Email Marketing: How Much is Too Much?


I have a special new email address. It's in addition to my primary email address and it's where I tell online marketers who want my business, to send their mailings.

I didn't want to do it. I didn't want anyone to be excluded from the group. I'm sure the online marketers are very nice people with great big hearts. And I'm sure that when I receive those frenzied emails with subjectlines like, "Dina, Last Chance to Attend the Hottest Seminar This Week!" these folks don't realize that they've been relegated to my Not Urgent or Important email account.

Sorry, guys. I didn't want to sequester you off like I did, but your nerve-rattling emails fly in every day. You send me emails EVERY DAY! That's really not right. That's more than I hear from my clients!

Jenna Glatzer, freelance web writer and marketing genius in my humble opinion, said it best when she said that email marketing is a great way to build your brand, but you shouldn't be sending out those mailings more than once a month, maybe twice. Jenna, if you ever read this... I'm a huge fan and you make an unbelievably great point.

If my favorite internet marketing guru sends me an email once or twice a month, that gives me a chance to really look forward to whatever terrific insights he has to share. When that email finally lands... oh boy, am I excited! If he's offering a special promotion... well, maybe I'd better sign up! Because if I don't, the next one's not coming around until NEXT MONTH!

Now that I have quarantined the overzealous emailers in a new email box, I have the pleasure of watching them duke it out for the prestigious title of Most Emails In a Day. I shouldn't poke fun but I can't help myself. You're telling me what a smart marketer you are, and that all of your offers are so rare and highly sought-after. But I know that if I miss today's promotion, tomorrow there will be another one just like it. The day after that, same thing. That's a great way to keep me procrastinating forever. Thanks!

How often do you email your potential customers? Do you realize how intrusive and badgersome frequent emailing can be? When folks share their email address with you, that's a pretty great privilege! Don't clutter up their personal space. Why? Because clutter eventually gets packed up in boxes and stowed out of sight.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Find out how crisp, targeted copywriting can make a world of difference for your business. Dina Giolitto is a Copywriting Consultant with ten years of experience. Visit http://www.wordfeeder.com for free tips on branding, copywriting, marketing and more. Request a project quote by email: [email protected].