A big concern I get about sending more email is this:
“If I send more emails, won’t people get annoyed and unsubscribe?”
Let’s dive into this because it’s a gut-clenching worry that keeps business owners from sending the trust-building emails that will truly benefit their businesses (and bottom lines).
If you email more, will people get annoyed and unsubscribe?
Well, it depends.
First, are you sending promo emails or helpful, educational-style emails?
If you send several promo emails a week…
Or if you only send promo emails (even at a less than weekly frequency)…
Yes, most likely people will unsubscribe. Potentially in droves.
Most of us don’t appreciate getting blasted by BUY, BUY, BUY messages all the time.
I’m a marketer, and I still regularly unsubscribe from email lists that only try and sell me stuff.
Second, do you have the right people on your list?
This is why strategic list building is so important.
Even if you’re sending FREE helpful, educational-style emails about topic X, Y, and Z…
If your subscribers joined to learn about A, B, and C…
Yeah, they might unsubscribe.
And that’s okay!
Take pregnancy products for example. A woman is only pregnant for 9 months at a time. During that time, she reads all the pregnancy topics. After she’s had the baby, that stuff isn’t as relevant, that is until she gets pregnant again.
Relevancy matters too.
(And sometimes that’s outside of your control.)
You’re not going to be relevant to every subscriber for the rest of their lives. Situations change.
Subscribers will outgrow you. Or change directions.
That’s okay!
Other people will grow into you. Or pivot towards your direction.
Ya know, when I was first thinking about writing on this topic, I started by looking at my own email behavior as a subscriber.
And I realized…
I currently get a DAILY fitness newsletter. And I read EVERY. SINGLE. EMAIL.
Not only that –
It’s the email I most look forward to each morning.
I often read it first while enjoying my first cup of coffee.
And I’ve been doing that for nearly 2 months now.
That’s ~60 daily emails.
I’m not annoyed. I haven’t unsubscribed.
I’m excited about those emails.
And if for any reason I didn’t get the email one day, I’d notice. I’d miss it.
Why is that?
Well, for starters…
1. The topics are super relevant for me right now (i.e. strength building and fat loss with weight lifting).
2. He focuses on answering the questions I have. He literally uses a “So-and-so asked… Here’s my answer…” format.
Each email is written in Q&A style.
3. He educates inside the emails. He uses logic, evidence, and his experience to make a really convincing point.
It also helps that the emails are easy to read.
Formatting is good. No massive walls of text. The email’s topic is very focused. The subject lines grab my attention.
I could reasonably say I trust him with this area of expertise.
And yes, he still asks for things in every email.
He promotes his weight-lifting app (always in a way that’s relevant to the topic) at the bottom of the email.
He asks people to send in questions in the PS. ( ← Hello, near-limitless future email topics.)
My point is: Don’t be afraid of sending a weekly email newsletter.
Focus on being helpful. On creating value.
Give people a reason to want you in the inbox.
If you feel good about what you’re sending and people still unsubscribe…
Don’t stress about it.
They aren’t the right people.
And if they didn’t want your help, they’d likely never become a client or customer anyway.
Focus on showing up for the people who open, who click, and who stay.
Those are the people you’re here to serve.
And that’s who will buy your stuff later on.
What to do when someone still gets annoyed or angry about your emails
If you’re sending weekly emails with helpful content and a subscriber gets annoyed with you, they really shouldn’t be on your list anymore anyway.
Take the feedback if there’s something to learn.
Then unsubscribe them from all future emails.
And kindly wish them well.
Sometimes we make mistakes.
And sometimes people just enjoy being difficult (even with the unsubscribe button always available to them).
Either way, handle it with kindness.
