E-Mail Marketing: How Much Is Too Much?

In the course of working with clients who are just beginning to launch email marketing campaigns, I often get asked how frequently a marketing message should be mailed. Once a month? Once a week?  Tuesdays and Saturdays?

This is a great question, and there’s a lot of opinions. I think that the answer will vary depending on what it is you are selling and to whom you are selling it – and the timeliness of the content.   If you frequently add new items to your offerings – or if you are running a sale – people want to know!

However, far too many email marketing messages aren’t that, well, newsworthy.  A favorite online store of mine has recently escalated their email marketing – so that I get a message from them DAILY.  All the messages, while spotlighting different items, feature basically the same message… I don’t want to get a daily email from anyone (besides my clients and friends, of course).  I don’t even read them. They just aren’t special anymore.

And therein lies the danger… while I like the retailer and will not unsubscribe, I also started to ignore their messages…not the effect they were hoping for, I’m sure.

The rule of thumb I suggest:  if you have real news to share, send it! Other than that, anything more than once a week is generally too much, and you risk annoying (unsubscribes) or just plain boring your subscribers.