guidance tailored to your specific newsletter challenges Link

🚀 Launch Accelerator - A structured program to help you go from idea to profitable newsletter in record time | Link

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