How Often Should You Send Newsletters
Did you know that 69 percent of subscribers hit the “Unsubscribe” button because they receive too many emails? Nonetheless, 15 percent of users say they wouldn’t mind getting a marketing email every single day! As you can see, it’s pretty hard to nail the right email frequency for your business. It might take more than reading a few studies, but they sure do a good job at shedding some light on the matter. Let’s get some more insight that we can then use in fine-tuning our marketing style. How often should you send your newsletters?
How frequently should we send newsletters?
According to the DMA (Data & Marketing Association), 35 percent of marketers send two or three emails a month. Almost 10 percent of them choose to send a higher amount – six to eight newsletters a month, and 19 percent touch base with their audience only once a month. Now, what’s the right amount of emails your business should send?
It depends a lot on what field you’re in. If you’re selling bride gowns, you may intensify your campaigns right before summer, when more weddings take place. If you’re offering cashmere sweaters, winter is your happy time. But, if you have a blog or an online magazine, you may keep a steady rhythm of one newsletter a week, in which you can tell your readers what’s new.
That’s the biggest piece of the puzzle. Now let’s take a closer look at the smaller ones:
? Ask your customers for help in determining what the perfect pace is. Keep in mind that your newsletter sshould be about them, not you. Sure, you need to promote your business, but always strive to offer them something extraordinary. This will have a tremendously positive impact in the long run (does a higher ROI sound good?). So let your subscribers choose how many emails they’d like to receive. You can add this option to your signup form, or you can start a poll.
? Carefully study your figures: the opening and click-through rates, and how many people subscribe and unsubscribe. Try segmenting your lists according to your customers’ shopping history and demographics (a great email validator can offer you valuable demographic information). You can use this data as a guide in timing your newsletters. Keep testing and you will eventually learn your audience’s taste and be able to satisfy it.
91 percent of subscribers don’t have anything against marketing emails, as long as they opted in to receive them. If not, more than half of them admitted they will mark unsolicited – and, sometimes, solicited emails, too! – as “Spam.” Click here to learn about the best tool you can use to protect yourself from being marked as a spammer.
We’ve already seen that “too many emails” is the main reason people unsubscribe from newsletters. But what about when a company doesn’t send enough of them? Here’s what can happen:
? Just as you’re a busy individual, other people are, too. They have a lot on their mind, so it’s very possible that they simply forget about you. If you send then one email every month or every two months, they will have to get reacquainted with you and your products every time. It’s almost like starting from zero in terms of customer perception and connection.
? Because many will forget who you are, or that they ever subscribed to your newsletters, they will hit that awful “Spam” button and affect your online reputation.
? Email addresses can change in time and after each campaign, your reports will point out those hard bounces you’re trying so much to avoid. Talking about your list: there is great value in having it cleaned by a professional tool. A good email list hygiene will help you avoid bounces, email complainers and spam traps, and will also save you good amounts of money.