How Often Should You Email

One of the most frequent questions new email marketers ask is how often they should mail their list. The answer is probably more frequently than you think. Of course email frequency depends on a lot of different factors. How much helpful and useful information do you have to share? What do your readers expect from you? To an extent, it even depends on what other big players in your niche are doing. If the majority of people in your underwater basket weaving niche send a weekly newsletter, that’s probably a good place to start.

Note that I said it’s a place to start. It doesn’t mean you’re stuck with that particular format and schedule. Email frequency is something you can try and adjust over time. Some of it is trial and error to be perfectly honest. Some audiences appreciate shorter, more frequent emails, while others want no more than one email from you per week.

Mailing frequency is also something that you can deliberately change. It’s really all about setting and meeting expectations. If you get your readers used to one or two emails from you per month, that’s what they’ll expect. They will resist when you suddenly change to mailing daily. Instead, if emailing more frequently is your goal or something you want to test, start slow. Go from two emails per month to four. Then email every Tuesday and throw in the occasional addition email some weeks. Keep increasing your frequency, allowing your readers to get used to the new schedule before increasing again until you find something you’re comfortable with.

Keep track of the time and effort it takes to create those emails and weight it against the income you’re making. Sometimes it’s worth writing a daily email to your list. With other sites and other lists, the sweet point of effort and financial reward is with weekly email with the occasional ramp up during time limited promotions.

Start by coming up with a schedule that works for you. Set expectations with your readers from the start. Tell them how often they can expect to hear from you in the welcome email that goes out as soon as they sign up. Then as you map out your mailing schedule and start writing emails, hint at what’s coming. Tell them to look for another email from you on Friday about a fresh tip or a special offer they don’t want to miss.