In my previous posts I have spoken about the structure of the affiliate newsletters, the three Ps to remember at all times, the necessity for clear distinction between customer-oriented vs affiliate-geared promos, the art of getting attention, and other things. Today I would like to address a basic, yet very important question — that of the frequency with which you want to send your affiliate newsletters out.
It is important to emphasize that the main problem with the choice of frequency lays precisely in the fact that the decision is most frequently based on the desire of the merchant. A better approach is to listen to your affiliates, and base your decision on how often they want to hear from you.
Let’s turn to AffStat 2009, where affiliates were asked to respond to the how often question. Here’s the pie chart that illustrates their distribution of their choices:
Aha! So, the majority of affiliates (83%) want to hear from their affiliate program managers not more than once a month (44%), or once a week (39%). To be honest, the number of those that voted for the once-a-week option does surprise me, but this is certainly great data to have.
Based on the above stats, and my personal experience, I would recommend starting with monthly newsletters, and then also experimenting with a semi-monthly (once every two weeks) option. At the end of the message you want to always include a line soliciting your affiliates feedback on the newsletter, and what you can improve.
Best of luck, and, as always, if you have any opinions to share, be my guest by posting them in the comments area below.
Yes, the weekly does surprise me too. I can definitely see why coupon/discount sites would be interested in that frequency.
I send out a monthly newsletter that has a very decent open rate. Also, if I need to communicate anything new or a special announcement, there is always the broadcast option.
All in all, for a service like ours, that seems to work nicely. We get a good amount of feedback.
Bella, thank you for your comment. I think most couponers try to automate the coupon/deal/discount updating process, and not many will rely on newsletters. But again, this is just my speculation. Worth polling affiliates to find out the exact data.
Ron, thanks for chiming in too. What channels are you using for broadcasting?
Sorry for the delay.
If there is a special announcement or change in our program we can quickly send a notification email via AWeber’s “broadcast” function.
It’s a quick way to send out a one-time email to your subscribers.
As always, thank you for the information.
I’m with you now, Ron. Thanks for clarifying.