10 Email Marketing Secrets for Small Businesses

Email marketing has an ROI of 122%. That is excellent news for your business! There is a vast demographic of people waiting to be reached by email.

Even the rise of social media has not knocked email marketing off the top spot for ways to reach clients and make sales.

You just need to nail your email marketing strategy. With a few simple tricks, you can perfect your strategy and reap the rewards in no time. Here is how:

1. Build Your List

You cannot send your emails out if you have nobody to send them to! The first step is building a solid list of customers.

Building your email list takes time, but it’s an invaluable resource once you have it. How do you build your list? Attract customers to sign up for it!

Ask people who have already bought from you to sign up for your emails. Create a referral campaign where people who recommend friends sign up to your list get 10% off their next purchase.

If you have a physical location, get people to sign up to newsletters when making an in-store purchase.

You can also add a pop-up on your homepage that offers people the chance to subscribe to your newsletter in exchange for a discount. Just make sure the pop-up only comes up once and not on every page someone visits. Google penalizes for this these days.

Promote your email list to your social media following too. You can offer exclusives to your email subscribers, for example.

There are dozens of ways for you to build that list; just be a little strategic about it. You want to attract your ideal customer and those who will potentially support and make purchases from your business.

2. Use Email Marketing Software

Once you have your list, you can start creating emails. The best way to do this is with software specifically designed for email marketing.

This software will help you divide your audience into segments.

For example, you can segment by geographic location. You do not want to promote an event in one state when the customer lives across the country. You can also segment by age; it is unlikely a 50-year-old will be interested in the same products as a 20-year-old.

The software will also provide email marketing templates that can help you build your message. You can design a professional-looking email without the design know-how.

3. Keep It Personal

Email marketing for small businesses is like a direct one-to-one conversation with your customers. Keep it personal.

Adopt a friendly conversational tone. Do not use complicated business jargon. When in doubt, write like you speak – as if you’re having conversations with a friend.

4. Test Subject Lines

It is all in the subject. Do not underestimate the importance of a well-written subject! A good subject line makes the difference between an opened and unopened email.

Your subject line should be compelling, not clickbait, and clear about the reader’s benefit from opening the email. Be careful about using CAPS or exclamation points as the inbox filter may flag it as spam.

You can also A/B test different subject lines to see what is most effective. Send half your emails with one subject and half with another. Compare which group has the most opens.

5. Use Automation 

You are busy and do not have time to send individual emails to customers each time someone new signs up or makes a purchase. Automate your emails to make your life easier.

You can use email marketing platforms to create a chain of emails that go out to customers depending on their actions. This will help engage them more in your business and make them feel like part of your community without you even having to do anything!

6. Provide Value

There is nothing that encourages people to hit unsubscribe more than a shoddily written email.

Make sure you are sending emails that provide value to your customers. Are you giving them hacks or tips? Have you consolidated some complex information into digestible chunks for them?

Think about what you are trying to convey and your email’s goal before you hit that schedule button.

7. Optimize For Mobile

46% of all emails are opened on mobile devices. Make sure yours is optimized for mobile. If the design does not work on a mobile device, people will disengage with your content and maybe unsubscribe.

8. What Are Your Competitors Doing?

Sign up to your competitor’s emails so you can keep an eye on what they are doing. You should never copy your competitors, but it is good to eye what others in your industry are doing.

Chances are they are checking your ideas too!

9. Create Compelling Calls To Action

You are sending this email because you want your customer to do something. Whether reading a blog post, making a purchase, or buying tickets to your event, you want action!

So make it easy for them to take action. End your email with a compelling call to action that they will not be able to resist.

10. Make Your Emails Regular

Whether it is only monthly or bi-weekly, send your email on the same day. Your customers will begin to expect it and will look forward to it.

If you send sporadic emails, it may seem confusing and annoying. You do not want to send too many. Make sure there is always a purpose for sending the message too.

Email Marketing Services For Small Businesses

There is a lot to take on when it comes to using email marketing for your small business.

Start with planning and making a list of the goals you want to achieve by starting with email marketing. Then you can break down into small chunks how you will set about achieving these goals.

Not confident with your copy, feel like you would like some professional support with getting started?Get in touch, and we’ll show you how to build a killer email marketing strategy.

eGlobal Web Solutions specializes in marketing your business via the digital marketplace. We use search engine optimization, social and review promotion, and Email marketing for all types of businesses from local to global. We utilize various digital marketing techniques to increase your internet presence, optimize your traffic and generate new business.