Hi, it’s me! Nathan Littleton. Remember me? I emailed you yesterday about helping you with your email marketing. Did you get it? I hope you did. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.
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Hi, it’s me again! Nathan Littleton. It’s been a couple of days since I last emailed. Got nothing much to say, but thought I’d just remind you I’m here – if you need anything, just let me know.
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Hi! Nathan Littleton here. You’ll remember me from Monday’s email, and Wednesday’s email. Well, it’s Friday today and I was thinking you might like to visit my website for some great advice…
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Is this you? Because even though my name is up there (three times!), it really isn’t me.
It’s easy to worry about your email marketing schedule, and though we might all acknowledge that the above example has something wrong with it, I’m going to let you in on a secret: it’s not the frequency.
Let’s discuss.
The Confusion About Email Frequency
People are always asking me about how often they should send out email newsletters. The concern is understandable – if you don’t email enough, then you risk being forgotten and becoming irrelevant, but if you email too much, you’re an irritant and spammy.
So, again and again, the question comes up: how often?
But here’s the thing – like all things, it depends.
It depends on what you’re providing. There are some things that we simply want more often than others. Consider a chocolate cake (you have to eat it!), is once a year on your birthday too often? No. How about once a month? Hmm, maybe. Once a day? Definitely too much.
But now consider a glass of water in the same way. Yup, exactly.
It’s not about frequency – it’s about value.
The chocolate cake is valuable to me on my birthday. I like it then, and it’s appreciated.
The glass of water I want multiple times a day. It has value to me whenever I get thirsty.
And the same is true with your emails – if they have value, I want them. If they don’t, hold off until they do.
Not only that, but I don’t forget about the chocolate cake just because it’s been a year since I last had one – in fact, I’m looking forward to it. You don’t need to remind me it’s coming to remain relevant. It’s highly relevant, great value, annual content. Perfect.
If you provide value, that’s what people remember. So, it’s not just about frequency – it’s about working out the right frequency for the value you’re providing.
Calculating YOUR Perfect Frequency
Working out what frequency to send out to your email list is all about understanding what it is you are offering. Let’s take a look at a few examples:
An Upcoming Sale
The Happy Fluffy Toy company is planning a month-long sale in June, during which time all the Happy Fluffy Toys will be 20% off. They want to let their list know, so how often should it be mentioned?
Here are some thoughts:
- No one needs to be bombarded with ‘we’re having a sale’ every day
- A single announcement in advance is a good idea - a month early gives plenty of notice
- A second announcement a week before the sale will reinforce that
- A ‘sale has started’ email on the day itself provides a real call to action
- A ‘one week left’ email gives a nudge before the sale ends
- A final ‘sale ends tomorrow’ email can close the offer
That’s it – five emails. Any more than that and you risk overloading and annoying your customer. Any less, and you’re missing opportunities. And what about value? Each of those emails has something to say – it may be light, but each has unique value to the customer. Add in a discount voucher or two, and that’s even better.
The Curtain Shop
Simon’s Curtains sells, well, curtains! Simon is keen to keep his company top of mind – he accepts that people don’t buy curtains very often, but when they do, he wants to be the first port of call. Every month, Simon commissions an article for his website that provides relevant content, such as how to choose the right curtains for your home decor, or the best curtains for keeping heating bills low. Thoughts:
- No one wants to hear from the curtain guy every week
- People don’t buy curtains very often
- If Simon’s articles are well-written and engaging, they’re worth promoting
Simon’s email newsletter frequency should be either monthly or fortnightly. A monthly email would be sufficient to promote his latest article and remind his audience of his curtain shop. A fortnightly email would provide an extra opportunity for Simon to build relationships with his audience with something personal – a behind-the-scenes story, or a short update on sales or new products.
As long as the second email is well written and has value, it’s worthwhile but – and here’s the important point – if Simon cannot guarantee value with each fortnightly email, he’s better off just sticking to the monthly one.
Conclusion
Email frequency is not simply a checklist. It should be adapted to the current need and your ability to provide genuine content. If you’re going to send out useless ‘Hi, I’m here’ emails every week, then your marketing strategy needs revising.
Setting Expectations with Consistency
‘But Nathan,’ I hear you say, ‘what about being consistent?’
And yes, you’re right – I do talk a lot about consistency. Consistency is very important. This is why you need to set your expectations early – and not just for your audience, but for you as well.
If you are confident that you can provide value weekly, then weekly is probably your optimum frequency.
If, however, you think that monthly is the best you’ll manage, then develop a monthly schedule.
And then stick to it.
Consistency doesn’t mean frequency – it means being stable and trustworthy. Consistent schedules form a pattern in the audience’s mind, even if unconsciously, and those patterns build familiarity and trust.
If something happens in the future that requires you to change that schedule, adapt. Change the schedule, but not to a random frequency; instead, take stock, plan what you can do with your new situation, and then make a new, consistent, emailing schedule – and then, let your list know. Tell them the new schedule so they know what to expect. It’ll manage expectations, increase trust further, and prevent unsubscribes.
Building an Email Marketing Schedule With Nathan Littleton
After that intro, I have no doubt that you remember my name – I’m Nathan Littleton, and I’m here to help you get the most out of your email marketing.
Book a free consultation with me today, and we can get together to discuss your specific marketing strategy. I look forward to it.
