How Often To Email Prospects On Your Email List?

When it comes to building (business) relationships online, email marketing should be part of your mix. For some organizations, it’s their bread & butter.

Some companies cannot (or will not) rely on search engines, social media, pay per click or anything not in their control.

A trusted, warm and hot email list cannot be beat, they say. I agree – but – to the point of understanding that every marketing effort should not rely on just ONE thing.

For this post, we’ll talk a little bit about email frequency, how often to send, what times might work the best, what to test.

And, some case studies and research on email and social media that was revealed.

In a survey released by these guys, some illuminating data was shown as it relates to small business and email marketing. And this report shows how email marketing and social media performs. (snapshot below)

How can social media impact email marketing sends?

The original report from aweber showed that:

• Almost 70% of small businesses are employing some sort of social media tactics.
• Small businesses find email marketing’s ROI more measurable, more quickly realized and greater than social media’s ROI.
• Over 71% of small businesses plan to increase their focus on behavioral targeting in the coming year.

Behavioral targeting and sequencing of smart emails that target your list based on preferences is an opportunity waiting for you. Yes, there’s more work – but it cannot be beat. In fact, when was the last time you sent a survey (several, via segments, if you can) to your list? Collect data, and start bucketing your list. It will make you look even better, and they’ll love you for it.  Using Infusionsoft for example, you can use automation links and “tags” that easily segment them for you.

What times work best to send emails?

• Weekends?
• Friday mornings – or afternoons?
• Several times a day?
• Almost every day?
• At lunch time?
• As news breaks?
• Seasonal emails?
• Anytime you have a company announcement?

Anything you do online should be tested. A blatant statement that says Fridays work best, without a proper test is just that – a “statement”. Some marketers say that if you are not “hitting your list hard”, you are not marketing. People will un-subscribe if they don’t like it. Not everybody can be pleased, they say.

You have to make your own assessments based on your marketplace, “common practices” for it – but make sure you watch your numbers (open rates, clicks, behavior), and don’t be afraid to ask either.

Here are 6 companies that reveal their email marketing frequency and success factors:

Take a look.

Finally – how often do you email your list?  What sets the direction for it? Is it your “gut feel”? That may not be enough, and you may be leaving customers, relationships and money on the table.

Related articles to Email Marketing and Email Management

• New Chart: How To Grow Your Email Marketing List (hubspot.com)
• The Best Email Marketing Tools (fathomseo.com)
• Advanced Email Marketing for Bloggers – How To Do Behavioral Targeting (johnchow.com)

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