How to make sure your email frequency is just right
Posted by Drew Miller on July 7th, 2009
The start of any new relationship is always something that requires handling with care. Be too evasive and you’re more than likely to be forgotten quickly. Come on too strong, and you could potentially scare someone off with your rabid persistence. The same can be said with Email Marketing relationships.
I recently signed up for Lands’ End email on their website (June 29th) interested in seeing what kind of specials they offer for men’s clothing. Their opt-in form made no indication of frequency, nor did the redirect confirmation page. Their welcome message indicated that I would “… soon be receiving fast-breaking news on products, details about special savings events and more.” but I had no idea what their definition of “fast-breaking” was until I started receiving their email messages.
Three days later (July 2nd) I received my first email offer promoting a surprise offer and their All-American savings. They also included a “today only” offer highlighting a $15 women’s zip-front hooded cover-up. Relevancy issues aside (I don’t look very good in women’s clothing), it was a nice first email and definitely had me clicking to see what my special offer was. Over the next consecutive days it was more of the same:
July 3rd – Promotion of surprise offer and $10 women’s layering tees
July 4th – Promotion of surprise offer and a $12 beach towel
July 5th – Promotion of July 4th offer and women’s swimwear
July 6th – Promotion of surprise offer (final day) and more women’s swimwear
I unsubscribed not because of the emphasis on their women’s line (although that would have been a close second), but because of the daily frequency of their email messages. It was simply more Lands’ End than I could handle.
A few things that I think Lands’ End could do to improve in this area:
1. Provide frequency expectations at the beginning of the relationship. If I had known the emails were daily, I probably would have had second thoughts about subscribing.
2. Give your subscribers the power of preference. If there were an option to change frequency levels or opt-in/out of different email programs, I would have gladly changed updated to a more manageable level.
In today’s economy it’s easy to get caught up in the ROI of Email Marketing and think that more is better. Frequency in Email requires thoughtful planning and putting yourself in the shoes of your customer. If not addressed in the right way, you could be seeing a dwindling customer list.
