How Often Should I Email My List?
Every week. Simple.
…
Wait, you want to know why?
Well, first, here are NOT the reasons you should email your list every week. (These are reasons I’ve heard other marketers give, because I’m not above throwing a little shade):
You want to “be consistent” and “show up” for your audience.
You want to stay “top of mind” so next time that person needs the kind of services you provide, they will know you exist and call you, maybe. (Except if they forget your name or never read your email.)
These reasons suck. They suck because you can’t draw a line between these reasons and making money.
Who’s going to spend precious time doing work when it doesn’t have a direct impact on revenue?
So if these were your reasons, and you tried to write to your email list consistently and then gave up after a few weeks, that actually makes total sense.
OF COURSE those reasons weren’t enough to motivate you to write every single week. If these were the only reasons you had for writing to your list every single week, you’d have no reason to keep going, unless you
don’t have that much else on your plate (no one)
love writing (some people)
are a masochist who never, ever, EVER cuts herself a bit of slack (umm… a few people)
Otherwise, it’s pre-ordained.
You are going to “fall off the wagon.” You’re going to “forget.” You’re going to skip a week here and there. You’re going to start your email newsletter up with the best of intentions, and then drop it like a hot potato as soon as your client roster fills up, or you just find something else to do.
What if you had a better reason for writing a weekly email? A reason you could tie directly to making more money in your business?
Well, I’ve don’t just have one reason. I’ve got THREE.
Emailing regularly allows you to sell your products and services without having to be present 24/7. (Yes, you can do this without sending too much email, “bothering people,” or coming off as sales-y. I’ll get to that in a minute.)
Emailing regularly allows you to build relationships with existing subscribers, instead of focusing on always having to have more, more, more subscribers.
Emailing regularly allows you to develop a writing practice that helps you share your mission, and get feedback an audience of people to whom your mission actually matters. (Otherwise they wouldn’t have signed up for your email list.)
Plus, PLUS, a Bonus one.
BONUS: Emailing regularly allows you to write about the stuff you love to do, which allows you to reclaim your love for what you do. This is work as a form of self-care.
Now, let me get back to reason #1. You’re worried you’ll be sending too much email. But weekly email isn’t “too much” if you are learning what your subscribers want, and then sending them more of that.
With a few simple tools available in almost every brand of email software, you can get to know what your subscribers want, so that when you’re ready to sell, you know how your products and services solve their problems.
Plus, since you’ve been emailing regularly with help and info on what they care about, they know they can trust you. They might even respect you.
Why should I waste time writing to my list every single week? I don’t even have that many subscribers? Shouldn’t I work on that first?
You should absolutely work on growing your list, but focusing on getting a big list and more contacts is kind of like collecting business cards at a networking event.
You come home with a stack and you go… who are these people?
These business cards become totally useless the second you leave because you have no idea who those people are or what they need.
You need to know that stuff in order to build a relationship. And you can only find it out by starting a relationship.
Weekly email is the start of that relationship.
Weekly emails allow you to figure out what your audience wants. And then sell that to them.