Email marketing is an art, but any small business can learn it and utilize it to generate a strong return on investment.
The majority of marketing strategies are pricy.
While billboards in big cities might cost you $14,000 each, direct mailers can cost as little as $0.01 per recipient. Once production and placement costs are taken into account, television advertising can cost millions of dollars.
Since most small firms cannot afford it, let’s face it.
What if, however, there was a method to reach your target market for significantly less, possibly as little as $9 per month?
There is no need for a fairy godmother. Just use email marketing to its full potential.
Why Should Your Small Business Use Email Marketing?
There is nothing quite like email marketing when it comes to attracting new audiences, generating warm leads, or keeping in touch with existing clients – and not only because it is inexpensive.
Email campaigns should be your main method of advertising because they are so powerful.
An astounding 21.5% of marketing emails were opened on average in 2021, an increase of 3.5% in just one year. It is therefore unquestionably among the most successful methods of advertising.
Professional marketers know it works, which is why 41.5% of them believe it to be extremely important to the success of their business.
The return on investment (ROI) from email marketing in 2019 was an astounding $52 for every dollar spent. You must utilize it because you cannot afford not to.
While cost and effectiveness are two major selling points for email marketing programs, the ability to manage them yourself usually appeals to busy small business owners.
You don’t have to hire someone in-house or outsource your email campaigns to a company.
With a little elbow grease and the information you gain here, you’ll be able to create and launch your own effective campaign in no time.
Are you prepared to begin? Let’s leave.
How To Begin Your Small Business’ Email Marketing
- Select the Best Email Marketing Platform for Your Needs.
Having the appropriate tools is crucial for any work, whether it be marketing or construction. Choosing the appropriate email marketing software is also necessary for business marketing.
You could skip this step and manually create each list and campaign in Outlook, Gmail, or another email service provider you’re using, but you have a business to run.
Manual list building is a time-consuming, laborious process that diverts your focus and energy from other tasks.
Additionally, you can tailor your messages while gathering performance data using an email platform. By itself, these benefits justify the expense.
You need to choose a program that has the correct functionality for you from the dozens that are offered.
Some elements to take into account are:
Targets are 26% more likely to open emails with personalization features. Look for a platform that can automatically insert names from your list into emails by parsing your list for names.
Customers associate your small business with certain colors and a logo thanks to personalized branding. The software you select should make it simple for you to trademark your emails.
One of the cornerstones of contemporary marketing is A/B testing, or version testing. In order to figure out what works best for your industry, you need choose a platform that enables you to test various subject lines and other types of content.
Drag-and-drop: If you’re not a programmer, you’ll want software that enables you to produce stunning emails without having a deep understanding of HTML or CSS.
81% of emails are opened on mobile devices; ensure that your email builder automatically adjusts the size of your emails to fit different screen sizes.
Tools for segmentation – You should target several groups with various messages to achieve the best outcomes. Choose a platform that has a segmentation tool so you may break up your list into smaller categories.
The following are some of the most well-liked email marketing platforms:
- Create a List
Getting the correct audience to see your messages is essential for effective email marketing. You need a strong marketing list to accomplish this.
There are several ways to obtain one.
The first is to construct it from scratch.
Look for the contact details of the people you want to get in touch with online, in your contacts, and on the business cards you collected at trade shows. This might take some time.
Make sure your website has a signup form to speed up the procedure. This makes joining your mailing list quick and simple for interested visitors—who are presumably hot leads.
To entice individuals who are apprehensive, think about providing a discount. By simply adding an interstitial to your website that offers a 10% discount in exchange for an email address, you’ll be surprised by how many new emails you can collect.
Utilize the ability of your social media platforms to attract subscribers.
Produce pertinent, engaging material to draw in the correct audience. Include a link to a signup landing page in the bio section of your profile.
Purchase of a list is another choice.
With a quick Google search, you can find a variety of places to acquire these lists for prices ranging from $100 to $600 CPM (cost per mille, or cost for 1000 addresses). Just be aware that the quality of these listings can vary.
