As a small business owner, you do everything you can to get great marketing results with a small budget and individual attention. Email marketing is one of the least expensive and easiest ways to communicate to your customers, giving them information about upcoming sales, specials and other items you want to share. A creatively designed and properly executed email campaign is what separates the dregs of email marketing from the all-stars.
The List
The most important thing you can do before launching an email marketing campaign is to create a client list. Tag members of the list so you can segment your marketing emails, reducing the chances of sending someone an email that doesn’t interest them. Moreover, if you blindly send out emails you run the risk of being marked as Spam and eventually deleted.
Don’t treat every email on your list the same way. Different emails need to go to different types of customers. For example, create a “Welcome back” email for those who haven’t made a purchase from you in a while but have recently returned to your business. Write a “We miss you” email for those who haven’t purchased from you in a few months. Both of these remind the customer of your business and encourage them to return and make a purchase.
Content
Before writing the email, sit down and determine what your email marketing goals
are. Determine whether you plan to educate consumers, promote a product or drive a specific action from the reader. These goals will help you plan the content for your email. Determine if your emails are for seasonal events or just generic email greetings that encourage consumers to buy from you. With all of these goals and your list, write your emails geared toward your desired clientele.
Engage
In your email, encourage recipients to engage with your email marketing campaign. Ask them for feedback and encourage them to share the email by forwarding it to others. Also, encourage recipients to share your information via social media networking. This, along with the call to action, will help spread the word about your business, grow your client base and increase your sales.
Format
Create a format that will draw the email recipient in and encourage them to continue reading. Don’t clutter your email with too many graphics. Yes, you can add a cute picture or use a bright font, but make sure they’re easy to read and don’t distract from the message you want to send. Keep your call to action and any important details above the fold, because many people don’t scroll down unless they have to.
Call to Action
The call to action in an email is what you ask your readers to do. For example, if you’re having a great sale this weekend, write something like, “Come to our location and shop before noon to receive the best deals of this sale,” or ask your readers to promote your business for you and share the email with friends and family. The call to action will encourage your consumers to do what you want, as long as you clearly state it. Place the call to action above the fold and then reiterate it toward the end of the email. This increases their exposure and makes it more difficult to miss.
If you haven’t already started an email marketing campaign for your small business, it’s not too late. Make the decisions to start one, then sit down, and plan it out. The better the plan, the better the results.