Email Marketing 101

Brand development is more than slinging a few posts on social media. Brands with true staying power develop more than just logo recognition, they develop communities around their brand. As a small, local business owner, you are uniquely leveraged to create such a community. Now, imagine creating that community with a potential 36% - 42% return on your investment. That is the power of an effective email marketing strategy.

The great thing about email marketing is there is little financial risk involved. Starting out, with an average of 200 contacts should run around $20 per month, if you don't take advantage of a platform that offers a free plan, like HubSpot or Bravo.

How do you know what email platform is right for your business? One of the first considerations is deliverability. Will the major email providers like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc., see your email as legitimate or spam? Make sure no matter what platform you choose, they offer the correct security and privacy features for your customers.

The next thing to consider is what you will be using your emails for.

For example, a plumber may need a sequence of three emails to start. One to confirm the customer appointment, one to thank the customer post appointment, and of course, a post appointment review request.

A Realtor®, on the other hand, would want to have a newsletter relevant to their market. For that, they would also want to run an automation thanking new subscribers. They would also want to run automations to keep their clients informed about their listings and transactions.

Consider the volume of emails you will be sending, how often you will be sending them and whether or not you will want to incorporate SMS messaging into your campaigns as well.

Most platforms offer what is commonly known as either “Drag & Drop" or “WYSIWYG" editors, meaning that you don't have to know coding to create automations or craft a simple email. The right platform for you is one that you will actually use consistently and offers the best options for your business.

You need three emails. Confirmation, Gratitude, Reciprocation.

Confirm your customer's order/appointment. Very simple, just “Thank you for your order/appointment, we look forward to seeing you/you can expect delivery on said date. We look forward to serving you!”

Express gratitude. A simple thank you for the opportunity to earn your client's business, sent out immediately after transaction is completed.

Reciprocation- Ask your client to become involved by asking them for a review. “Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. We would love to know how we did, would you mind taking a moment to leave us a review here (use a link to your reviews platform) to let us know how we did? Thank you again!”

Now that you've built your first, basic campaign, let's take it to the community building level, the Newsletter.

I can hear the deep sighs and gnashing of teeth, but I promise, it is not that bad. The secret to branding is Educate and Inform, Entertain, Call to Action. Your newsletter needs three segments:

Our example will be Paul's Plumbing. Paul's Plumbing has a monthly newsletter that goes out to once a month on a specific date to all his previous clients and subscribers. This month, he is running a special on the installation of a new showerhead and wants to feature it in his newsletter.

Educate and Inform – A brief paragraph about how much water is used during the average shower, the environmental consequences and how the new showerhead reduces that amount without affecting the shower experience.

Entertain – A meme, joke or funny story about cold showers and how the new product saved the day.

Call to Action – How to take advantage of this month's special on the new showerhead.

Email marketing is personal. It calls you by name, “Hey Joe, thanks for subscribing!”, “Jill, wait until you see what is in this week's Newsletter!”. It stands out against the din of transactional marketing, offers long term returns and should be a foundational building block of your marketing plan.

Ready to take the next step?

At Gypsy Roads Marketing, we specialize in email marketing & campaign set up, taking all the guess work and confusion out so you can do what you do best, run your business.

Invest fifteen minutes in your business today and schedule a free consultation.