Small Business Email Marketing: Tips You Can Actually Use
Email marketing allows small businesses to reach customers where it matters – the inbox. Whether you’re a locally owned brick-and-mortar retailer or an up-and-coming ecommerce brand, email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to deliver personalized content at scale. You check your emails (dozens of times) every day – and so do your customers.
Does Email Marketing Work?
You bet. While every marketing channel offers unique advantages, email marketing is the go-to channel for 80% of B2B professionals. Consumers love email marketing too; 73% say email is their preferred marketing channel.
Email marketing’s return on investment is especially important for growing business. The financial and time invested in crafting effective email automations and newsletters pays off, with $52 for every dollar spent.
The Benefits of Email Marketing
You might not be Apple or Tesla, but with an effective email marketing strategy, you’ll be playing in the same sandbox. Email platforms like Mailchimp or Constant Contact provide incredibly useful data and customer insights you can use to increase site traffic, generate more conversions, and improve customer retention.
1. More clicks
The internet is content. Email marketing delivers informative and entertaining content you’ve created for other channels (blogs, social media, YouTube) and serves it hot and ready to customers where they can access it on their terms, not the whims of an algorithm. Not only does email marketing increase site traffic, but it also makes every bit of content you make more valuable.
2. More conversions
Sending personalized, timely emails increases conversions by putting the right product or service in front of the right customer at the right time. Use automated or customized marketing reports to understand your audience and anticipate demand.
3. Better customer retention
It’s a lot easier to retain customers than win new ones. When comparing customer acquisition and customer retention costs, businesses spend five times more to capture new business. Use email marketing to target existing customers with relevant products or reconnect with customers who haven’t purchased or clicked recently with a special offer.
Email Marketing Best Practices
When delivering valuable information, you can’t beat email, but you can mess it up. Trust and privacy are crucial to any organization, but remember; as a small business, one customer for you is exponentially more important, and more personal, than your aspirational competitors.
Email Privacy is a Trust Thing
The CAN-SPAM Act regulates how businesses use customer data. It spells out how brands can build lists and how to protect privacy and provides guidance on handling unsubscribe requests. Even if you’ve been doing email marketing for years, it’s worth reading to ensure you’re in compliance.
Let Users Unsubscribe
Easily. The first time. And right away. Think of your email as an opportunity for a customer to peek their head in the store; if they don’t like what they see, don’t lock them in. Having a few unsubscribes per email is okay because it ultimately means you’re reaching a wide audience and new customers.
Make It Personal
Email personalization is more than just using merge tags to include first names – although that is an excellent start! Use email segmentation and tags to craft emails that address certain needs. Many email tools, like Klaviyo and Mailchimp, create list segments based on location, demographic behavior, and user interaction.
Send different emails to users nearby to unload in-stock inventory quickly; out-of-towners might turn a discount into a loss due to shipping
Email recent customers with discounts on items related to recent purchases
Reach out to users who haven’t opened your emails in a way with a strong subject line to see if they’re still interested
Work On Your Subject Lines
Test. Test. Test. Many email platforms offer A/B subject line testing, which allows you to send the same email with different subject lines. Evaluate which subject line garners the most opens, then send the top performer out to the full list!
Find the Best Time to Send Marketing Emails
No two lists or industries are the same. Experiment with different email send times, or let your email platform make suggestions based on its algorithm. While there’s something to be said about sending your newsletter on the same day to established customers, test different time slots. Changing the send by a day or even a few hours can make a big difference.
According to HubSpot, the best time to send marketing emails is between 9am and noon – but that also means a lot of other folks are shipping off deals and promotions simultaneously. Invest time to find the right cadence for your brands.
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Email Marketing: The Ultimate DM
Over the past ten years in the game, we’ve turned to email marketing time and time again to help small businesses stay in front of existing customers and educate prospects. Get an expert eye on your email marketing strategies, or let us run the show; we’re here to help small businesses grow. Get in touch today to get started.