When it comes to marketing online and off, the options can seem endless and a little overwhelming. They can also be time consuming and expensive. This is one instance where email marketing can ride in to save the day. Using email marketing can be super easy and provide a fast return on your marketing investment as long as it is done properly. Small business email marketing can help growing companies stay top of mind and in touch with customers. Here are a few helpful tips to get you started.
Keep Your Business Email Marketing Lists Updated
While email marketing is an effective way to drive leads and sales, your efforts will only be as good as your email list. If your list is outdated or full of people no longer interested in your products, then you can send them as many emails as you like…but you will not get the sales you hope for.
This is where open rates come into play. The average is around 20%. If yours is substantially lower, then your list may need some pruning. Also, take a close look at your email click-through rates. This will tell you how effective they are in compelling your readers to take some sort of action.
Click-Through Rates and Calls to Action
If your emails are being opened, but your click-through rate is low, then you will need to consider creating new content for your emails. Perhaps it is the call to action that isn't working or maybe the content doesn't follow the correct persuasive sequence that will lead them to act. Either way, making changes in content can increase your click-through and open rates.
Find New Ways to Grow Your Customer Email List
It is sad to say, but true, that you will lose about 25% of your email list each year. What this means for you is that you need to find ways to always be growing your list.
Some of the easiest ways to grow your current list include:
- Creating an offer such as a white paper in return for an email address
- Have an online contest that requires email submission
- Providing opportunities for customers to give you their email off-line
- Using social media—Facebook and Twitter with a tab to collect email addresses
- Guest blog with a link to an opt-in landing page for email sign-ups
Don’t Overdo It!
Finally, please keep in mind that just because someone has handed over their email address to you, it does not mean they want to hear from you every day. While it is important to stay in contact, don't over do it.
Your emails must provide value or your customers will stop opening them. Getting the right balance between sending emails often enough and sending them too often can be difficult. Striking the right balance between value-driven information and asking for a sale is another balance that can be difficult.
Sometimes, the best option is to get a little help from a professional e-mail marketing company such as the team at Quill. The experts can, at the very least, help lead you in the right direction, so your email list continues to grow and your sales do as well.
Krista Wolfe
Quill.com Contributing Writer
Krista Wolfe is a marketing project manager for Quill.com where she writes to help small businesses, teachers and healthcare professionals make more informed decisions on office essentials. She also writes on our new community blog, Café Quill about a wide range of business matters such as leadership, productivity and work-life balancing. Krista lives in Chicago and you can find her on LinkedIN.