Email Marketing - Determining How Often to Send Your Email Campaign

The last thing you want is for your readers to get annoyed with you because you're sending them too many Emails. No one likes to see their inbox full, right? The key to determining how often you should be sending your Email campaigns is to first create a Marketing Communications calendar.

Determining How Often to Send Your Emails

Create a Marketing Communications Calendar
First, you will need a printed calendar that has each month on its own page and squares large enough to write in. Gather a highlighter marker, pen and pencil, and sticky notes.

1. Lay the calendar out on a flat work surface. This works best if you lay out the pages in a straight line, showing the entire year, in a single view.
2. Use the highlighter to mark the times of year that are generally slow or challenging for your business. For example: When is it hard to close deals or generate leads? Start your highlights about two weeks before the slow times start. This creates a visual clue to remind you of when to focus your marketing efforts.
3. Now use the pen to write down events during the year that you know will not change – regardless of what happened in your work or personal life. For example: If you always have a 4th of July sale, mark it on the calendar. Also, circle the holidays, since they are a given for you, your customers, and prospects.
4. Use the pencil to write in possible times you might want to do a customer survey. A best practice is to survey your customers at least twice a year and shortly after special events. While you can always change it, you’ve committed to following up with your customers, and gathering their feedback.
5. Write down your ideas for content on sticky notes and put them on the calendar where they make sense throughout the year. This is the flexible part of your plan. If something happens in your business and you need to change the content of your email, you can simply move the sticky note to another part of the calendar and keep going.
6. Put the calendar in a folder and keep it an arm’s length from your desk or chair. As you think of ideas for content over time, write them on a sticky note and add them to the calendar.
   Source: http://www.constantcontact.com/

Coordinate the timing of your campaigns for maximum impact.

1. Send your Emails or E-Newsletters at least two days before a major event or promotion. Give your readers enough time to prepare.
2. Consider sending information about your event or promotion at least a month in advance if your reader needs to arrange travel or meetings. Follow-up with reminders in subsequent Emails or E-Newsletters.
3. Include the frequency of your E-Newsletters, such as monthly or quarterly, in your online sign-up so recipients know how often to expect Emails from you.

We’ll close our series on Email Marketing next week as I discuss best times to send Emails.