Email Marketing: Your New Best Friend
As momma always said, 'You never know unless you try!'
I tried Email Marketing many years ago, and to this day, it is my favorite of all Marketing tools.
Business as we know it is beginning to suffer due to health concerns across the world. Keyword, Beginning.
As of writing this, many schools are canceled for 2-3 weeks in Pennsylvania (where I am at), many businesses are implementing work-at-home solutions, and the service and retail industries are suffering. Perhaps restaurants may even close soon. Schools may delay students' longer. We don’t know yet. That is the challenging aspect...we don't know.
Looking to old ways will help many businesses continue to keep business as usual and perhaps, even prosper. Business owners must follow my momma's advise: You never know unless you try!
Enter our Best Friend: Email Marketing.
A best friend for a reason, Email Marketing is a digital tool that you control and it's fast. The email addresses on your list are yours. Those on your list signed up specifically to hear from you. They were interested and they will more than likely interact with you digitally more than ever. So talk to them. Engage them and offer them solutions. That is, if you have an active email program.
Email Marketing unfortunately is often overlooked by small to mid-size businesses. In my experience, businesses fall into three categories: they don’t have time, they don’t understand email or don’t have the personnel resources for it.
What businesses need to understand though is that social media can disappear (remember when IG and FB went down?). Brick and mortar stores close. Then what do you do? You need to be prepared to attain and retain clients in a new way using your best friend, Email Marketing. You need to think differently about how your business operates.
If you haven’t started an Email Marketing program yet, I urge you to start today. Like momma said, right? It is well worth with. Start asking customers to sign-up for important emails, special offers, and options on how to purchase your products and services if they can't (or choose not to) leave their homes.
My top 5 keys to success in a new program:
1. Start simple and have a plan! Follow the Keep It Simple method and construct an email plan that you will be able to manage. If you can't or simply don't want to manage, this is the ideal digital tool to outsource.
2. Ask customers to OPT-IN to your program. Post on social media and direct them to your sign-up form on your website or your social media site. Do not add email addresses to your data list that have not given permission. It’s not an ethical business practice and is illegal in Email Marketing.
3. Always Welcome sign-ups. You may choose to send one Welcome email or a series of emails. Consider it a virtual handshake or hug. #socialdistancing
4. Create compelling content. Don’t send emails for the sake of sending emails. Your prospects and customers signed up for a reason…it is to hear what important information you have to share. If it doesn’t benefit them, they will unsubscribe. Think of emails you like and dislike. Content can be focused in the following categories: emotional, informational, fear. Tip: do not use fear tactics unless necessary. You will get a great amount of engagement simply through sharing stories and educating your audience.
5. Stay consistent. If you have a plan (reference #1 above), you need to stick with your schedule. If you say that you will send an e-newsletter every Sunday, it better be sent every Sunday. You have a reputation and you need to prove that you can be trusted. Like social media, once they trust, believe, and see your commitment level, you will likely see increased engagement. Be true to your business values and goals.
Taking action now will help you now and in the future. It will give you a base to grow from and continue marketing to.
Already have an email program? I encourage you to reevaluate your plan and adjust content as needed. Is your content relevant? Do you need to increase or decrease the amount of email being sent?
Whether you need an entire Email Marketing program or a few ideas to update your current plan, message me. I have always loved Email Marketing because of all of its benefits and I want you to experience how email can change your business too. How can we make it work for you when you need it most?
xoxo,
Valerie
PS. Momma's always know best.
