You'll Avoid Annoying Readers If You Send Emails That Aren't Annoying

by Tom Ruwitch

How often should you send marketing emails? I hear this question often from small-business people, most of whom say they’re worried about annoying subscribers with too many emails.

My answer: You will annoy your subscribers only if you send annoying emails. If you send emails that are boring, irrelevant, overly pitchy or misleading, subscribers will turn off, opt out and click the spam complaint button. That will be the case whether you send once a day or once a month.

If you send emails that are relevant, informative, interesting and valuable to your subscribers, they will welcome the communications. Some of my favorite marketing emails are ones I receive daily.

I’m not suggesting that you send daily marketing emails. I am suggesting, though, that you focus on making your marketing emails more relevant and valuable to your readers.

As for the original question, there is no formula for email marketing sending frequency. It depends on your content and your audience. Some businesses with which I work are best served with monthly emails. For others, weekly or even daily emails work best.

Can you send too few emails? That’s a less common question but a more important one. Many problems can arise if you send marketing emails only sporadically.

1) You miss business growth opportunities. When managed properly, email marketing drives business growth and has great ROI. If you only dabble with the occasional marketing email, you leave money and profit on the table.

2) Subscribers tune out. If months pass between your emails, subscribers forget about you. You risk losing customers and prospects to the marketer who is more present and attentive.

3) You risk having your emails marked as spam. When you send infrequently, subscribers forget they joined your list and more of them will click the “this is spam” button when they receive your message.

We recommend sending marketing emails a minimum of once a month. For many small businesses, that will be enough. But anything less can be a problem.

Developing a strategic content plan is key. Determine what content your subscribers will value—tips, special offers, sneak peeks of new offerings, contests and other valuable content will keep them engaged.

Develop a topic outline for several months of emails in advance. That will help you meet your deadlines—whether monthly, weekly or more frequently.

Tom Ruwitch is founder and president of MarketVolt. To attend a free webinar in which Tom demonstrates how to quickly and affordably set up automated marketing processes, go to MarketVolt.com/automation.