It is one of the most frequently asked questions in the world of email marketing – how often should I send my bulk email messages? Determining the right frequency and finding the perfect balance is one of the most difficult parts of email marketing – and one of the most difficult to master.
That is because every email marketing campaign – and every company – is different. While weekly emails may be perfect for one company, that frequency may be too much – or too little – for another.
The Ideal Email Frequency
This is one of the most common questions in the world of email marketing – asked by newcomers to the business and experienced marketers alike. Fortunately this question is easy to answer – there is no single email frequency that will work for every company.
Every business is different, and taking a one size fits all approach to marketing is a recipe for disaster. Smart marketers know that they need to tailor their messages to their audience, and that means altering the frequency of your messages to meet the needs of your recipients.
How Often is Too Often?
Business owners know how important it is to establish a trusted relationship with their clients, and that sending email messages on a regular basis is one of the best ways to build that relationship. Sending weekly emails is one way for marketers to establish themselves and build trust with those recipients.
That does not mean that sending a new message every week is the only way to go. There are valid reasons to connect with your list members more – or less – often. It all depends on the type of service you are providing and the kinds of messages you are sending.
For instance, a publisher might send out new messages once a day – or even several times a day as stories break. This frequent communication makes sense for such a business, since the people who have signed up for the service are looking for constantly updated information. Those high frequency messages might not make as much sense for other types of businesses, however, and they could even backfire and cause list members to drop out of the program.
Being clear during the opt-in process
No matter how often you plan to communicate with your subscribers, it is important to be as transparent as possible during the sign-up and opt-in process. The sign-up procedure should give new list members a clear idea of how often they can expect to hear from you – whether that is once a day, once a month or somewhere in between. Sending out messages more – or less – often than you promised could hurt your credibility and ultimately reduce your list of subscribers.
In the end, finding the right email frequency is up to you. As with all other aspects of email marketing – from finding the killer subject lines to properly segmenting your list and targeting your messages – it is important to test various frequencies and measure their effectiveness. You may find that sending a weekly message first thing every Monday morning is a winning strategy, or that targeting your customers on the weekend is a better approach.
No matter what you find, it is important to constantly measure your results and make sure every email marketing campaign is as effective as it can be.