Why Consistent Newsletters Build Trust (and How to Avoid Spamming)

When organizations talk about marketing priorities, email is often the first thing to get dropped. It feels small compared to social ads or big events. But when crunch time comes—launching a new product, announcing a fundraiser—suddenly email becomes urgent.

That’s a mistake.

Here’s why: inboxes are built on habit. If your subscribers aren’t used to seeing your name once a week, your big announcement won’t land in their primary inbox. It’ll slide into Promotions or Spam because your engagement history is weak.

I once worked with a nonprofit that made this mistake at scale. They managed 16 separate mailing lists. When fundraising season hit, they blasted some people 32 times in a month. The addresses were real. The intention was good. But the experience? Customers HATED them. It wasn’t until the FCC got involved that leadership realized how far they’d pushed it.

Now here’s the flip side. Regular, steady communication works. Consistent newsletters build reliability, and reliability builds trust. Mailchimp reports that the average open rate hovers around 21% (advisorpedia.com). If you’re disciplined, you can outperform that simply by training your list to expect your emails.

Think about it: your newsletter can be a one-stop shop for updates, blog highlights, product news, and curated insights. Done well, it doesn’t annoy people—it makes their lives easier.

The key is balance. Once a week is often the sweet spot. Enough to keep you relevant, and your customer base opening emails. Not enough to overwhelm.

So if your email strategy only kicks in during emergencies, it’s already too late. Build the habit now so your list is primed when it matters most.

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