Ever feel like you are *bothering* people with your content… adding to the noise?

Do you ever feel like you’re bothering people, when you post your content?

One of my students wrote:

“Consistency of communication is my goal. To hold myself more accountable to this and get over the problem I have with feeling that I am bothering people by sending them content via email or other means, even if they have signed up for my list!!”

Maybe you can relate. I appreciate your sensitivity! It means you’re being thoughtful and courteous about other people’s time and attention – the most precious currency they can ever give to you.

And yet… it’s important to understand that you have an audience – even if it’s just a few Facebook friends! – because they actually want to hear from you:

• Your friends are interested in your opinions, believe it or not ;-)
  
  
• Your followers on social media want to hear about your business.
  
  
• Your newsletter subscribers look forward to your newest/best content!

You are not bothering people when you send content that they expect from you, at a frequency they expect. 

They appreciate your content when you share with a positive intention:

• a spirit of helpfulness
  
  
• a desire to connect
  
  
• an intention to delight them

Why aren’t you bothering your audience? Because they want content that’s relevant to them -- that’s why they’re following you.

It helps to remember that:

1. People are bored, even if they’re busy. At various times of day and night, they’re looking for something that can pick up their spirits, educate them, and entertain them… content that makes them think or feel something.
   
   
2. People are hurting and looking for a solution from someone like you. If they’re following your content, it means they’re actively trying to heal a current pain (which you can help them with) or somehow interested in learning from you.
   
   
3. People appreciate you. They seek your perspective and they like your presence. Otherwise, they wouldn’t still be following you ;-)

Before you create, first bring to your mind and heart someone specific from your ideal audience. One of your favorite clients, or a frequent commenter on your posts.

• Can you see that person in your mind’s eye? What would they love to know about your area of expertise?
  
  
• On that topic, can you guess what they might be feeling? (Are they scared, overwhelmed, excited, eager, etc?)
  
  
• What could you say that would be helpful to them?

By creating content with your ideal audience in your mind and heart, and what you know about their situation, you are being of service.

You genuinely wish to help them, connect with them, or delight them.

When you’re of service, you’re a blessing, not a bother.

It’s also good to be aware of some basic etiquette around sharing content…

How often is too often?

• Email Newsletters — unless they requested a weekly email, I wouldn’t recommend more than 2x a month. For example I ask subscribers to choose monthly or weekly, so that I align expectations. See here: George Kao Email Newsletter
  
  
• Social Media — are you posting more often than most people? Generally, once a day on any platform is acceptable. Once a week is fine but harder to stay top of mind. To see the latest advice: what’s the ideal frequency for posting content today? Or more accurately – go to the profile of one of your ideal readers/viewers, and notice what content they share, then go to those creators (the source of the content being shared) and observe their frequency of posting. That gives you a grounded answer for how often you can aim to post.
  
  
• Private Messaging — are you sending content privately to people who didn’t ask for it? Definitely don’t if they don’t already know you. However, if it’s friends, colleagues, or classmates, it’s fine to privately send content that you know would be relevant to them, once every few months, but include a thoughtful note about why they specifically might enjoy that piece of content.
  
  
• Posting about your business — you can definitely post about your products occasionally, about every 1 out of 5 posts.

Here is evidence that you are not bothering your audience:

• Email Newsletter — each time you send one, you get fewer than 1% of the recipients unsubscribing. If you get more than 1% unsubscribe, then either you aren’t emailing them often enough (quarterly is too rare) or you’re emailing them too often (not more than once every 2 weeks unless they signed up for a higher frequency.) Also, if you notice that your Open Rate is consistently decreasing over time, it means you need to improve your content. You’re not bothering them, but you may be boring them.
  
  
• Social Media — if your follower count rises over time (or at least, doesn’t shrink) then you’re doing fine. However, if your content engagement isn’t rising, then again, the problem is that you need to improve your content.

In summary, create content with your ideal audience in mind and heart, and share it with them at their expected frequency, and your content will be seen as a blessing :)

This article was originally written in Feb 2018. Updated in Aug 2024.