Generally speaking, two to four emails a month is a good rule of thumb. But that number may shift depending on your list size and audience.
Email marketing is not overly complex. But if you’re just getting started, there is a bit of ground to cover. We’ve been doing this for a while now, and we keep our fingers on the pulse of what’s new in the industry.
So, we thought we’d give you some rapid-fire answers to your most pressing questions about email marketing. We hope they’ll give you a leg up in the game. But you’re always welcome to reach out if you have additional questions or need some support!
First of all, no one wants to be peppered with emails that don’t say much of anything. So we never recommend sending an email unless its contents are worthwhile. That’s rule #1.
(If you’re limited by your ability to produce valuable content, so be it. Hire a copywriter or look into what your competitors are doing/saying. But don’t send emails that won’t be of value to your subscribers.)
Once you’re adept enough with content creation to send regular emails, then you can think more concretely about your send schedule. Most experts recommend emailing your list every week, or every other week at a minimum.
Give that a try . . . but be flexible and responsive to the incoming data. Are people subscribing/unsubscribing? How do your open and click-through rates look? If you’re not happy with the results, play with your send schedule until you get where you want to be.
Yes, the size of your list should affect how many emails you send. If your list consists of fewer than 1,000 – 2,000 people, weekly or twice-monthly emails are plenty. If, however, you have an email list of several thousand, you may increase your output. For businesses with 10,000 + subscribers, daily emails may even be appropriate. Just remember to watch your data and make changes as needed!
Even if the content you’re producing is stellar, there is such a thing as too many emails. Here are a few warning signs that you’re overdoing it:
These symptoms may also be a sign that your email content is not up to snuff. If decreasing your send rate doesn’t help, go back to the drawing board and revamp your content creation process.
You should always experiment with what works and what doesn’t work for your audience. But before you go too far in either direction, remember that there are consequences to sending too many emails or not enough.
If you email your list too frequently, readers may begin to lose interest and may even report your account as spam. You could also see reduced engagement with your emails and may lose subscribers as a result.
If you don’t email your list often enough, on the other hand, you could lose out on valuable opportunities to sell your products or services. Your reputation as a reliable source of content and information could also take a hit.
To narrow down your window and find a good balance for your business and audience, consider A/B testing your emails. Send a higher number of emails to half of your list and a lower number to the other half. Monitor the results and try again until you’ve learned enough to make educated decisions.
We’ve talked about some important factors regarding the success of your email marketing campaigns. But the conversation isn’t over until we’ve discussed the timing of your email sends. At Myriad, we always roll our eyes a little when a marketing email comes in at 4:30 PM on a Friday. Like we’re going to stop and read an email when we’re already halfway out the door and headed for the weekend! Silly.
According to data, the best time to send a marketing email is on Monday or Tuesday. However, any weekday would be preferable to sending an email over the weekend. Unless you want your campaign to be dead on arrival!
For whatever reason, Mondays usually have the highest overall open rates. Tuesdays, meanwhile, have the best click-through rates. Pick your fighter and let us know how it goes!
Okay, here’s where we really go berserk. (Sorry, we’ve wanted to use that word for a while now.) Below are some rapid-fire email marketing tips we’ve picked up on over the years. Try them out and keep us in the loop about what you discover for yourself!
DO – Infuse your emails with the personality of your brand. A personal touch makes all the difference between spam and KABAM.
DON’T – Pay for subscribers. Build your list the old-fashioned way and the results will pay off big time!
DO – Segment your list into smaller groups so you can create hyper-targeted and effective emails.
DON’T – Ignore the email title and preheader text. Doing so could cause subscribers to lose interest before they even open your message!
DO – Be clear about your call to action. Decide what you want your readers to do next and point them in the right direction.
DON’T – Send your email without running it through a grammar checker first! One mistake could cost you subscribers and impact your brand’s trustworthiness.
DO – Optimize your emails so they read well on mobile devices.
DON’T – Ignore the data. Your subscriber list is totally unique and may end up bucking some of the tried-and-true trends we’ve talked about in this article. Monitor your data so you can make educated decisions across the board!
DO – Avoid clickbait. People are tired of phrases like, “What happened next will blow your mind!” or, “The Perfect X Doesn’t Exi—”. Don’t fall back on cliches, create something truly valuable to send to your subscribers and they’ll beg for more.
Now that we’ve answered your pressing questions, you should have some solid footing to stand on. We can’t wait to opt-in to your list and see what you have in store for subscribers!
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