It became something of a running joke: How many times would Catherine Cortez-Masto email me in a single day?
My friends and I kept a tally leading up to the 2022 midterm election (which Senator Cortez-Masto narrowly won). My best friend received 51 emails about her campaign in a 24-hour period.
To be fair to the Senator, not ALL of those emails were sent by her campaign. Many were sent from partner organizations, PACs using her election to raise money for their own program, and other candidates using their lists to raise awareness and garner support for this critical Senate race.
But to the casual observer, it sure looked like Catherine Cortez-Masto was spamming our inboxes.
That’s not a good place to be.
The key to a healthy, ethical, and productive email program is to treat your audience with respect. How do you do that? By giving them content they want to engage with.
Part of treating your audience with respect is finding the right balance for how often to contact them. And there are two major tactical mistakes people make when deciding how often to contact their supporters.
Sending TOO MANY emails
We all hate spam, and increasingly, political emails look, feel, and act like spam. It’s not only frustrating, it hurts your cause.
The worst case scenario is that sending too often could train the email providers’ algorithms to send your emails straight to the spam folder – or worse, blacklist your domain altogether.
But even if your emails are getting through, sending too often will build name recognition in a negative way. People begin to associate your campaign or organization with feeling harassed and invaded.
In a recent survey by Civiqs, 47% of respondents agreed with the statement: “I get too many impersonal emails and text messages from Democratic campaigns that I never signed up for.”
Respondents shared sentiments like:
“It makes me want to never donate again.”
“I did not vote for any of the candidates that were harassing me by email and text.”
“Extremely annoyed and less likely to donate or volunteer.”
It’s clear that spammy practices like sending too many emails are hurting the overall digital fundraising strategy for progressive candidates and causes. And that has to change.
Sending TOO FEW emails
This may seem counterintuitive, but there is such a thing as not emailing your list often enough.
Some people, in reaction to the feeling that there are too many political emails out there, only reach out to their audience once a week, or even once or twice a month.
But if you’re not emailing your list often enough, people stop opening your messages altogether.
Think about your own inbox. You’re likely subscribed to all kinds of mailing lists: political organizations, charitable causes, academic journals, or online retailers. You likely skim your inbox daily and look for the messages that seem important, then leave the rest for later.
Your email audience is no different. It’s common for one supporter to open roughly one out of every five messages you send them.
On average, about 20 to 30% of your list is consistently opening your emails, and it’s not always the same 20%.
If you’re sending too few emails, you’re not giving your audience enough opportunities to follow your work and support it.
Quality over Quantity
Your audience does need to hear from you consistently, and it’s possible to find the right balance.
Your subscribers will forgive a more frequent email tempo if they feel they’re getting something valuable for their time.
If your message:
Connects with their concerns in an authentic way
Speaks to things that are timely and top of mind for your audience
Shares resources or information that is useful to the reader
Includes free content (videos, blogs, etc.) they can share with friends and loved ones
Gives them a concrete way to take meaningful action
...then people will be happy to get your emails.
I often hear from clients that people love the emails they send out, that they feel refreshing and hopeful, authentic and informative.
Recently, a client running a national bus tour shared that a supporter flagged them down in the parking lot, excited to tell them she had been reading all of their emails and was so thankful for their work. She gave them a $20 cash contribution on the spot.
I live for that feedback because it means I’ve helped my client find their voice and connect with people in a way that funds their mission.
It’s essential that you find the right mix for your audience and strike the balance between too many and too few emails.
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