Sending out a never ending string of follow up emails might feel a bit spammy to you, and it is. There is no magic number, or one size fits all – I tend to stop after five or six follow up’s.

With that being said, every industry and list is going to be different… it all comes down to what you’re offering. I always ask myself this: Am I trying to sell them on something they already use, or will this be new to them?

If it’s something they are already familiar with and using (some version of), that justifies a larger amount of follow up emails that are appropriately spaced out.

An example:

If I’m trying to generate leads for an architectural rendering service, I know that 90% or more of architects are already using some type of renderings; therefore, I have no problem following up more often. The thought process is that they are already somewhat interested in my service, as they are probably already using it. I just need to get in touch with them at the right time – such as when a new project pops up that needs renderings, or their current renderer is booked and they need to look elsewhere. By continuously following up, I can stay in front of them for a month or two and hope that “perfect time” lines up close to one of my emails.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, if I’m trying to generate interest for something that will be brand new to them, I’m more likely to send them a shorter sequence of emails so I’m not bothersome to them.

An example:

If I’m trying to generate leads for a new SaaS product that sends automated emails, for example, I’m not sure how familiar the prospect is with automated email marketing, or if they have any interest in outbound marketing at all. Now, I know all the benefits a consistent flow of high quality leads can offer, but they may not see it the same way as me. In this case, I’d send a 4-5 step email campaign with each email spaced out between 3-5 days. The goal here is to portray a different benefit in each email – without being spammy or overly persistent so that the prospect is bothered by me.

“Without follow up emails, I wouldn’t have 80% of the clients I do right now. If you’re only going to send one message to a prospect, you might as well spend your time elsewhere. The power of email marketing is largely due to the ability to automate follow up messages to be sent out.”

In this example with Jesse, he describes how powerful follow up emails are when reaching out to cold contacts. To improve his cold email response rates, he devised a sequence of 7 follow up messages and increased response rate by 4x.