skip to content

← back to the plays

independence4 unconnected · 1 more author in those circles
standing

contested · 3 claims against 2

applies to

b2b and consumer, needs an existing audience

mixed results

confidence

high

evidence

6 claims · 5 articles · 4 receipts

window

2013-04-12 → 2023-09-23

4 builders who never spoke to each other · contested

Decide how often you are allowed to pitch

The members set the dial in opposite directions. One author caps follow-up at seven to ten emails a month with the large majority useful, and reports abandoning a purchase because of relentless pitching, while another says the fear of mailing regularly was costing him a marketing engine and a third publishes daily. The shared test is whether the email would improve the reader's day on its own.

What both sides agree on

  • Apply one test to every email: would this genuinely improve the reader's work or life? If not, do not send it.

Where this splits

One author argues most subscribers never agreed to be pitched repeatedly and caps the frequency, while others treat restraint as the thing costing them revenue and mail daily.

  1. side 01 · 3 claims

    Cap the pitching, subscribers never agreed to it

    Cory Zue · Justin Welsh

    1. 1Hold the follow-up sequence after a lead magnet to something like seven to ten emails in a month, and make the overwhelming majority of them useful with only a small share pushing the paid product.
    2. 2Reject the advice that engaged subscribers want daily contact and that anyone who objects will simply unsubscribe: most people who took your free thing feel no loyalty and never agreed to be pitched repeatedly.
    3. 3Send exactly two emails for a sale, one when it opens and one with a day remaining, adding a third mid-sale at most; beyond that you are only manufacturing annoyance.

  2. side 02 · 2 claims

    Email far more often, restraint is costing you revenue

    Kevin Whelan · Rand Fishkin

    1. 1Get over the fear of emailing your list regularly, because the restraint is costing you the marketing engine.
    2. 2Publish to your list every single day so your name is in front of prospective clients more often than any competitor's.

What it returned

  • 22

    Welsh received 22 emails in 40 days from one sender after downloading a lead magnet he rated highly, and abandoned an intended purchase because of it. His stated preference is 7 to 10 across a month, with 80% to 90% helping the reader and 10% to 20% nudging toward the offer.

  • 24

    Zue's Pegasus sequence was an opening announcement plus a 24-hours-left reminder, and he notes some sellers add a third at the 48-hour mark.

  • Welsh's own case is the counterexample: a sale that was coming was destroyed by pitch after pitch, and he compares the experience to a telemarketer who will not stop calling.

  • Rand Fishkin describes a strange internal bias at SparkToro against emailing people too much, and says overcoming that fear of regular outreach was needed to build a healthier marketing engine.

Sources

the second source

Three plays a week, for the phase you are in

No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.

One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click, and the address is used for this and nothing else.

More in email

all email plays

the second source

Three plays a week, for the phase you are in

No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.

963 corroborated plays to draw from · 3 a week

One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click, and the address is used for this and nothing else.