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.
I rely on Mary for technical advice and assistance with my website updates. Although I consider myself savvy, sometimes I worry that I know just enough to be dangerous. It is those times that I call in Mary. What takes her 1/2 hour to complete, equates to 4 hours of my time. They say, "leave it to the experts," and I say that Mary is mine!