7 Incredibly Useful Email Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

Sherry —The Biz Starter Author

Posted On Sep 07, 2022 |

Here are five incredibly useful and easy email marketing tips for small businesses.

Entrepreneurs can take cues from big brands and some small retailers. Email marketing is essential to your business because it allows you to share and build loyal brand advocates. I think about this every time I see the daily email from Bath & Body Works.😁 I'm always anxious to see what special deal they are offering. They do a great job of crushing the myth that brick-and-mortar businesses don’t need email marketing. All businesses need a solid email marketing strategy to build strong customer relationships and grow. Keep in mind that building an email list takes time and lots of effort, but the rewards are unlimited. Think of this as one of the more challenging tasks that, when properly executed, it results in quality leads and a rewarding relationship with your audience. 

Here are seven incredibly useful and easy email marketing tips for small businesses.

1. Create a Sales Funnel for Growth

Success with email marketing is really about having a highly engaged list. Bigger is not always better. It isn't helpful for your business if you have a huge list and don’t know them. A huge email subscriber list is useless if you don’t know what to do with them.

Determine early how email marketing will fit into your sales funnel. First, you have to define where email marketing fits into your sales funnel. Then, you can take advantage of your list and get the most value out of it.

It goes without saying that every business should have a sales funnel. At the very top is where leads first discover your business. They pass into the funnel, but only if they’re interested. This is where you start building a relationship with them by building trust. As they move through your funnel, you can make offers. This is another way to see which offers they like and which they do not. With engaging content and providing more help, they will get to the bottom of the funnel, where you make your offer so they can buy it. To get started, download the free sales funnel worksheet below.

2. Get Subscribers to Join Your List

To get subscribers to join your list, offer subscribers valuable content like a freebie or lead magnet that people can download. Your freebie could be a checklist or something else of high value that provides a quick solution for your audience. They should be able to download for free after providing their name and email address. This triggers an email sequence you have strategically created to walk your prospect through your sales funnel. Offering valuable information and educational information from beginning to end. Do you want to learn more about how to grow your email list with an easy-to-follow strategy to help get more eyes on your products and services? Check out the Email Swipe File Template System.

3. Eye-Catching Sign-up Forms

Create eye-catching sign-up forms and lead magnets and place them on your site, social platforms, blogs, and anywhere your target audience may be searching for information. Make sure to include the name and email address fields. If you ask for more, you might see a dip in signups because people generally do not like parting with personal information. Be sure to include a call-to-action asking for people to sign-up. Place your sign-up form in multiple places on your website. You can add it to the bottom, sidebar, or exit pop-up to catch people before they leave your website.

4. Build Over Blast

One of the best ways to build a relationship with potential leads is with email marketing. Once your subscribers enter your funnel, the expectation is for you to provide value with your content.

Think of new subscribers as unqualified leads (depending on how targeted your lead magnet is designed). The way you qualify them is by giving valuable content and small offers. When a lead purchases a small offer, they are willing to buy your offers and the right match for your business.

As with any business relationship, you want first to establish the relationship and avoid throwing promotions at them, especially in the beginning. Offer free and helpful content in the beginning. These come in the way of helpful best practices and shortcuts. Nurture, share, then share some more, building a solid relationship. Gauge where their interests are by which links they click on in your email. Email marketing tools like Convertkit provide you with the information on which links were clicked and your open rates.

You will have people unsubscribe from your list—and that’s okay. You want this from people who will never buy from you when you present a high-ticket offer. Some will stay inactive; this also tells you these people are not the right fit. You should clean out your subscriber list at least every month, and rid your list of those that don’t engage, won’t buy, or only continue downloading freebies.

5. Segment Your List

The best practice is to divide and segment your email list. One way is to segment the buyers and non-buyers. Don’t forget some people will enjoy your free content and not spend any money, while others will buy your products and services. Creating a segment for non-buyers is one way to clear your email list. Building relationships is how you can best use your email list. Decide early where it fits into your sales funnel. Determine where your subscribers will come from and where you want them to go.

6. Power in Placement

 One of the more obvious places to promote signup to your email list is your website. Other suggested places are anywhere besides your site; tell people about your email list everywhere you talk to your audience. This could be in your social media profiles, including niche groups like Facebook. You can also promote your email list in your email signature, links in your emails, courses, products, etc. In other words, everywhere your content is shown to your audience. Although it is not suggested, another alternative is promotion through paid advertisement, for example, Google Ads.

Blogs, Videos, Podcasts Oh My!

I know this sounds like something very easy to do, but some entrepreneurs' focus is misplaced on features instead of benefits. Focus on the benefits of your list when thinking about where you will get your subscribers. Where is the best place to have your opt-ins? What is in it for them? Your target customer should find your list or the offer you are providing a juicy and irresistible offer. Tell them how your offer (lead magnet or freebie) will improve their life or business. A lead magnet is used to attract people to sign-up. It also does this magical thing called a “preview.” It gives them a glimpse of your expertise and the value they will get from being on your list. Content upgrades like blog posts, videos, or podcasts are great ways to share free content with your subscribers. It helps them to see what kind of content they should expect from you. We created a 7-Day Monetize Challenge about the best ways to use your content for your business. Strategic planning is a must so you don't waste any time or effort with your email marketing.

7. Reward with Exclusive Offers

After sharing helpful information and tips, you can begin to share your beautiful products and services. These could include special subscriber-only offers or a new product or service launch. After your first few emails, you should start sharing a mixture of promotions and helpful information. Gradually start offering and promoting products and services, such as online deals or coupons for your offline store. This process will quickly reveal what your subscribers like and don’t like. It’s also a great way to separate the people who are habitual freebie grabbers who have no intention of paying for anything you offer.

Those who purchase are leads who are likely to find something else you offer helpful and may purchase again. Those who are not interested will unsubscribe. It is always best to lead with the end in mind. Where are you taking the subscriber? What is the end goal of your email marketing strategy? Plan and decide what offers and promotions your subscribers would benefit from most.

Summary

Building up your email marketing game is challenging and rewarding work, but it will help you build a loyal audience who buys from you repeatedly. It takes consistency, metrics review, modifications, and persistence to create lasting relationships with your audience. Personal communication and knowledge sharing are the winning combinations in building your email list and business.

Got questions, looking for answers? Just Ask Sherry

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Categories: Email Marketing