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How Often Should You Email Your List?

by TomAndrews
19 replies
When it comes to writing and sending emails, many people will tell you "quality over quantity".

I'll tell you they're only half right.

Yes, each email you send must be high quality (which is where you provide both value and entertainment to your email list). But it shouldn't be a case of quality over quantity. Instead, you should be combining quality with quantity.

The method I recommend (and what other successful email marketers such as Ben Settle and Paul Mort recommend) is to send an email to your list every single day of the week, fifty-two weeks a year. No exceptions.

You see, as long as your emails follow the "value + entertainment" formula, there's no such thing as sending "too many" emails.

Of course, if your emails are boring, then people will get annoyed with you sending daily emails. They'll then unsubscribe from your list or even report you for spam. But then again, if you were sending boring emails, your email list would get annoyed with you emailing them just once a month anyway.

So always remember this: When it comes to sending emails, there's no such thing as too often... Only too boring.

So just how do you entertain your email list?

Do I mean you have to be a comedian?

Absolutely not. I mean, you can be if you're a naturally funny person. But if you're not, don't force it. Plus remember, buying and selling is a serious business. People want to buy from someone they respect; they don't want to buy from a "clown".

Instead, you should entertain your email list by telling stories. Specifically, stories which resonate with your market and then persuade them to buy from you.

The best sales people in history have all been great storytellers.

Make sure you learn how to be one, too.

Tom
#ben settle #email #email list #how often to email #list #provide value #storytelling
  • Profile picture of the author Rob Whisonant
    I send to my lists the number of times THEY expect me to. If they expect an email each day, I send one to them each day. If they expect one a week, I send them one a week. Helps greatly to reduce spam complaints and having subscribers feel you are just abusing them.

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  • Profile picture of the author sumit@247easysupport
    Right, It depends on the nature of the business and niche they are offering their subscribers. If it is related to entertainment with unique, informative and attractive content they can send them daily/weekly.
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  • Profile picture of the author DIABL0
    I have always just watched my stats and let them tell me when I'm starting to push things to hard.
    Once something starts to move out of your comfort zone, then back off.

    frequency / $$$ -VS- unsubs / complaints

    This basically works regardless of what you send, be it all offers, a mix of content/offers, etc... You find the medium that produces the highest $$$ while keeping unsubs / complaints acceptable. Obviously you want to put the most weight toward complaints, as you don't want to go loosing accounts.
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  • Profile picture of the author binelus
    Originally Posted by TomAndrews View Post

    When it comes to writing and sending emails, many people will tell you "quality over quantity".

    I'll tell you they're only half right.

    Yes, each email you send must be high quality (which is where you provide both value and entertainment to your email list). But it shouldn't be a case of quality over quantity. Instead, you should be combining quality with quantity.

    The method I recommend (and what other successful email marketers such as Ben Settle and Paul Mort recommend) is to send an email to your list every single day of the week, fifty-two weeks a year. No exceptions.

    You see, as long as your emails follow the "value + entertainment" formula, there's no such thing as sending "too many" emails.

    Of course, if your emails are boring, then people will get annoyed with you sending daily emails. They'll then unsubscribe from your list or even report you for spam. But then again, if you were sending boring emails, your email list would get annoyed with you emailing them just once a month anyway.

    So always remember this: When it comes to sending emails, there's no such thing as too often... Only too boring.

    So just how do you entertain your email list?

    Do I mean you have to be a comedian?

    Absolutely not. I mean, you can be if you're a naturally funny person. But if you're not, don't force it. Plus remember, buying and selling is a serious business. People want to buy from someone they respect; they don't want to buy from a "clown".

    Instead, you should entertain your email list by telling stories. Specifically, stories which resonate with your market and then persuade them to buy from you.

    The best sales people in history have all been great storytellers.

    Make sure you learn how to be one, too.

    Tom
    I remember reading Grant Cardone's book, 'The 10x Rule', where he was talking about being in front of your audience as much as you, until it becomes almost a problem (then you'll know you're doing a good job), because the more present you are for your audience, the more they will have you in their head and not forgetting you for being in front of them all the time.

    So I agree with emailing every day now, because you become almost omnipresent to your list, which is a good thing.

    Emailing is certainly an art and storytelling is definitely a skill to develop!
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    • Profile picture of the author TomAndrews
      Originally Posted by binelus View Post

      I remember reading Grant Cardone's book, 'The 10x Rule', where he was talking about being in front of your audience as much as you, until it becomes almost a problem (then you'll know you're doing a good job), because the more present you are for your audience, the more they will have you in their head and not forgetting you for being in front of them all the time.

      So I agree with emailing every day now, because you become almost omnipresent to your list, which is a good thing.

      Emailing is certainly an art and storytelling is definitely a skill to develop!
      Great book and love Grant!

      Yes, storytelling certainly is one of the most important skills you can possess.

