“I love getting irrelevant emails from my association every day”! (Said no member, ever).

We all work hard to keep members informed and engaged, showcasing the value of membership. But in the quest to communicate effectively, there’s a very common misstep that can very easily backfire: sending too many emails.

It’s well-intentioned. After all, members  probably do want to know about upcoming events, progress on advocacy efforts, and industry scuttlebutt.

But when emails flood their inbox too frequently, members will start to tune out (not may – will). Worse, they may unsubscribe entirely – cutting themselves off from those valuable updates. And once a member disengages like that, it’s harder for them to see your association’s value in action.

Then when renewal time rolls round…

Too Many Emails = Member Fatigue

Brand awareness is good. Brand fatigue is bad.

When members feel overwhelmed by the volume of emails, they stop paying attention. It’s like walking past a shop that has a ‘SALE!’ sign every day—eventually, you stop noticing. And when the day comes that you have an important update to share, your email may be sitting unread among dozens of ignored messages.

Even worse? If too many members ignore, delete, or mark your emails as spam, some email providers (like Gmail and Outlook) may start filtering your messages into junk or promotions folders, reducing your reach even further. This means that even members who want to stay informed may not be seeing your emails. To monitor this, check your email deliverability metrics (such as inbox placement rates and spam complaint rates) in your email platform’s reporting dashboard.

How Many Emails is Too Many?

The right number of emails depends on a number of things. But my personal opinion is if you’re sending more than two emails a week to your members, there should be an extremely compelling reason why (compelling for them, not you).

If your emails are valuable, timely, and personalised, members may welcome more frequent updates. But if they’re mostly promotional (“buy this, sign up for that”), or you’re blasting your entire audience with every email that you send, you’ll wear out their patience quickly.

While there’s no magic number that works for every association, a reasonable rule of thumb is:

📌 1-2 emails per week max, for general communications
📌 More for highly engaged audiences (like segmented groups who have opted into specific updates)
📌 Less for promotional emails (unless they’re somehow directly relevant to the recipient).

Give more than you ask, and your members won’t mind so much when the asks land in their inbox.

Are Your Members Switching You Off?

It’s often overlooked in favour of more positive metrics like clicks and opens, but you should be monitoring your unsubscribe rates. If it’s going up, think about why that might be (hint – look inward!)

Also, keep an eye on spam complaints. If recipients start marking your emails as spam, it signals frustration and can damage your sender reputation – impacting your deliverability to your entire audience.

But don’t be lulled into thinking that if your audience aren’t unsubscribing, then you’re golden – recipients have to be REALLY sick of hearing from you to go to the bother of unsubscribing. Is there a silent majority just deleting your email as soon as they see them,  because they know it’ll be just another promotional email, or not relevant to them?

ABS (Always Be Segmenting)

One of the biggest mistakes I see is associations sending everything to everyone. Not every email needs to go to your entire mailing list! I’m focusing mainly on members in this article, but when you think of your mailing list you should be thinking of everybody – member or non-member.

At a minimum, you should be segmenting your email list by:

Members vs. Non-Members – So you’re not sending valuable content that should be behind a member wall to non-members, and so you’re not promoting membership to those who already have it.
Location (State/Territory) – So you’re not advertising an in-person Melbourne event to members in Perth.

I also recommend segmenting your members on tenure for certain campaigns. Your new and first year members need different messaging (onboarding, welcome content, and guidance on getting the most out of their membership). Long term members might not need to be reminded about core benefits, but appreciate deeper engagement, leadership opportunities or exclusive content.

The more you segment—by engagement level, interests, past event attendance, or career stage—the better the member experience. Wouldn’t you rather receive one email from your association that was highly relevant and useful to you than five that weren’t? I always say, ‘we are not the member’ – but this is one of the rare occasions where I suggest thinking about how we would like what we’re asking our members to tolerate!

Optimise your segmentation as much as you can, so that your emails are as valuable and relevant to the recipient as possible.

TL;DR: Sender Fewer Emails, Send Better Emails

• Instead of sending multiple scattergun emails, consider sending a well-crafted ‘hero’ email each week that includes key updates in a concise, easy-to-skim format
• Segment effectively, so that members receive only the emails that are relevant to them
• Set a schedule to review your email performance at least monthly or quarterly, tracking trends over time to identify patterns and adjust accordingly
• Balance promotional content with value, so that members feel that opening your emails is worth their time.

Remember – Your Emails Reflect Your Association

Members experience their association in many ways—through events, resources, advocacy, and yes, email. Email is an incredibly powerful and comparatively cheap tool in the member engagement toolbox – IF it’s used well.

If your emails are consistently valuable, engaging, and well-timed, members will see them as a valuable part of their membership and welcome them when they land in their inbox. But if they become an annoyance, members may disengage not just from emails, but from the association itself.

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Did reading this make you sweat a little? If it hit a little close to home, you’re not alone—many associations struggle with finding the right balance. I specialise in helping associations refine their membership communications and create effective, member-focused engagement strategies. Go ahead and get in touch if you’d like to talk about yours.   

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