Do you really need to send out regular newsletters?

Tips and statistics to make sure your mailing list is working for you

It’s often said that a key skill in copywriting is brevity. So, with that in mind, the simple answer is yes. Yes, you do need to send out regular newsletters. You absolutely do.

And I know. Believe me, I know. Whether your target schedule is daily, weekly or monthly communications, newsletter time always comes around sooner than it’s supposed to and you’d very much be forgiven for thinking something along the lines of, “I swear I just sent out the last one! How bad would it be to skip it just this once…?”

If that sounds familiar – and I’m prepared to bet that it does – you might well be wondering what’s the worst that could happen if you let things slide on occasion. After all, as lovely as it would be to think so, it’s not actually that likely that your mailing list is frantically scanning their inbox for their weekly missive, feverishly hitting refresh and wondering why you’ve forsaken them. But that still doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to let communications go patchy. Here’s why.

Why do we send newsletters?

To answer that question, let's take it back a step and ask why do we maintain a mailing list at all?

That’s an easy one. Because 4 billion people use email every day. Because email has an ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. Because by the end of 2023, revenue from email marketing is predicted to reach $11 billion. And because we can’t access any of that great stuff without growing and maintaining a mailing list in the first place.

Mailing lists are cost effective and they’re not subject to the whims of social media algorithms. They are every online marketer’s best friend. But in order to make email marketing work for you you have to… you know… send emails.

And then there’s the small matter of the 70/30 rule. The 70/30 rule states that 70% of your content should be information that your users find helpful – how-to tips and tricks, money saving ideas, giveaways and offers; that sort of thing. 30% should be promotional content. 

While it’s more usually applied to social media marketing, the 70/30 rule is often a sensible precaution for any form of marketing that involves opening up a conversation between you and your customers. If users feel “sold-to” every time they hear from you, they’re more likely to want to stop hearing from you. So saving up email communication for product launches, sales funnels and the like – in other words, using email solely to communicate content that benefits you – is not a great way to build rapport. On the contrary: it’s a great way to persuade people to unsubscribe.

Hence, newsletters.

But I don’t know what to write!

Ah, if only there existed a group of professionals whose job it was solely to write things that keeps you connected to your target customers…

But I digress.

(Although if you’re having trouble coming up with ideas for regular communications with your list, you might be surprised at how affordable it is to hire a copywriter to take over on your behalf. Considering the amount of time it frees up in your working week, the investment basically pays for itself.)

See, here’s the thing. This blog you're reading updates monthly, and its purpose is twofold. First of all, it’s clearly here to demonstrate my copywriting expertise and reassure visitors to my website that I know what I’m doing. But secondly – and no less important – it’s here to keep me honest. You see, it’s very tempting to let continuous professional development slide in the face of the multiple conflicting demands of the average workday, and – especially in a fast-moving industry like marketing – it’s all too easy to get left behind and not even notice until some way down the line. Writing a monthly blog means I have to keep my finger on the pulse. I have to keep reading industry experts. I have to keep going back to the well. If I don’t, I have nothing to write.

I’m prepared to bet good money it’s the same in your industry. 

You probably follow a few high-level professionals on social media. What are they talking about this month? You could write about that – digest it for your readers, give them your thoughts. What industry newsletters are landing in your inbox? You signed up to them for a reason, because they have useful insights and advice to offer, but most weeks you’d need an extra 24 hours in the day to get a chance to read them. Communicating with your mailing list is the perfect justification for blocking out an hour or so to give them the once-over. Even if inspiration doesn’t immediately strike, it’s not exactly wasted time.

What expertise do you bring to the table that might benefit your customers? Gift shops might curate a monthly “what to buy for the [X demographic] in your life” list that handily points to a couple of items that they just happen to have in stock. Florists could feature a flower of the week, with a bit of information about where it comes from and how to use it in an arrangement. Accountants might unpick the tax code, one impenetrable layer at a time, in terms that the layman might have an outside chance of understanding. 

Be the email that your mailing list wants to receive. That’s what you write.

How often is too often?

Again, the 70/30 rule can be a decent benchmark here. If you have the sort of industry where regular, actionable tips and tricks would be relatively easy to turnaround – and the workforce to put that into practice – a short daily digest is probably not going to be unwelcome. (Daily high-pressure sales emails are likely to prompt an unsubscribe, though. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. And for the rest of your life.)

That’s a big “if”, though. According to Hubspot, the most usual frequency for email marketing communication is weekly (33.33%), with daily and monthly communications coming in equal at 13.33% each. 

But those numbers apply to all email campaigns, regardless of company size and resource. Small businesses and non-profits are much more likely to be emailing once a month, and that’s also fine. In fact, it could actually work in your favour: one survey found that the number one way consumers felt that brands could improve their email marketing campaigns was… to email less frequently. The same survey found that over-emailing was not only the top way to prompt an unsubscribe – it was also (whisper it) a great way to get marked as spam.

​As ever, the needs and desires of your target audience should drive your campaign. As Ivan LaBianca points out:

Your email marketing frequency should be based on your typical customer's purchase cycle and profile. [...] 6.21 emails per week may make sense for fashion brands. Clothing has a fast repeat purchase frequency, and some people take fashion VERY seriously. Besides, even when fashion consumers aren’t buying, they may still enjoy browsing. On the other hand, a SaaS company emailing customers 6.21 times per week would be insane. People buy business software once, and then need an occasional update, training, or upsell. Only a select few are going to want near daily emails.
(LaBianca, 2022)

So, if once a month is the minimum viable turnaround period for your email newsletter, don’t despair. As long as you’re committed to sending regular, value-add, interesting (and appropriately promotional) content, erring on the side of less often may actually be the best strategy when it comes to keeping your customers happy.

Remember, though, that you could be presiding over the greatest email marketing campaign in the history of mankind and you’ll still get unsubscribes every time you click send. Email list attrition is unavoidable. Lists deplete by an average of 25-30% per year, so as long as your unsubscribes don’t outnumber your fresh subscribers, you’re likely doing just fine. 

Higher than that, and you might want to rethink your frequency or content or both.​

Honestly, though, regular email communications do not have to be a chore. Yes, they have a tendency to need attention at exactly the wrong moment (I for one have worked in organisations that could be quiet all week and then go completely postal on the day I’d set aside for writing the newsletter), but the same could be said for literally every other regular task on your to-do list, surely? And a newsletter, if you make it work for you, can be a great way of connecting with what it is you love about your industry and finding ways to communicate that to the world. And since the whole goal of the enterprise is that your reward for sharing your enthusiasm is people paying you money for the thing you enjoy – what’s not to like about that?

This is why I love them. Can’t get enough of them. 

And if you’d like me to write yours for you, just say the word.

let's chat

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LaBianca, Ivan: “14 Email Marketing Frequency Best Practices for 2022”. www.theseventhsense.com. 1 February 2022. ​