      Tom
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  • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
    I'm a big fan of Ben's and Paul's.... and do agree with Ben's daily email
    advice.... but you also have to be careful you're watching the stats and you know
    your market/niche well enough so you can gauge their temperament.

    For example, I own several "make money" niches and have written for hundreds
    of clients in that niche.

    Daily emails work well in that niche... because they're often in the habit
    of wanting info and will look for it. Hence the "shiny new toy" syndrome.... often times,
    MORE is better in the "make money" niche (and is often the big reason why so many
    fail in this niche... always bouncing from biz opp to biz opp... never gaining traction.

    In my fitness biz that I grew from zero to 7 figures in sales after a few years...
    I simply watched stats, looked at response rates/unsubscribes, and also
    LISTENED to my list.

    I started with weekly emails in 2001, then moved it to every few days, and
    finally in 2009 before I sold it, was doing daily emails.

    I found that starting the list from scratch and growing it organically... these
    people came to trust me so much, they were fine with daily emails.

    Like Tom said, as long as you're a bright spot in their day and go out
    of your way to make them better off AFTER they've read, you won't have
    too many complaints.

    Those that do, well, show them the door. Chances are, they weren't going to
    buy from you.

    But, I'm also telling you that a few niches are indeed LESS open to daily emails
    if you haven't been doing it from day one.

    For example, I have a client I've been writing golf emails for.

    I came into the mix after he acquired the leads... and I started
    doing daily emails.

    Well, the first email did incredibly well... but then I noticed that
    if I sent them daily, a huge jump in unsubscribes would happen.

    And knowing the golf demographics as well as I do, I know that
    many of them are NOT looking at it as daily help... they're looking
    at it as "hey, these guys are sending me stuff every single day....
    and I don't like that".

    I started looking through the unsuscribes and sure enough,
    many even stated that they were getting too many emails.

    Knowing this niche is mostly men in their 50's and older,
    MANY of them are just not used to getting daily emails.

    So, I went to "every other day or every 3 days" and unsubscribes
    dropped to almost nothing.

    Bottom line, use feedback and stats to keep your finger on the
    pulse of YOUR market.

    There's never any "blanket" answer or "best way", the best way
    is what works for THAT market.

    And I agree daily works well for most markets, especially
    trading/stocks/financial... health and fitness... and make money.

    But there are a few like golf, that if you're not keeping track
    of stats, and if you haven't been with them long enough and
    BUILT that trust first... just sending out daily emails without
    keeping tabs on results, well, it could send people running to
    the exits quickly.

    Yes, you WANT people to unsubscribe... but not at alarming
    rates. Just try a "every 2 days approach" and you may find it
    works better.

    Bottom line, test.. track, and fix if need be.
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    • Profile picture of the author TomAndrews
      Originally Posted by shawnlebrun View Post

      I'm a big fan of Ben's and Paul's.... and do agree with Ben's daily email
      advice.... but you also have to be careful you're watching the stats and you know
      your market/niche well enough so you can gauge their temperament.

      For example, I own several "make money" niches and have written for hundreds
      of clients in that niche.

      Daily emails work well in that niche... because they're often in the habit
      of wanting info and will look for it. Hence the "shiny new toy" syndrome.... often times,
      MORE is better in the "make money" niche (and is often the big reason why so many
      fail in this niche... always bouncing from biz opp to biz opp... never gaining traction.

      In my fitness biz that I grew from zero to 7 figures in sales after a few years...
      I simply watched stats, looked at response rates/unsubscribes, and also
      LISTENED to my list.

      I started with weekly emails in 2001, then moved it to every few days, and
      finally in 2009 before I sold it, was doing daily emails.

      I found that starting the list from scratch and growing it organically... these
      people came to trust me so much, they were fine with daily emails.

      Like Tom said, as long as you're a bright spot in their day and go out
      of your way to make them better off AFTER they've read, you won't have
      too many complaints.

      Those that do, well, show them the door. Chances are, they weren't going to
      buy from you.

      But, I'm also telling you that a few niches are indeed LESS open to daily emails
      if you haven't been doing it from day one.

      For example, I have a client I've been writing golf emails for.

      I came into the mix after he acquired the leads... and I started
      doing daily emails.

      Well, the first email did incredibly well... but then I noticed that
      if I sent them daily, a huge jump in unsubscribes would happen.

      And knowing the golf demographics as well as I do, I know that
      many of them are NOT looking at it as daily help... they're looking
      at it as "hey, these guys are sending me stuff every single day....
      and I don't like that".

      I started looking through the unsuscribes and sure enough,
      many even stated that they were getting too many emails.

      Knowing this niche is mostly men in their 50's and older,
      MANY of them are just not used to getting daily emails.

      So, I went to "every other day or every 3 days" and unsubscribes
      dropped to almost nothing.

      Bottom line, use feedback and stats to keep your finger on the
      pulse of YOUR market.

      There's never any "blanket" answer or "best way", the best way
      is what works for THAT market.

