Ask any professional how often you should utilize your email contact list and chances are you will receive a myriad of responses ranging from “it depends” to “once a week.” The truth is this—there is no “one-size-fits-all” answer because no e-mail program is exactly like another. Weekly e-mail may work for one company, but that may be too often for another or not enough for a third. How do you decide how often is right for your organization?

1) Make sure you are sending information your customers wants to hear.

It’s a good goal to establish an optimum frequency for your business, but it is more important to establish yourself as a trustworthy sender. If you are sending something your customer would truly want to know, great. Otherwise, it becomes yet another piece of mailbox-clogging spam.

2) Establish expectations.

From the beginning, explain your e-mail program to potential subscribers before they opt in. Make sure you highlight the frequency and state it in raw numbers, for example, "two to four times a week" instead of "several times a week.” Also make sure that the content sticks closely to the topic of each email. If content become vague or rambling, it loses its value and begins to look like spam.

3) Keep your promises.

No matter what you promise during the opt-in process, you must honor it throughout the life cycle of your e-mail relationship with your customers. Resist the temptation to ramp up e-mail messages during certain periods—or to lose your communication continuum by not regularly sending information.

Excerpted from a web article by Stefan Pollard