As a list building expert, this is a question I get asked a lot. Actually, there is usually a follow up question as well: How much is too much?
In reality, most people have precisely the opposite problem. They don’t contact their subscribers often enough! In this article, I’ll cover how to determine when and how often to email your list, the three types of email communications and what to do about unsubscribes.
If you would prefer to listen to the audio version of this article, simply click on the play button or continue reading below:
So, how often should you email your list…
The answer: that’s entirely up to you!
I’m not being facetious here. There is no perfect number of times per month or week or day to contact your list with an email. I know someone who is a fairly “big name” in the coaching world who only emails her list once a month!
Others, like some of the more aggressive (and mostly male) internet marketers, will mail multiple times per day. The frequency of emailing depends on your target audience, your niche and…
how often you have trained them to expect an email from you!
Some people cringe at the thought of “training” their list, but the truth is you must do exactly that if you want your email list to be responsive to your offers. If you only contact your list once in a while or only give them free content, when you do make an offer, you are very likely to get emails expressing a “how dare you try to sell me anything” attitude.
For my own students, I recommend regular and consistent communication via a newsletter. If you are just starting out, go with every two weeks. If you are already sending out a newsletter every two weeks, then consider ramping up to weekly.
Once a month is just too long. Your subscribers are very likely to forget about you and you can’t use your newsletter as an effective launch vehicle if you are only sending it monthly.
A newsletter is the first type of email communication. The second type is the broadcast email. That is an email sent out to the members of your list when you want to introduce a new product or service, announce a teleseminar or recommend an affiliate product. In contrast to your newsletter, which should be sent in HTML, your broadcast emails should be text based.
The third type of email communication is the autoresponder email. These are the emails you write, for example, when someone signs up for your list. Then, over the next few days or even weeks, your system sends your new subscribers a series of messages, welcoming them into your list and perhaps then offering them an introductory product.
Now for another frequently asked question: Ellen, how can I keep people from unsubscribing to my list? It seems that whenever I send an email, people hop off. Help!
Look, here’s what you need to know. Unsubscribes are a fact of life. People will leave your list every single time you send an email. And they leave for a variety of reasons: too much stuff in their in-box, they are not interested in your topic anymore or maybe they are just having a bad hair day.
The thing to remember is not to take it personally. Think of your unsubscribes as cleaning your list. And most likely, they would never have bought from you anyway. Don’t be like some people, and become afraid of your list. If you have valuable content or a good offer to send them, email away.
In the next part of this series, we’ll take a look at that all important opt-in page, so stay tuned!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m looking for opportunities to segment my list also, so that I can target them with messages that are appropriate to their needs. A bit more complicated, but I helpful I think, especially since I have a “local” and a “net” business. I have people who have already lost the weight and people who need to lose 100 pounds. They all “follow” me, but the more I can segment, the easier it is to send them the “right” amount of email without overburdening.
I totally agree with you Sandra, that using an advanced strategy like list segmenting would work really well with your list and help you serve them better. Excellent idea!
Thank you so much for this post. This is something that I struggle with myself. I am quite relieved to hear your answer. I think I will go back to mailing once a week and see how that works. Keep up the good work.
Hi DeAnna! I’m so glad this article was useful to you.
Thank you for this post Ellen! Especially the part about “unsubscribes are a fact of life.” I believe in that too and it’s about not taking it personally just as you stated.
Good clean advice!
Nancy
What a great topic to discuss, Ellen! There are more opinions on how often to email your list than….lists I think.
I remember advice someone gave me about social networking and emailing a while ago. “Pretend you’re at a cocktail party”, they said. “Are you the guy trying to sell insurance to everyone you meet, or are you the interesting conversationalist?”
If the only contact your list ever gets from you is a sales pitch, expect them to eventually tire of it. But, if you are imparting information that improves their lives, makes things easier, solves a problem, they’ll be awaiting your next message.
Speaking genuinely is the best way to retain audience. It’s something even “mostly males” can do, Ellen.
Keep in mind that many people are looking to be educated about your area of expertise before they buy.
It’s the marketer’s job to give them the information they need to take action.
I use Infusionsoft as my email marketing system, which allows me to automatically segment my customers into groups based on actions they take.
I purchased You Send It this week because I had a problem sending a large video. I’ve been deleting their emails right away for more than a year. And I remembered that I had received an email from them in the morning, so I went looking for it and got the discount.
So you never know when someone is ready to buy. You just want to be there when they do.
Cheers
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