Over Two Dozen Emails for Mother's Day.

The Hunt
As marketers we all understand the concept of reaching your email recipients at the right time and with the right messages (well the good ones that is.) Knowing just how many messages you should be sending to get your promotion in front of your recipients before they start tagging your message as SPAM is not so much science or art as it is common sense. In advance of Mother's Day this past weekend, a very well known online retailer, FTD.com and their partners, slammed my inbox with countless offers delivered in a multitude of formats.

The Skunk
Beginning May 1st, I received 26 email communications from FTD.com and their sending partners. Now not all were from the official FTD.com website, at least 50% came from other sending partners that perhaps have some sort of affiliate relationship with this brand. Being part of the email marketing world, I realized that FTD.com wasn't responsible for the full spectrum of floral offerings delivered but for the every-day consumer, when the sending name contains FTD they are going to assume that the message is coming from the brand itself.

At first I just started deleting the messages but after I had received 8 messages before May 5, and with 5 more days to go before Mother's Day, I thought I would keep track of the total - just for giggles. Boy was I amazed at the volume that was sent before the big day. I wonder what damage was done as far as recipients unsubscribing both from the actual FTD.com emails and that of their partners.

The Resolution
Remember that increasing frequency can sometimes mean more sales however; you run a greater risk with damaging your sending reputation if the recipients start tagging your emails as spam or fail to open your communications. ISPs look at both of these metrics when determining what type of marketer you are and how deserving your messages are for their customer's inbox, bulk folder or worse - not delivered at all. It is not uncommon for an ISP to take delivery of your messages and simply not forward along to the recipient if their classification processes deem your message as unsolicited...that's just the way it is.

Your reputation with the ISPs aside, the rapid-fire email approach to message frequency will damage more than your ability to get your message into your customer's inbox. Once you harm the perception of your brand by over communicating, it doesn't really matter what you send at a later date, your brand can be tarnished and future emails simply not read.

You should also be very aware of the sending frequency of your affiliates and partners - especially when they may be using a "from name" that is similar to your official brand "from name." Remember the customer will most likely not realize that FTD.com and FTD Special Offer is not coming from the same sender.

If you don't know what and when your partners are sending, you need to start tracking them. Your well thought out email strategy can quickly be derailed if your recipient's inbox is flooded with similar and multiple offers that appear to be from you. I suggest that you learn more about tracking your competition with a product from Email Data Source called Alerts. You can even sign-up for one free Alert (no strings attached) to help you track messages that your affiliates or partners may be sending. This is also a good way to see if anyone is spoofing your "from name" and sending unauthorized messages.