Guest Blog by Lane Harbin, Senior Content Marketing Manager at Campaign Monitor
The average person receives around 121 emails per day or more than 44,000 emails a year. No matter how you look at it, that’s a ton of emails for one person to read.
The sheer number of emails we receive on a daily basis makes it perfectly understandable why plenty of people get burned out by emails. Sadly, email fatigue is a reality that all marketers have to face.
So, how exactly should email marketers take on the challenge of their subscribers experiencing email fatigue? Well, the key is in finding the frequency that suits your entire list. It’s not about how many emails you send, but how often (or how seldom) you send them.
If you’re looking into unlocking the right frequency for your next campaigns, here are three tips for you.
1. Cut down on emails.
Want to prevent your subscribers from getting tired, or worse, getting annoyed from all the emails that you send? Then, the first and most obvious thing you should do is limit the number of emails you send.
If you send out weekly newsletters or promotional campaigns, consider changing it up. Combine similar content or promotions and send them out on a bi-weekly or monthly basis rather than weekly.
Don’t cram emails down your subscribers’ throats. Nobody wants what is essentially the same email sent to them over and over and over again. It’s better to send limited emails that provide value instead of sending countless emails that do nothing for your subscribers.
2. Take advantage of preference centers.
Another way to combat email fatigue is to give your subscribers more control outside of the binary “subscribe – unsubscribe” option. You can offer your subscribers other options that include (but are not limited to):
- Choosing their preferred frequency (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, etc.)
- Subscribing and unsubscribing to your other campaigns
- Pausing emails (when they just need a break but don’t want to unsubscribe)
You can easily provide these options to your subscribers by setting up a preference center. Essentially, a preference center is a way your subscribers can choose how often they want to receive emails, what kind of emails they are interested in, and even change their email address.
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Once you’ve set up a preference center, you can let your existing subscribers know about it by sending them an email. Ask them to update their preferences, and use this new information to send them content that is more relevant to them.
For new subscribers, on the other hand, make sure that they are aware that they can customize their preferences from the get go. Include the preference center on your subscription forms.
3. Segment your lists.
Sending all your newsletters and all your promotions to your entire list works—until it doesn’t. As an email marketing strategy, it simply isn’t sustainable. What is sustainable, though, is segmentation.
To curb email fatigue, segment your lists into groups. Then, segment those groups even further by finding the more engaged subscribers who are likely to get enticed by your promotions and make a purchase.
Here’s a scenario. You have an online store that sells athletic wear, and you have both a men’s line and a women’s line. You have a big holiday sale coming up, so instead of emailing the event to your entire list, you segment your list by gender. You send an email promoting your men’s line to your engaged male subscribers, and you send an email promoting your women’s line to your engaged female subscribers.
It’s simple, but effective.
Wrap
Gone are the days when marketers email blasted their way into their subscribers’ inboxes. Today, sending emails is all about the right timing. While there is no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to email sending frequency, these tips will definitely help you tailor your campaigns so that your subscribers don’t get email fatigue.
Author Bio:
Lane Harbin is the Senior Content Marketing Manager at Campaign Monitor, an easy-to-use email marketing platform that empowers marketers to send targeted campaigns that grow their business. When she’s not geeking out over email marketing, she enjoys binge-listening to podcasts, catching up on the latest tech news, and constantly rearranging her living room.