As a small business owner, it’s tough to decide which marketing strategies to invest in. After all, you can promote your business using social media, blog content, video sharing mediums such as YouTube or Vimeo and even put out routine press releases sharing good news with your loyal followers.
However, studies continue to show that customers prefer to receive marketing materials via email, making email marketing one of the most important strategies to focus on.
Not to mention, the ROI on email still impresses. In fact, for every one dollar you spend email marketing, you can expect at least $44 in return.
That’s why today, I’m going to share with you some of the best email marketing tips I know, which are guaranteed to help your small business grow.
1. Make signing up easy
You can’t expect to grow your email list by having one semi-hidden signup form on your website. Make sure you add subscribe forms throughout your website so people engaging with your content in different ways see it.
Include them on your homepage, within blog content, in widget areas in the sidebar, in the footer section of your web pages and even near the navigation menu so people can easily spot a place to subscribe.
You might even consider using a software that has exit intent technology so you can display a popup form as people are about to leave your site. This gives them one last chance to subscribe and helps grow your list.
Think about it. You might be able to convert 35 percent more people that would otherwise be considered lost site visitors.
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2. Offer an incentive
Making it easy for people to sign up is only the beginning. You have to also make people want to sign up.
The best way to encourage site visitors to subscribe to your email list, so you can later send out amazing campaigns that will help drive people back to your site and down the sales funnel, is to offer a content upgrade.
In other words, offer something of value, such as an exclusive coupon, an e-book or a handy checklist, to anyone willing to subscribe.
People are more likely to exchange their email address for something in return, because they’ll feel this bonus upgrade is valuable and that you aren’t just after their money.
3. Vary the content
People are not going to like it when they realize that every email campaign you send out is promotional. After all, your subscribers need to feel that you offer them something of value. That’s where varying the type of content you send out in campaigns is helpful.
Take a look at some of the different types of email content you can send:
Events: Invite local customers to an event you’re hosting at your business. This might be a product demo or an educational seminar.
Product/Service Information: Send out an email campaign informing your customers of new product or service launches or updated features to get them excited about things both new and old.
Newsletters: Share all kinds of information in a newsletter, including promotional material, without coming across as overly promotional. Consider linking back to your online shop, blog content and social media platforms to encourage engagement with your content and boost sales.
Promotions: Just because people don’t want non-stop promotional material doesn’t mean they don’t want to know about upcoming sales or special deals. In fact, offering coupons and things like free shipping via email is a great technique for boosting CTR and revenue.
4. Segment your email lists
Long gone are the days when a small business could get away with sending out the same generic email campaign to every single person on their email list.
OK, maybe not long gone. But the practice of sending out blast emails is definitely dwindling as consumers continue to demand more personalization.
If you really want to boost your click-through rates (like 100.95 percent higher), segment your email lists into groups that mean something to your business so you always send meaningful content to those on your mailing list.
For instance, send out one type of email campaign to those that have recently made a purchase, another to those that haven’t opened an email in a while and yet another to those that are new subscribers. And don’t make them all promotional in nature, because this defeats the purpose of segmenting your list.
Still not convinced this will help your small business grow?
Well, you should know that it’s been found that welcome emails generate 320 percent more revenue than promotional emails.
So, take the time to nurture the relationships you have with your subscribers, whether new or old. It’ll make a big difference when it comes to your business’ success.
5. Always include a call to action
No matter what you do, make sure you include a clear call to action (CTA) in every single email campaign you send out. Even if the main goal isn’t to encourage people to make a purchase.
By giving people something to do, you also increase engagement with your website, your content and your business.
Here are some great tips for getting people to click your CTA button:
Make it visually clear and exciting, with compelling copy.
Don’t make it wordy; stick to about five words or so.
Use action-oriented copy that tells people exactly what to do (“Click Here”, “Download Now”, etc.)
Make the CTA easy to find within your email’s content, and don’t let it draw from the actual content of your campaign.
As you can see, getting people to open your emails is just the start. You also have to encourage them to read the email’s content and take further action if you want your business to grow.
In conclusion
Email marketing is one of the best ways to give your small business room to grow and succeed, even against some of the big guys in your industry. But, you need to take the time to make email list building and email campaign writing a priority if you want to get people past the opening of your emails and back to your site making purchases.
Add email marketing to your overall marketing strategy, figure out what your customers want the most from you, and give it to them via email. You’ll see soon enough how fast doing this will help your small business grow.