Consistency is key

How often should you contact your personal mailing list?

Often enough for them to remember who you are.

Today I noticed an email from someone whose name I recognized from a forum, but it was not someone with whom I correspond. I opened the email to learn that I was a member of his mailing list. There was a link in the message to, of course, unsubscribe from the list as is required by CAN-SPAM laws, but also a link to check the details of my subscription. Looking at where and when I signed up for the list, I STILL couldn't remember subscribing, nor could I even conjure up the reason why I would have subscribed in the first place. I wasn't particularly interested in the topic of his message in my inbox, so I unsubscribed.

Please, please, please ... build and develop a relationship with your subscribers. I recommend doing so by: 1. maintaining contact often enough for them to remember who you are, and 2. sticking to the topic that got them to subscribe in the first place. Don't put out an autoresponder series about cooking, then send out messages about NASCAR racing. It leaves the subscribers feeling like they've fallen victim to the old "bait and switch" routine: lure in a sucker with one proposition, then shove a different one in their face once they are in. They will lose trust in you, and they will unsubscribe in a heartbeat.

If you run out of things to talk about, use PLR articles for ideas, or personalize and rewrite them when pressed for time. But stick with the topic you started out with.