Systems matter.
A coworking operator’s days are packed with tasks, decisions, and responsibilities. So, anything that isn’t systemized will eventually slip through the cracks.
Email marketing is no exception.
Without a structured approach, you’ll send emails inconsistently and unstrategically. And when that happens, engagement drops, opportunities are lost, and your ROI plummets.
Creating a simple, repeatable email marketing schedule keeps you showing up in your audience’s inbox in all the right ways—balancing frequency, quality, and intentionality.
Here’s how to create an email marketing schedule that works.
Imagine you get a bunch of emails from a company one week and then hear nothing for the next few weeks.
If their communication is too few and far between, you’re not going to build much of a connection with that brand, and it’s safe to say they won’t be top of mind for you.
On the other hand, it can also be annoying if they overcommunicate or share things that aren’t relevant to you.
Inconsistent and untargeted marketing email communication is a bad practice. It can confuse your subscribers, diminish the impact of your messages, and erode trust.
Having a well-planned email marketing schedule builds consistency and, equally importantly, helps make it easier for you to manage things by systemizing what you’re sending, when, why, and to whom.
Even a simple email marketing schedule is great for:
Think of it in terms of the Four Ws: who, what, why, and when.
Here’s how to create a simple but effective email marketing schedule.
Remember, your email schedule isn’t just about when you’re going to communicate. It’s also about what you’re sending to whom and why.
So, before you start scheduling emails, get clear on what you want to achieve and who you're communicating with.
This is the “who” (or whom) part of the email marketing equation.
You shouldn’t be sending the same emails to everyone on your list. For example, it wouldn’t make sense to send a promotional offer to an existing member.
So, you need to segment your audience. The possibilities are virtually endless when it comes to segmentation, but at a minimum, you should be able to distinguish between:
With your segments defined, you can plan targeted email campaigns more accurately and without the risk of overlap.
At this stage, it’s time to dive into why you’re sending emails. These messages can serve purposes like:
Each objective will influence the type of content you send, its frequency, and the segments of your audience you target.
With the who and why established, you can now start looking at what emails to send out.
At a high level, there are two kinds of marketing emails:
Since automated emails are distributed automatically, you won’t have to map them out in your monthly schedule. So, we’ll focus exclusively on broadcast emails in this article.
Broadcast emails typically fall into a few categories, including:
If you want to dive deeper into both broadcasts and automations, check out this article: The 5 Types of Email Content You Need for Your Coworking Space.
Building a content calendar isn’t just a good idea—it’s essential.
Trying to manage an email marketing schedule without a content calendar is like juggling flaming tennis balls with one hand tied behind your back.
In any given month, you’ll have multiple different types of emails being distributed on different days. Beyond that, though, you’ll also need to track and manage each email, including:
Your content calendar helps you plan ahead, maintain consistency, and make sure your emails align with your marketing goals.
Don’t go old-school with a hand-written schedule.
Instead, pick a project management tool for your content calendar. This will make things much easier to manage, especially if you have a team involved with your email marketing process.
Tools like Monday, Trello, or Clickup are simple, inexpensive options.
It’s also a good idea to create templates for different email types to streamline the content creation process, ensure consistency with your brand identity, and make each email feel familiar to your audience.
If you don’t have to reinvent the wheel with each email distribution, you’re going to save a ton of time.
Start by mapping out key dates, events, and content themes for the upcoming months.
If possible, try to plan three months ahead at any given time. This will give you more visibility on what needs to be done and when, and it’ll keep you from scrambling at the last minute.
Consider things like:
Align your email schedule with broader objectives, like promoting new services, filling vacancies during slower periods, or sharing limited-time offers.
Balance different types of emails to keep your content fresh and engaging. Avoid sending multiple promotional emails in a row to prevent subscriber fatigue.
When it comes to the focus of your emails, consider tapping into relevant moments, holidays, industry events, and local happenings to increase the relevance of your emails.
On the other hand, it’s also a good idea to map out any blackout dates for distribution. You should avoid sending emails during periods like:
Integrating your email efforts with other marketing channels amplifies your message and keeps consistency across all touchpoints.
Sync your email content with social media posts, blog articles, and promotions.
For example, when you’re promoting an upcoming event, make sure it's highlighted across all platforms simultaneously for maximum reach.
Consistent messaging and visuals reinforce your branding and make your campaigns more effective.
