Taking advantage of the low cost and big potential of bulk email marketing is an easy decision for many businesses to make. But designing a campaign using email marketing for maximum impact is something that requires planning and strategy. Getting the most out of your email marketing efforts depends on a number of variables, one of the most important of which is frequency of communication. The guidelines below explain why more is generally better when it comes to sending out emails, and how to determine how much communication is enough depending on what type of business you’re running.
Why is More Better?
The idea behind frequent communication is that it can increase conversions by putting your company in the mindspace of your prospects when they are ready to place orders. As the old saying goes, you’ll never score a goal sitting on the bench. Frequent contact also allows you to establish your industry expertise with prospects.
How Much is Enough?
While more is better, this only applies if your emails add value in some way, either by providing great deals for your customers to take advantage of, or by imparting useful information. How frequently you should send emails depends, to some degree, on the type of business you’re running. Some businesses have enough useful information to impart or deals to offer that an email every day is acceptable, while others should spread their emails out for optimal efficacy.
For example, a company that aggregates deals from a wide variety of vendors could likely send a new email out every day, while a single retail store would probably be better served sending out weekly or biweekly emails, given that there are only so many products they have to sell. Whatever the case may be, the point here is that your best bet when it comes to mass email campaigns is typically to send out emails as frequently as possible given your target audience and your ability to offer something of value in each email.
Standalone or Autoresponse?
Standalone emails generally work best when you are able to interact with your audience by composing new emails on a consistent basis. Newsletters and special offers are examples of this type of email. Autoresponse emails, on the other hand, work best when you don’t have the time to regularly compose emails by allowing you to design a campaign of pre-written emails that will be sent out by your email marketing software at selected intervals. Both are effective ways to conduct a campaign, depending on what best fits your schedule and your target audience.