How Many Emails is Too Many?
I recently saw a posting on ASAE’s Collaborate seeking input on how to manage email messages. The community member noted that they have “too many emails” and shared some of their big ideas on how to manage it for their company-based membership organization.
The next question that came to my mind was: If the staff thinks there are too many emails, what do you think the members think?
As Captain Kirk of “Star Trek” fame once commented: “Too much of anything, even love, is not necessarily a good thing.” While we may view sending many email missives to our members or target audiences a way to show we care, or that we are thinking about them, or that we want to demonstrate value through content sharing, what we really do is overwhelm them with information and emails that need to be managed.
Too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing, as Captain Kirk noted. But how can we find the best balance for communicating without overwhelming our audience? We need to evaluate what our members and stakeholders need to do once they receive an email:
They need to read it.
They need to act on it which means reply, forward, file, or delete.
They need to manage saved emails and therefore, institute a document management system for scheduling deletions.
Let’s face it: most of the time after we save an email, we never look at it again. Yes, dear readers, there are the exceptions to this: “I keep all my emails from the beginning of time and one time I needed one from 15 years ago.” Really? Something that important would be printed out and filed, or it’s an essential document like financial information or power of attorney or a contract.
Like so many things, email is a blessing and a curse. It’s a great way to send attachments but it just creates work for messaging back and forth. Text messaging is excellent for sharing information and having something like a conversation but you don’t have to manage it.
Email can be like sending someone a plant when a loved one dies. It’s a lovely thought but then the recipient has to spend time and energy taking care of the plant. This is why I don’t send plants any longer for any occasion; how is it a gift to make more work for someone?
Perhaps that’s the approach we should have to email. Are we blessing someone with something they need or are we cursing them with making more work? Like all communication plans, picking the right tool for the message is key.
Email can be great for sharing attachments, but maybe an online portal or online community or text would be best for sending reminders or updates. Not everything needs to be an email message nor should it. When we didn’t have online portals and communities and we didn’t have text, we didn’t have much choice but to use email for most communications, but now we have options!
Email is also great for sharing newsletters because you can add images, content, and links to more information. But we should ask ourselves: should the newsletter be on the website? Maybe we send a link to the newest edition via text or online community rather than email. Think of the impact that would have for members and stakeholders; email then becomes a doorway to information and engagement (if we include links to online communities).
When it comes to email, less is more as the saying goes. Don’t send everyone everything. Push information through other online tools rather than email. Encourage engagement by sharing information in online communities and portals rather than via email.
If your tool of choice is email, that’s okay. Just don’t send them every day. Using the proven tools of email management schedules, content management, and audience segmentation will give your email messages more impact.
