Introduction
You’re a savvy marketer. You understand the importance of combining creative content with the right frequency to keep your customers engaged and informed. But when it comes to email marketing frequency, how do you know how much is too much?
There is a fine line with over saturating subscribers with constant emails, yet you ultimately desire attention from them as and when you’ve crafted compelling content and campaigns.
In this blog, we’re going to explore the idea of establishing an appropriate frequency for email marketing that gives you exposure without becoming too much. We’ll provide tips on what not to do when it comes to email campaigns and spamming your customers. We’ll also discuss best practices for setting up effective email campaigns that won’t turn off your subscribers.
The Key To Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to reach out to existing and potential customers, as well as build relationships with them. It’s an engaging form of personalised communication that allows you to quickly and easily provide updates on new products and services, offer discounts, and deliver timely information on the latest industry trends.
That said, there are certain things you need to keep in mind when it comes to email marketing frequency. The key is finding the right level of contact. To do this effectively, you first need to outline what it is you’re sending. Your first goal needs to be forming a content plan. This should outline the kind of content you want to share, and who it should be targeted at.
Writing Eye-Catching Headlines
We’re sure you know that half the battle with email marketing is writing effective headlines. Getting creative doesn’t have to mean creating a catchy phrase or unique font. It can be as simple as writing about a topic your subscribers want to hear about or creating content that resonates with them.
Catchy headlines can help drive readership and encourage engagement with your product or service. However, make sure you don’t sacrifice relevancy for shock value. Keep your headlines punchy, informative and above all, relevant to the topic at hand. You want your customers to understand what they are clicking on right away so they feel encouraged to read more!
Lastly, don’t forget to include a CTA (call-to-action) in your email headline – this helps guide your subscribers towards a final goal: buying something, signing up, etc. Having a CTA allows you to measure the effectiveness of each campaign and helps you determine which emails have been successful in generating conversions.
Finding the Optimal Frequency for Sending Emails
Let’s get to the crux of the issue! When setting up your email marketing campaign, you’re always wondering how often is too often. What we absolutely don’t want is people unsubscribing due to you over-sending emails, or flagging your emails as spam.
Frequency Guidelines
It should be stated that best way to decide on an optimal frequency is to ask people how frequently they’d like to receive emails from you. Without that information though you could estimate the frequency based on some best practices.
- 1 or 2 times per month for customers who are not ready to buy
- 1 or 2 times per week for customers who are more engaged
- Once per day for those highly valued customers who know and trust you
It’s also important that each message fits into a larger campaign with an overarching purpose and goal in mind. That way, when subscribers look at their inbox, they won’t be overwhelmed by content that appears irrelevant.
The bottom line is this: It’s all about trial and error. You may have to send several types of campaigns at different frequencies until you find out what works best for your subscribers’ needs and interests.
How to Track Success
Once you have familiarised yourself with your objectives and frequency, you’ll want to measure your campaigns success. To do this, there is 1 absolute!
Automated Analytics
Automated analytics tools, such as in-built or third party email analytics software, provide data on open rates, click-through rates and other key performance indicators which can help to narrow in on the best email frequency for your brand.
These tools will alert you when email campaigns start to fail or succeed, and allow you to make better decisions about how often or how little to send emails. This takes the guesswork out of the equation so that you are able to make well-informed decisions.
Once these automated tools are set up, it is easy to analyse which days of the week/month have higher open rates and adjust as needed. In addition, these analytics also help marketers piece together more comprehensive insights into their customers’ preferences by combining data from other channels such as website visits and social media engagement.
This data helps brands to build better relationships with customers by delivering content that is more enjoyable and relevant on an individual level with personalised messaging at scale. It will also help gain a better understanding of when subscribers prefer to receive emails in order for them to achieve maximum engagement.
Re-Engaging Your Subscribers
Let’s say you’ve already been creating email marketing campaigns for many months, and are wondering how you can re-engage your core audience. What can you do to those who have been desensitised to your emails. A difficult but great question!
Offer Exclusive Content
Offering exclusive content, such as behind-the-scenes updates or previews of upcoming products is a great way to incentivise engagement. Incentivising your subscribers with exclusive, valuable content will give them an incentive to open up and read your emails.
Bring Back Old Subscribers
Everyone has those old subscribers who were once faithfully engaged with your emails, but have since stopped reading them. Don’t be afraid to bring these people back into the fold by sending out a one-off campaign tailored for dormant subscribers and those who don’t engage based on analytics.
Sending Different Types of Emails
Make sure you’re not only sending out product promotion emails, but other types of information as well like company updates, tips and tricks related to the product or industry, industry trends, etc. This will help keep your subscribers interested in what you have to say and less likely to burn out on frequent emails.
Unsubscribing
Finally, always give your subscribers an easy opt-out option instead of forcing them into your emails. This allows them more control over the messages they receive from you and will make them more likely to stay subscribed in the long run.
Knowing When You’re Over-Saturating Your Subscribers
It’s important to know when you’re reaching the point of over-saturation. If a subscriber is receiving too many emails from you, it can be overwhelming and they will simply unsubscribe. It’s a good idea to have an idea of the maximum number of emails per month that you should send out to your list.
Frequency Guidelines
So how many emails is too much? Generally, if you send more than 1 email a week, your subscribers could feel overwhelmed. To ensure that your emails do not oversaturate them, establish a frequency guideline for yourself and stick to it. This might look something like no more than 1 email every 2 weeks or a maximum of 2 emails per month.
However, the exact number will depend on what type of business you have. For example, an e-commerce store might need to send out more promotional emails than an informational blog. Whatever type of business you own, remember that quality is always better than quantity—prioritise quality over quantity when creating your campaigns and make sure each email meets the needs and interests of your subscribers.
Consider Your Audience
Another factor to consider is who your audience is and what amount of emails they’re comfortable with receiving from you. To find out what frequency works best for each audience segment, try using A/B testing! With A/B testing, you can measure which email frequency produces the best results with each specific audience type or demographic, so that every segment gets just enough without being overwhelmed by too many messages from your brand.
Conclusion
Writing and sending emails to your subscribers is an ongoing process, but it’s important to strike the balance between too much and too little. An email campaign should be tailored to the size and goals of your business, the preferences of your subscribers, the industry you’re in, and the market trends you are trying to tap into.
Fundamentally, it’s vitally important to provide valuable content and focus on the quality of your emails, rather than the quantity.
At the end of the day, you want to be sure you’re engaging with your subscribers in a way that is respectful and beneficial for both parties. If you can master the art of striking the right balance, you can see significant results in terms of increased engagement, growth, and customer loyalty.
If you’d like to find out more about email marketing, contact us here for a free consultation!
