One of the most common questions that I receive is “how often should I do a newsletter or other broad communication?” Of course, like any good consultant, my answer is “it depends.”  Luckily, there are some logical places to start when developing your plan. Answer these few questions for yourself, and see what insight you gain:

How often is someone in your target audience grappling with the very problems you can help solve?

My wife was recently introduced to a website with information about nutrition, exercise, and healthy living. When she signed up for their e-mail list she began receiving one or two messages per day. At first we were surprised, but it occurred to me that their expertise is something people could benefit from each and every day — we are all constantly dealing with choices about how we manage our health. I am sure that they get a fair amount of “unsubscribes” because they communicate to their list very frequently. However, I am also sure they successfully become the primary source of information for many people in their target audience. They simply behave as though they exist to provide ALL of the guidance their followers crave in the area of their expertise. 

For comparison, I am not constantly faced with problems or issues related to my auto insurance. Receiving a tip every day would seem ridiculous. Once per month or so might be a better fit.

“Where” do you intend to communicate with your audience?

If you feel your clients and prospects are best reached through direct mail, monthly or quarterly frequency is more common. Via e-mail, a higher frequency may be welcomed (assuming the answer to question #1 is a higher frequency).  Through social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, frequencies of weekly, daily, and even multiple times per day are not uncommon.

You may already be familiar with the idea that sometimes e-mail newsletters, blog posts, and social media updates can work in conjunction with one another. This post does not deal with that complexity, but your answers to the above questions will give you a starting point for how often your clients and other contacts would value hearing from you.