newslettersYes, I am assuming that you have joined the realms of the modernised and are, in fact, sending out a newsletter to your clients. If you have yet to jump on this particular band wagon, you have some catching up to do. Please do not panic if you have never sent a newsletter in your entire career – it is never too late to embrace those technological advances.

There is so much information you can impart via a newsletter that will save you a fortune in traditional marketing costs: update your clients about the latest happenings in your company, provide product updates or information on product launches, keep your clients abreast of your company events and achievements… a newsletter allows you to linger around your client without becoming a stalker.

Now that we have established that your company needs a newsletter to stay relevant, the question then becomes one of frequency. How often is too much?

Email Newsletter Frequency

Given the competition for attention in inboxes, your newsletter needs to appear often enough to trigger recognition and build awareness. So, to answer the question of how often your company should send out a newsletter… it depends. Before you paint me with the cryptic brush, let me just state that every situation is different and that is why it all depends. Most companies send their newsletters out on a monthly basis. Here are some factors to consider:

• The best frequency measure is if the information in your email newsletter has time constraints. If your content has a deadline and you need to send your newsletter, then you should send it

• If your news does not relate to everyone on your mailing list, then perhaps consider only sending your newsletter to the appropriate subscribers

• Another option is to let your subscribers decide how often they want or need to receive an email newsletter from you. A note of caution: if you decide to offer the flexibility to select frequency, then you need to ensure that you are able to back this option up with relevant information for the relevant sending options.

• Bear in mind that any email newsletter that is sent out less frequently than once a month is unlikely to make an impression on your readers. If you find it difficult to support at least a monthly publication, then perhaps you should consider thinking in terms of promotions rather than newsletters.

• Newsletters that are sent out more frequently than once a month i.e. weekly, should offer exceptional value or impact to justify the time your readers need to allocate to your emails

• Look at the bigger picture before settling on frequency. If you are already sending your mailing list other newsletters or promotional emails, these need to be taken into account

Consider a Monthly Newsletter
Why do I recommend sending a newsletter at least once a month? I’m very glad you asked:

It will keep you on your toes by forcing you to pay attention to market news in order to keep your topics relevant and interesting

You will be able to keep in regular contact with past clients

Keeping in contact with past clients will more than likely lead to referrals

The discipline of consistently sending a newsletter will help keep you focused on your business

Consider the content you want to deliver to your subscribers. If your content has a “best before” date, then this should really be taken into account when determining frequency. Different topics are suited to different frequencies. The more “perishable” the information you need to send, the more frequently you’ll need to send out your newsletter.

Contributed by:
Candice Turnbull

 

 

 

 

 

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