This fear is limiting your email game
The other day, I came across someone complaining that people are unsubscribing from their email list – even though they only send ONE email a month.
It had a "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM?!" vibe to it.
Like: "why are you choosing to leave when you're the one who signed up AND I'm only getting in touch with you once a month?!"
A few things came to mind that I want to share with you:
1 - Unsubscribes are normal
Every email I send gets a handful of unsubscribes and, while it might make a teeny tiny bit sad sometimes, that's just how this works.
I unsubscribe from people's/brand's newsletters all the time. In the same way, people are going to unsubscribe from mine. I have to be okay with it.
2 – People might be unsubscribing not in spite of this person only sending one email a month...but BECAUSE they're only sending one email a month
When you leave 4 weeks between each email, you're giving your subscribers the chance to forget you. And you're giving your competitors the chance to slide right in and fill that gap.
Email can be a short game, sure. But a lot of the time it's a long game.
Your subscribers might not need your product/service right now, but you email them anyway because the day they DO...you want to be the first person/business that comes to mind.
3 – Emailing once a month is not a flex
Unless you're intentionally emailing your list once a month – for example, maybe you have a monthly round-up or maybe it's just a monthly thing (like my private newsletter for Mistakes That Made Me private members)...
Emailing once a month is not going to help you achieve very much.
Think of it like this: you're going to have a much better relationship with the friend who messages you once a week than the friend who messages you once a month. Right?
The same applies to email and the connection we feel with brands/businesses.
4 – Your fear of rejection is losing you money & customers
The worry around unsubscribes isn't really about unsubscribes.
It represents the inherent fear we all have: the fear of being rejected.
And that fear makes us send fewer emails. And fewer emails means fewer sales.
So what do I recommend?
How often should you email your list?
Well, despite everything I've said...I do believe emailing your list once a month is better than not emailing them at all. So if once a month is all you can manage, go for it! (Just make those monthly emails great!)
Ideally, you'd be sending a minimum of one email a week.
But the most important thing is consistency.
Whether you email your list once a week, once a fortnight, or once a month...commit to a schedule and then keep on pressing send.
You've probably noticed I email you more than once a week.
For most of 2024, I've sent 3 emails a week. And 2024 has been the year that I've made the most sales from my email list.
That includes:
Approximately $10K of completely passive digital product and course sales
$22.3K worth of sales from selling my 1:1 email services (to just one business owner)
I started sending better emails in 2024...
I started sending more emails in 2024...
And I started making more money more easily from my emails in 2024.
That's not a coincidence.
Anyway, that's my rant about unsubscribes and email frequency over!
Glad I got that off my chest 🤣
If you want to hear more about my email strategy, contact me here. I'm happy to get into some of the details :)
Eman
PS. I have a couple of spots open for email projects before I'm officially out of office for the summer.
If you've been thinking about working with me...now's the time to get in touch!
Check out my work with me page or contact me here and tell me what's on your mind.
Hey, I'm Eman Ismail – Founder & Head Email Strategist at Eman Copy Co. That’s where we help you take your email list from “has potential” to highly profitable.
Curious about how we can help with your email marketing? Get in touch here