“Does your brand splash around and do cannonballs off the side of the pool, or do you dive straight in and swim with a smooth, steady stroke”?
Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your personal brand, reputation or business. Trying to rush it, bombard people with it and be too much in people’s face is NOT going to make them notice you faster or get them to buy more consistently. In fact, think about all the emails and newsletters that you now block, delete and unsubscribe to.
Information overload
People tell me all the time they are starting to only follow and get emails from people and companies that really connect with them and provide them with just enough timely information that they want and need. They say they are suffering from ’email exhaustion”.
There are some really great professionals and companies who I like and admire but I just don’t want multiple daily emails. How many relentless reminders, repeated offers, reframed messages, offers ending, multiple articles just posted does it take to get someones attention or get someone to tune you out? What’s the best practice here and how does frequency help or hinder brand development and recognition?
I spent two decades in broadcast radio and we suggested a certain frequency of commercials to make enough impact on a listener that either made them respond or remember. Their schedule was designed for making impressions and recall, or an immediate response to a timely offer.
More and more people I am speaking to are putting new boundaries on emails and email marketing. We know how important and effective email marketing is but how often and for what reason do we need to be sending them?
I am on my social platforms a few times per day, post two to three blog articles weekly on my deborahshanetoolbox.com, as well as write for several other business, career and marketing sites and try to send a dedicated, purposeful email out to my permission based email list monthly. How much more do I need to be out there to grow my brand and authority?
I believe the consistency of your activity, length and content of your messages and finding just the right frequency develops a brand organically over time.
There’s no need to rush or bombard people with your brand. Let it unfold and develop naturally and be consistent enough that people look forward to your messages, rather than unsubscribe from them.
Author:
Deborah Shane is an author, entrepreneur, radio host and expert. She is the leader of her business education and professional development company, Train with Shane, hosts a weekly business radio show, and writes for several national business, career and marketing blogs, and websites. Her book Career Transition-make the shift-the 5 steps to successful career reinvention comes out in early 2011. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogtalkradio at Deborah Shane, or visit www.deborahshane.com.