Furthermore, while purchasing lists, it’s incredibly simple to break spam regulations. Sending people emails without their permission is against the law in various jurisdictions.
Additionally, you run the risk of damaging your sender reputation, which in some circumstances may potentially lead to the blacklisting of your IP.
You do it at your own risk if you acquire email marketing lists.
- Create a Campaign Plan
It’s time to start considering what you want your email campaign to accomplish now that you have your objectives put together.
What are your objectives? Do you wish to send emails to your subscribers promoting deals and sales? Do you want to send transactional emails, such as upsells or messages about abandoned shopping carts? Are you asking current customers for recommendations or reviews?
After deciding what you want to achieve, it’s time to develop your campaign. There are five typical email kinds that should cover the majority of your needs:
For broad announcements to a big audience, utilize blast emails.
Publish a newsletter once a month to inform your audience of current developments and keep your company top-of-mind.
New subscription or customer welcome emails.
Promotional emails that offer discounts, rewards, or incentives to promote purchases.
Email reminders might persuade customers to finish their orders or place new ones.
Following initial signup, one or more promotional emails that encourage purchases are sent, followed by other promotional emails or reminder emails. This is one of the more popular sequences.
Reactivating prior clients or warm-up cold leads is another successful use of email marketing.
A common sequence for this includes an email reassuring them of your brand, followed by a message saying “we miss you” and providing a discount or other inducement to utilize your company once more.
Emails are also used for a variety of other things.
Maybe you wish to invite the receivers to an open house you’re having. Perhaps you publish a monthly newsletter that promotes your authority and reputation.
This medium’s adaptability is what makes it so lovely. All you have to do is tailor your messaging to meet your objectives.
4. Make Your Emails
Your emails start to materialize at this point.
Wanting to include too many bells and whistles is a frequent error made by many unskilled marketers. A design that is extremely intricate not only detracts from your main message but also confuses customers.
Maintain a simple, clean design. Some companies choose to send emails only in plain text, with the possible exception of a logo in the signature.
You might find this to be too excessive, though. Your emails can be branded, but make sure to keep them straightforward.
After choosing a design, you should concentrate on the messaging.
A engaging subject line is essential for winning the initial fight of getting your message opened.
Make an effort to pique interest or provide some other kind of incentive, such as “You won’t believe this deal,” “25% off sitewide,” or “Mistakes that can cost you.”
It’s time to present your case now that you have the reader’s attention.
Maintain simplicity and avoid overwriting. Include a call to action (CTA) after you’ve described what you’re offering or seeking to accomplish.
Any salesperson worth their salt will tell you, you have to ask for the sale. CTAs in emails and other collateral are the marketing equivalent.
Some people find it helps to picture writing to a particular client they are familiar with.
Use of industry jargon is acceptable as long as it is understood by all professionals in the field.
- Launch the campaign and evaluate the outcomes
You should be able to get all the information you need about the effectiveness of your communications from the email platform you choose in step one, which should also help you identify areas for improvement going forward.
Are there not enough opens for you? Perhaps your list is poor, or perhaps you might try an alternative subject line.
If so, do you have any conversions despite opens? Change your content, if you can.
Do you frequently see unsubscribe requests? You might be aggravating people by sending too many emails.
Don’t worry if your outcomes are subpar. Nobody ever masters the art of email marketing on their first (or second, or third) try. Use A/B testing to your advantage because of this.
Bonus Tips
Here are some additional ideas to help you maximize your email campaigns:
- Focus on quality, not quantity.
- Encourage signups wherever it makes sense (social media, on your website, etc.).
- Segment your list so your messages are more targeted.
- Automate messages where you can. This includes welcome messages, purchase confirmations, and re-engagement emails.
A Powerful Tool For Small Businesses Is Email Marketing
Without incurring significant up-front costs, email marketing has the potential for a significant ROI.
However, you can’t just randomly send out messages and hope for the best.
If you plan your strategy, put in the effort, monitor your outcomes, and adjust your messages (in other words, use the advice given here), your campaigns will quickly start receiving positive feedback.
