I have to admit that I usually fall into the category of not emailing my list enough. I am plagued by feelings of not having something new to feature and as I’m focusing my efforts behind the scenes on art licensing collections…it’s really something I’m not supposed to share or show off. However, there are other little things going on, here and there and it makes me wonder about email marketing frequency and communicating more with my audience.
I think of my fans and supporters as friends and not communicating with them for a long time seems like a bad thing. I want interaction and I have to keep reminding myself…they signed up, so they want interaction too. However, the number one reason that people unsubscribe from emails is the complaint of too many emails. Did they mean too many from that one person or too many in general? When businesses have a strong following though, supporters actually think it’s okay to receive more messages. Hmm…seems like a toss up!
Would it be better to email regularly and frequently with little bits of information or try to consolidate into a monthly newsletter? Or just fire something off when it applies? On one hand, I think your supporters will be flexible…after all…they like you already! As long as you are sending pertinent information, they will accept it with open arms. But are you losing out by not reminding your fans a few more times about your products and services?
Many of the up and coming indie businesses and influencers today actually email weekly. I’ve also received multiple emails about new product launches. Even when I’m not interested, I just delete, I don’t unsubscribe. Because I still want to stay updated, even though that particular message doesn’t apply. Even when I’m annoyed at getting an email that is simply a repeated blog post – completely redundant since I follow their RSS feed – I don’t unsubscribe because I value the contact and information they will be sending over in the future. Talk about tolerance, eh?
It’s definitely difficult to decide on what makes sense. Suffice to say that you won’t be satisfying everyone – as with everything in life. In fact, you might be whittling your list down as you start implementing certain strategies, because only your true fans and supporters will stick around. In the marketing world it is also stressed that you need to repeat yourself at times. We all need to be reminded several times, before acting. How many times have you heard the famous line…”…oh I totally missed that…”
So back to my dilemma…I think a bit of testing is required. Increasing your email frequency should drive up interaction and hopefully sales, if that is your call to action. At some point you will reach a limit though, when lots of people will start unsubscribing. Basically, the increase will be offset by the unsubscribes – even though unsubscribes are normal for everyone. A general rule says at least once a month, but no more than once a week. Using that as a guideline, I’ve decided that a bit of experimentation is needed to find the right balance. What works for you, your schedule and your audience. Here are some ideas I plan to try out:
- increasing the frequency during product launches or holiday/shopping seasons
- sending occasional specific specials/offers
- sending information – benefits to the readers that ask nothing in return
- repeat emails that are reminders
- creating a new list or sublist for specific efforts, so your audience can opt-in (like daily painting, weekly tips, monthly sales, etc)
Ultimately, I think if you are providing content that your audience wants…it will work out! If suddenly there’s filler content or writing seems forced…then you’ve got a problem. What do you think? Have some tips to contribute? Please comment below and thanks for joining me on this creative business journey!
