Email Marketing: How Often is Too Often?

You probably know that keeping in touch with your customers via email is a good way to keep your Internet business fresh in their minds. But how often should you be reminding them you are there?

It’s All About Context

Research shows that various Internet businesses send emails on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. It is generally agreed that sending emails less than once a month is not a good idea. But while you might consider one email a day to be too much, you need to consider what context those emails are being sent in.

For example, suppose you create an email course on a specific subject relevant to your business. In this case you may promote it as a seven-day course in which every sign up will receive one step every day for a week. This would be perfectly acceptable because you have told them in advance what they will receive. You are also providing more than just a sales email, although each step of your course may well include a link back to your Web site or a link to a related product as well.

Don’t Overdo It

But if you are simply sending newsletters or promotional emails, overdoing it can harm your business. You probably hate missing out on bargains, but would you really want to be emailed about the bargains available at one specific site every single day?

If you look into the subject of email frequency on the Internet, you will discover that everyone has a different idea about what constitutes too many or too few emails. But they all agree that testing is essential to discover what your own subscribers are happy to receive. Ask your subscribers how often they would like to receive an email from you. You have probably received an email like this yourself from time to time. Not everyone will reply but you may get enough of a response to gauge what the best move forward would be.

So you should look at the context and content of your emails before making a decision on how often to send them. Bear in mind also that frequency could change depending on what is happening with your business. If you are accustomed to sending out a monthly email at the beginning of each month but some important news occurs mid month, don’t wait until the following month to share it. If it is important enough you should let your customers know immediately. Otherwise they may wonder why you couldn’t be bothered to tell them earlier.

Whatever frequency you finally settle on for your own needs, make sure you have enough material, news or content to make each email you send worthwhile. If you are sending them out just for the sake of it you may well experience people leaving your mailing list. Planning ahead to ensure your emails are always timely, relevant and worth reading will mean your efforts are well rewarded and your customers are kept happy.

Mac Cassity is a seasoned internet marketer with more than 13 years of experience in making money online. His two main projects, www.mactheknifearticles.com and www.PerfectNetworker.com have allowed Mac to grow and service a client base in the tens of thousands and reach a presence in more than 40 countries.

Hostway Corporation helps small- and medium-sized businesses increase sales with innovative Web hosting packages that include an easy-to-use Web site builder, a built-in mechanism for driving traffic and an email marketing platform. Founded in 1998, the company currently serves more than 600,000 customers across the globe and operates over 250,000 square feet of state-of-the-art data centers with a direct presence in 13 countries, 17 worldwide operation centers and more than 700 employees.