How Frequently Should I Send Emails to My List?

 

When it comes to frequency and content delivery, how much is too much?  When does it negatively impact your goals?

 

I used to be a fan of a certain nightlife website that shared events from multiple venues, pictures and information about local trends. I liked its content so much that I signed up for its e-mail messages because I could never remember to check its site every day. As the company grew, its one e-mail became about 5 different e-mails, classified by event. In the beginning it was great; I would read the e-mails with subject lines indicating content I wanted and would often scan headlines in the others.

 

And then the world changed.

 

I am not sure if I got busier, if the content became irrelevant, or if events and local topics began to intertwine unacceptably. Whatever happened, in about three months, these e-mails started to seem annoying and overwhelming. On a busy day my e-mail inbox would have over 100 unread messages in it and 12 of them would be from one company — a clear sign that they were e-mailing me too much.

 

But here is my dilemma: I only want the content I want, yet the content I want appears in various e-mails from the company. There’s no way to solve this problem with a subscription form.

 

When I realized the challenge, I started to ask others if they have similar complaints about e-mail frequency from clubs and bars they love. Interestingly, most people said yes, but for different reasons. Here are the top complaints I uncovered:

 

Upcoming Weekend Calendar: This is a case of the best intentions gone awry.

 

The complaint: No time to read lots of words, and in some cases even open.

 

The wish: First, keep the frequency the same but use descriptive subject lines (even if they are long) and use bullets or headlines with links. Second make sure the content you are delivering this group is targeted (if you have a list of patrons who prefer hip hop events, send them just hip hop for a greater response rate.)

 

One-Time Event Emails: What music do I like?

 

The complaint: Just because I go to your House Music night doesn’t mean I want to hear about your Hip Hip night.  Maybe I only enjoy House Music.

 

The wish: Don’t just bomb me with ALL of your events.  Take the time to ask me what events I like, what music I enjoy listening to.  MobileStorm is an email provider that gives venues the opportunity to segment their lists.  You can edit your profile at the bottom of every email sent to you.  The venue can also send an email to clients asking them to update their profile for certain segments.

 

Signing up for an e-mail list is not just a request to get on a guest list. It is a sign of interest in a venue and the events it has to offer. Even when the frequency gets a bit out of control, the interest in the information may override the potential to complain or unsubscribe.

 

This means it’s not as simple as looking at open rates. Approaching the messaging strategy in a way that balances your need to drive readership and attendance and the reader’s need to drive inbox sanity and organization could very well lead to a longer life span with your customer and increased revenues.

 

I look forward to your comments.

 

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