One of the hardest challenges of determining the frequency of emails is having the ability to consistently meet the demand for quality content. An email newsletter should always have valuable content you provide for your subscribers as an expert in the field.
Determining what frequency is right for your business and your email audience will require a bit of examination, but is worth the extra effort.
The following are 5 things to consider when determining the frequency of your email marketing campaign.
1. Days of the week
Whether the day of the week at which emails are distributed correlates with the level of effectiveness is a matter of great debate. Why not be on the safe side and just consider it as a viable factor?
Mondays are the first day back at the office for most people and are universally loathed by all who enjoy weekends. People are catching up from the weekend on Mondays and are likely less to respond to a call-to-action.
On Thursdays and Fridays, people are typically busy wrapping up important work to leave for the weekend or are often already out of the office. That means they won’t see your message until after the weekend.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays typically have greater success rates for opening and responding to a call-to-action. Statistically, mid-week is the best time to send emails but it’s also worth considering that e-commerce sites see high order rates at the start of the week. Mid-week has consistently proven to be the most effective, but make sure to experiment with other days to examine your own open rates.
2. Time zones
Keep in mind that your audience spans across national and maybe even international time zones. After examining what days work best for your demographic, always remember that each time zone will require specific altercations to distribution methods.
Of course, an international audience will also require attentiveness to varying cultural and seasonal holidays. Seize this opportunity to remind people of seasonal or holiday sales by offering discounts or special offers, and highlight products that are topical or new.
3. Updates on products and/or services
The frequency at which you reach out to subscribers should correlate directly with how often there are updates on products and services in your business. If your inventory changes regularly, a biweekly digest of updates should work well.
To send more frequently requires a very devoted following. Exceeding a biweekly distribution of newsletters puts your brand at risk of getting overexposed. Not only does it eventually become counterproductive, you will annoy even the most loyal clients into unsubscribing.
4. Re-orders
Do you sell products that continuously require re-orders? Utilize this situation to effectively remind people with biweekly emails that link them right to their order pages.
Providing this service is also a convenient opportunity for you to remind them about the other products and services you provide. Do not oversell. Simply make your content as accessible to them as possible.
5. Follow ups
After a potential client becomes a new subscriber, it’s important to follow up with a welcome email in a timely fashion. When you have a new contact sign up for your email newsletter, follow up with a thank you or welcome email within 48 hours.
One of the most appealing aspects of email marketing is its low cost, which allows for flexibility and trial and error. While maintaining a production schedule is important, stick to reaching out only to provide new, urgent information, or timely content that is beneficial to your subscribers.
