How Often Should I Send Out E-Mail Marketing Pieces?

I once had a friend in sales. A new business prospect was being especially troublesome and rude. To the point where it became a game for my friend to see what it would take to close an appointment.  One tactic he tried was to send the prospect a postcard. Every day. For 60 days! No, it didn't work but did lead to a nicely written restraining order and the undying admiration of his Sales Manager!

So what about today. The age of the "E-Mail Blast." How often should you send out email marketing pieces in order to be effective, yet avoid any of those nicely worded restraining orders?

Basically, as you may have discovered already for yourself, there is definitely no one-size fits-all answer. Daily, weekly or monthly. You are probably going to find weekly or every other week as the approach that will work best. Daily, too much. Monthly, not enough.

Equally important is "content." Are you letting customers know how much better their lives will be once they have your product or start using your service? If so, your emails will be welcomed, especially if you have attached something of value which can be redeemed before a certain deadline. If there is no perceived value, you will soon be seen as a nuisance and your emails will be jettisoned straight to the Junk Folder.

A word about how much information to communicate per email. Do you know the suggested word count for those giant outdoor boards you see as you fly down the freeway?  Seven words. Can you communicate your message in seven words? 20? 50? The shorter the message the better. Shorter more frequent emails will boost your response faster than long-winded,  rambling messages. Check it out for yourself and let me know what happens.

To sum up:

1. While you don't need to stick to a precise schedule, weekly or bi-weekly will probably give you the frequency you need to build positive name awareness for your products and services. Note which days your readers seem more responsive: Your readers may be more responsive on some days than others. Do a little testing to see when they are more likely to open and act on your emails.

2. Offer valuable content.

3. Keep your message short and to the point.

5...4...3...2...1...Email blasts away!