Email marketing is one of the most effective ways you as a small business owner can keep in touch with your customers. It’s relatively easy, it can be very cost-effective, and if you do it right it can help you increase loyalty and even grow your audience. In addition to email campaigns, social media is the other low-cost marketing channel available to your small business. But how do you get started with these platforms — and how useful are they?
Part 1: Email Marketing
What Email Marketing Tool Is Right For Me?
There are a lot of strong options out there for small business owners looking to start basic email marketing, or manage a newsletter. Some of the more popular ones include:
I recommend you spend some time doing your own research to figure out which tool best fits your need, and also ask fellow entrepreneurs what tools they use. One key thing to look at when evaluating online tools is the pricing structure. Some email marketing tools price by the amount of email you send, while others price by the number of contacts in your database. There are a few free email marketing tools out there, though many of them are fairly simplistic. While that’s fine if you’re just starting out, make sure that they 1) offer all the features you need, and 2) that you won’t grow beyond any customer maximums in the next few years. Think about how you plan to use email in the coming years, and jot down the numbers you’re working with. You don’t want to have to re-do this whole process in 24 months.
Something else to keep in mind: many email marketing tools have built-in templates that you can customize. Make sure any tool you choose offers mobile-responsive email (all the suggestions above do). In this day in age, you need to think about the way an email you send looks on a phone first. In fact, according to some recent studies, 65% of all email gets opened on a mobile device first.
And, if you’re new to email marketing, look for a service that provides a good amount of support, including a blog or tutorials that offer email campaign advice or tips. The service should also provide contact information such as email, phone, or even a live chat feature.
How Much Email is Too Much?
There’s no hard and fast rule. I might recommend weekly or bi-weekly when you’re starting out. But remember: You’re using email to keep your customers engaged, by offering them additional value. If you email them and you’re not giving them a relevant deal, letting them know about a cool event, or providing them with special upcoming offer, they’re likely to start unsubscribing. Also, it’s bad email etiquette. Think about the email and newsletters you get yourselves. Why do you delete or unsubscribe from the ones you do?
Build Your Lists
This sounds both simple and old school, but make sure you have signup sheets in your store and at events. When you’re first starting out, collecting email addresses the old fashioned way can garner more signups than your website sometimes, especially for local brick and mortar businesses.
Have an email opt-in on your website, and make sure any online forms collect a customer’s email address. One tip: advertise the benefits of signing up for your email list. For example, “Sign up for our newsletter, to receive special email-only discounts and special products.”
Part 2: Social Media
Starting Out On Social Media
Regardless of industry, it’s a best practice nowadays to set up a simple Facebook and Google+ page for your business., Start off by leveraging social media as a way to help as many customers find you as easily as possible. Facebook is the largest social network at the moment, and Google+ is equally important as part of your website’s search engine optimization (SEO).
From there, ask yourself: What do we want out of social media? The answer is almost never, “We need a Twitter because everyone else has one.” As a small business, you and your staff are wearing too many hats to start engaging in social media just for the sake of it. Think about your objectives, how much time you can realistically devote, and then approach it thoughtfully. Also consider your audiences. If your primary customer base is likely to use Facebook but nothing else, then don’t waste your time with six other social media platforms.
Beyond the major four sites I listed above, any other social media you consider taking on should track with your objectives. Does your small business produce a lot of handmade products, artisanal foods, or craft products? Consider a Pinterest board or an Instagram account. Do you record a lot of video as part of your business? Think about uploading things to a YouTube channel. Does your business plan to expand quite a bit over the coming year? Consider a LinkedIn page. But remember: only take on what you can sustainably manage because when it comes to social media, consistency is key.
I’m On Social Media: Now What?
The same logic applies to social media as does email marketing. You want to add value to your customers’ experience, and their impression of your brand. Engage them about deals and promotions that are coming, post photos of special one-off products that are coming, and recap an event in your own voice and posting photos.
While you’re having fun, and starting to interact with your audience, remember to play it safe. The same legal rules that apply to false promotion of products and services apply online as they do in print. Still, behind-the-scenes insight into your productions and snapshots of your team hard at work can add to your business’ human side, making it easier for you and your audience to connect.
Remember: Social Media Isn’t All About You
While it’s easy to make your social media a channel for self-promotion and talking up your accolades, you need to go beyond that if you want to retain your customers and even turn them into evangelists. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes, consider their wants and needs, and expand your posting to topics they care about, conversations they want to be a part of, and tips and tricks they can actually use.
And respond! Keep an eye out for any trends about your store, your business, or your field. Respond to people to thank them for mentioning you, answer criticism (if you can do it nicely, trying to turn that critic back into a fan). Don’t be shy about showing the person or people behind the company as well.
Part 3: Learn As You Go
With email marketing, a small business owner can see which emails their customers received, which ones went to email addresses that were no longer active, which emails were opened, and which links in your email that customers actually clicked on. This is all important information!
If more people open certain emails over others, take note of why. Was it a funny or active subject line? Are your customers more likely to open or click on email that contain a promo code, or mention a two-day event? Do you see more people click on email that has a large photograph versus one with a lot of text? Do people open my email more on a weekday or a weekend? This is all information you can use to build better email as you go along.
Email marketing and social media are just two parts of your overall business toolkit. They should fit into your overall business plan, and also be sustainable. If you only have the time to send one email campaign a month, send one campaign a month and do it well. Don’t stretch yourself thin. If you can only post on Facebook once a week, and don’t have the time for Twitter, then pick one. You can learn and grow and time goes on, and your business needs change.
Stay tuned for more marketing advice as the series develops. Is there a specific topic you’d like to see us cover? Let us know in the comments! And if you’re interested in being matched with a marketing advisor that can provide customized guidance to help grow your small business, check out our advising program at businessadvising.pcv.wpengine.com.