Internet Marketing Blog

Don’t Act Dead – Chapter II – Email Marketing for Small Business

Email marketing campaign for small business? Bang Bang Bang! Most of the readers here must be feeling strange. Most you even say “we don’t have enough time and resources. Email marketing is for big businesses.” But continuing our series of “Don’t Act Dead for Small Businesses” we will make most of your limited resources to get maximum customer engagement. (Note: last edition – Blogging Best Practices for Small Business)

We saw Email marketing changing dramatically in last few years. People considered it an online promo flyer at one time. In last couple of years it became a source to educate customers via Email Newsletters and had huge impact over Web Strategy of all major brands.

What an effective Email Marketing for Small Business has to offer?

email marketing is a gift

• Higher Customer Engagement through periodic Online Newsletters
• Brand Establishment as Subject Matter Expert in Industry & Niche
• Driving Traffic to Website, Blog, Promotional Pages and Social Media accounts
• Effective Lead Nurturing
• Of course you will be alive in your customer’s mind

Two Decisive Question of Email marketing

Now you know Email Marketing is more than just an online Flyer mailed to thousands of strangers. If it serves some purpose to readers, they will cherish it, simple! Whenever customers or future customers receive your Email or Newsletter or an edition of Email Campaign they have only two questions in mind:

• Do I know you? (From or Senders Name)
• Do I Care? (Subject & Content)

Answers of these two questions will decide effectiveness of your Email Marketing. Let’s simplify the two basic questions to strengthen your Email Marketing Strategy.

email-campaign-subscribe

Step 1. Creating Email List

Email Lead List needs careful implementation and execution. Strangers don’t want to see your Email in their Inbox and you don’t want to waste your resources on them either. Collect names wisely. Start collecting Emails at each customer contact point. Use Email Newsletter subscription form at website, Billing Counter, Bills, Invoices or Direct Mailers. Don’t forget to add “Free Offers”, “Free Download”, “Complimentary Trail Pack” and “Discount” words for new subscription, they travel a lot!

.

Step 2. Creating Engaging Content

Taking care of the second question will be quite easy for us now. How? Use your existing Blog! While your blog is generating new and interesting content for your niche every week, you can send that content directly with some nice packaging of offers to the customers.

email template - start engaging

.

How to Automate Email Marketing Campaign? Email Marketing Softwares are here!!

Now it seems to be you are all set to start an Email Campaign. The names are few but good to go for now. Well what about the Email Marketing Software? No money? Don’t worry, we already have solution for you. There are so many Online Email Marketing Softwares available to help you. Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, iContact and Benchmark are few names to start Small Business Email Marketing Campaigns. There are many exciting free trial offers available to jump start your Email Campaign.

Using these online Email Marketing softwares you can start an automatic Email campaign that is driven from your Blog RSS feeds or just atom feeds.

Lets start Emailing

.

Test Test Test!

With every Email try to test few things here and there to get the maximum from your Email marketing efforts.  You can Change subject, colours, language, images and styling to see how people react to them. What are the most important things to lookout for?

• Open Rate: How many Emails are opened?
• Click rate: How many people actually click to links provided?
• Unsubscribes: How many readers unsubscribe?

Amit Sati

Loves to cook, click, follow the latest trends, best practices, and emerging techniques to achieve high levels of growth, innovation, and user adoption for small Businesses & Startups.