      And I agree daily works well for most markets, especially
      trading/stocks/financial... health and fitness... and make money.

      But there are a few like golf, that if you're not keeping track
      of stats, and if you haven't been with them long enough and
      BUILT that trust first... just sending out daily emails without
      keeping tabs on results, well, it could send people running to
      the exits quickly.

      Yes, you WANT people to unsubscribe... but not at alarming
      rates. Just try a "every 2 days approach" and you may find it
      works better.

      Bottom line, test.. track, and fix if need be.
      Cheers for the reply Shawn. Put a lot of thought into it.

      That's very interesting. I've never touched the golf niche (or had a client who has, either) so I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!

      Although I do remember reading one of Ben Settle's products (think it was either his "Playbook" or "Crib Sheet") and remember him saying he found the golf niche couldn't get enough of the regular emails.

      So I guess, like all these things, nothing's set in stone. Like you say test, track and fix.

      All the best,

      Tom
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  • Profile picture of the author aleangui
    have you ever thought about an auto-ship email drip campaign??
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  • Profile picture of the author ronnierokk
    Sometimes I mail 3-5 times a week, depending on what promotions I have.

    A good rule of thumb to remember though, is to always mail your list at least 1 email a week to keep them engaged.

    And if it's only one that you are sending, it should be valuable content that they can really use of course...
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  • Profile picture of the author jimp74
    If you are sending out valuable content then everyday even twice a day...if it is a blatant sales message then even once a week, if that is all you send you will burn out a great part of your list.. but I would suggest you give valuable content first and then introduce your offer near the end of your email copy. If you do this even once a day sending an email would be fine...use video when you can also.
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidGWelch
    I dont know if sending emails everyday is a good idea, in my experience that is annoying, your emails will just be deleted with the rest of the spam people receive every day.
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  • Profile picture of the author papiziko
    I love the idea of telling stories, thanks for the advices
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  • Profile picture of the author sameerjoshi
    @TomAndrews: Thanks for this excellent thread and your thoughts. I totally agree with everything you said, especially the value+entertainment approach, and emailing daily. I'd like to add that I also believe that if there is a sales pitch involved (not just content emails), then the sales pitch can be made also in all of these emails (or even up to 99% of them). In fact, the value+entertainment approach does indeed make the frequency irrelevant. Even multiple emails a day is totally possible, as long as they provide value and entertain. Loved your statement "there’s no such thing as too often… Only too boring". That is totally true.

    @shawnlebrun: Awesome reply post, too. I totally agree that you WANT people to unsubscribe, but not just at an alarming rate. I used to be petrified in my earlier days of email marketing when I'd see an Unsubscribe. Now I know that it is totally fine - it is a process of "cleansing". I'd like to add that polarization through the emails led to most of the unsubscribes I experienced. Which basically means that polarizing is fine - it absolutely is. I'd rather have a smaller list of highly engaged subscribers than a ultra-large list having proportionally fewer engaged subscribers (and buyers, as a result).

    All the best,
    Sameer
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  • Profile picture of the author Junaid khawaja
    Hi Tom, great information! You just snatched my mouth words - send as many emails as you can as far as they are not boring.

    I have heard numerous reseaches claiming about the 10 or 15 seconds attention spans of humans blab bla. The thing is, if you are not grabbing attention, its not your readers fault, its yours. You are boring. YOU ARE NOT INTERESTING.

    I liked how you said "The best salesmen in history were all best story tellers." I strongly believe that Words tell, stories sell. But I have seen some copywriters over doing it to limits that annoy readers. For example I recently subscribed to a blog and he shoved me up with three back to back "30 minute-read" stories of his life. I do like stories, but I can catch it if you are over doing it!
    Thanks for sharing! Cheers!
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  • Profile picture of the author amadonxl
    I do send email to my list at least 5 times a week they are loving it...
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  • Profile picture of the author discrat
    In MMO - Niche everyday sometimes twice a day. In non- MMO Nches usually every other day.

    Everyone is different.... personality, knowledge and experience etc..etc..

    For instance if I have a wealth of knowledge and can email 4 times a day and do it over and over again and provide Value to my :List...then so be it


    - Robert Andrew
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  • Profile picture of the author Victor Nguyen0
    Good ideas! I learn many here. Tks all!
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  • Profile picture of the author NeverTie
    It varies for sure depending on what and why you are emailing them. Personally I send out 1-2 a week and the time i send them out I think is important. I have my email list broken down business and people, Do people just open email in the middle of the night because they hear "you got mail" normally they are sleeping so test it out during the day and find out when people open the emails the most so is it during lunch? I like to send my business emails out between 8-9 am as that is when people are getting to work and they will be opening emails to check them. It just varies test it out.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ellen Chedid
    I think in can sometimes depend on what you are sending out. But there is general rule that you shouldn't sent out more that 3 email a week. But then again, you can be the judge of that but your response rate. if your niche are really enjoying your content then you are safe to experiment with sending out more emails to see how that goes.
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