Maximize your resources by repurposing content across different channels.
You can:
Your email marketing shouldn’t happen in a silo. It’s a powerful amplification tool. Use it accordingly.
If you’ve got a team helping you with your email marketing, creating a basic workflow will help reduce delays and overlap.
Unless you’re outsourcing this work to a contractor, you’re probably leaning on your in-house team pretty heavily to get things done.
Like you, they’ve got a lot on the go, so making this process simple will help you get buy-in and keep things from going off the rails.
Clearly define who’s responsible for each aspect of your email campaigns, from writing and design to review and approval.
Establish a workflow that includes checkpoints for feedback and final sign-off.
This clarity prevents last-minute scrambles and keeps your quality high.
Work backward from your planned send dates to set milestones for content creation, design, review, and testing, and factor in buffer time for unforeseen delays.
Remember, you should be planning three months ahead and working at least one month ahead.
Today, you should know what you’re sending 12 weeks from now, and you should be working on emails that will be distributed 4 weeks from now.
Weekly team meetings can also help keep everyone aligned and address any challenges promptly.
Finally, we arrive at the fourth W: when to send your emails.
There are two factors you need to consider at this point:
It’s entirely up to you how frequently you send emails. Your bandwidth will be a big factor in this decision. That said, here are a few general rules of thumb:
With your monthly frequency locked down, turn your attention to the days of the week and times of the day when you’ll be sending.
This is a whole other can of worms.
Think about this…
Have you ever noticed a flood of emails hit your inbox, all right around the same time of day? When that happens, do you open all of them or just choose one or two?
Case in point: the timing of your emails can significantly impact their effectiveness.
Sending emails at the right moment increases the likelihood that your message will be opened, engaged with, and acted on.
Here are a few tips for how to get this right.
If you’ve already got a track record of sending emails to your audience, review your email analytics to identify when your subscribers are most responsive.
Look for patterns in open rates and click-through rates across different days and times. It’s also wise to consider time zone differences if your audience is spread across various regions.
Fear not—you don’t need to be a metrics whiz to figure this out. Most email marketing platforms will make this data easily available to you.
If you’re just getting started with email marketing, you won’t have much data to work with yet.
Tracking audience behavior over time will help you optimize your efforts in the longer term. But in the meantime, general trends can provide a starting point:
Here’s a word to the wise about email marketing: it shouldn’t be a set-it-and-forget-it endeavor.
Regularly reviewing your performance data allows you to make informed adjustments to your email marketing schedule.
When you dive into email marketing, you’ll see the term “A/B testing.”
But what exactly is it?
A/B testing is like a mini science experiment for your emails.
The premise is simple: you send two slightly different versions of an email (Version A and Version B) to different portions of your audience to see which one performs better.
As a best practice, you should pick one single change.
Why?
Because this allows you to pinpoint a difference in performance based on one single factor.
If you have too many variations in your A/B test, it’ll be tough to tell which one is actually making a difference.
When it comes to determining the ideal email schedule, your send times would be the variable you’d test.
If you send one email at 7:00 a.m. and another at 2:00 p.m. and the latter gets better open rates, this will help guide your decision-making for distribution times going forward.
Looking for more insights about how to craft high-converting email campaigns? Check out this resource on the subject.
Don’t be shy about getting your subscribers’ two cents. It’ll help improve your approach to email marketing.
Periodically solicit feedback from your subscribers about email frequency and content preferences.
Pay attention to engagement signals like increased unsubscribes or spam reports, which may indicate over-communication or irrelevant content.
Use the insights you get from your metrics and feedback to adjust your schedule and content strategy.
If your engagement drops, consider reducing email frequency or altering your content focus.
On the other hand, if subscribers are highly engaged, you might explore adding more valuable content or increasing frequency.
There’s no one-size-fits-all schedule, but here’s an example of how you might map out your email marketing schedule for the month.
This schedule balances different types of emails, maintains consistent communication, and aligns with various marketing objectives.
Creating an effective email marketing schedule is a dynamic process that takes planning, analysis, and flexibility. You need to:
Remember, consistency builds trust, and relevance drives engagement. Your email marketing schedule is not just a calendar—it's a strategic tool that, when used effectively, can significantly contribute to the growth and success of your coworking space.
Want to learn how to do simple, results-driven, DIY email marketing for your coworking space? Download this free eBook from Talemaker.
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