- Email marketing is for business owners who want to control how they connect with their customers.
- Two entrepreneurs who rely heavily on email to drive purchases shared what works for them.
- They suggested that business owners personalize content and focus on providing value rather than sales.
- This article is part of “.Marketing for small businesses” is a series that explores the basics of marketing strategies for SBOs to acquire new customers and grow their businesses.
Email marketing can be a boon for business owners as it provides one of the most direct ways to communicate with potential customers.
“When I started my business, I decided to invest in email first because I could own the list forever,” Katie Test Davis, who founded communications agency Forthright Advising in 2019, told Insider. “On other social media platforms, algorithm changes affect how often people see your messages. Using email, I felt like I had more control. .That decision has been around for a long time.”
Email marketing not only connects you with your customers, but it can also convert your readers into customers. When productivity consultant Tanya Dalton launched her direct-to-consumer planner company InkWell Press in 2014, by focusing primarily on email as her marketing channel, she grew sales to 7 in 14 months. We were able to grow it to an order of magnitude.
However, customers who receive a large number of emails from random companies end up sending most of them directly to the trash. How can I prevent my email address from being included in them?
Dalton and Testo-Davis shared with Insider the strategies they use to create smart email marketing campaigns that drive results.
Provide value first, ask questions later
Dalton said one of the biggest mistakes people make is sending only promotional emails to subscribers or emails directly asking customers to buy or sign up for a product or service.
Additionally, a better approach is to think of email marketing as a relationship-building tool. If you spend more time providing value to your subscribers by sharing easy tips and practical strategies, you're more likely to generate more sales in the long run.
“People buy from people they know,” Dalton said. “If you're just using email for advertising, you're missing out on the opportunity to connect more deeply with your customers.”
She engages her subscribers with emails that dig deeper into the productivity topics she covers on her podcast, shares bonus downloadable content, and gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what's going on in her world. He said he aims to provide “good content.”
“The key is building trust with customers,” Dalton said. “This way, when you're ready to make your sales pitch, your subscribers will feel like, 'Oh, you've already done a lot for me,' and what else you can offer them.” I’ll listen to what I can do.”
Test Davis offers ready-to-use tools, including how to handle tough questions from reporters and worksheets that help companies decide whether to speak out about breaking news, to create email lists that address customers' biggest issues. The goal is to provide the following content.
“We're getting feedback from our subscribers like, 'Wow, this came at the perfect time,'” she says.
That feeling will lead to results. According to data reviewed by Insider, Forthright has an average open rate of 44.65%. According to email marketing platform Mailchimp, the industry average for public relations organizations in 2019 was 21%.
Test Davis recommended leveraging your expertise as a business owner, listening to your customers' questions, and digging into your data to deliver content that excites your subscribers. “We partner with an SEO company that shares what people are searching for both on our site and in our industry,” she said. “When these search terms match what we're hearing in the field, we've got something golden.”
Make your emails personal and personalized
The more human and less corporate you can make your emails feel, the better. “We found that sending emails from individuals rather than from organizations actually increases open rates,” said Davis, who tested him.
Dalton said adding her own voice to emails made a difference, prompting her to switch from having someone else write her emails to writing them herself. “I try to add a lot of fun and personality to my emails, and people really relate to that,” she said.
Making sure each email your subscribers receive feels personalized can also make a difference. As a small business owner, you may not have the time or skills to do advanced email personalization, but start by segmenting your lists and sending only relevant emails to each list.
“Our subscribers can tag themselves based on their role at the company, so we don't overwhelm anyone with content that doesn't apply to them,” Dalton said. said. For example, small business owners and managers at large companies may value productivity advice differently.
Test Davis employs the same strategy in Force Light. “I think part of what makes it special is that we try to be thoughtful about who can use what information and when,” she said.
Think about what works for your audience
Email marketing advice from other companies and business owners is limited. At the end of the day, you should try different things and figure out what works for your particular audience.
For example, Test Davis says he has found that clear, to-the-point subject lines, such as “4 Tips for Communicating with Your Board of Directors,” lead to the highest open rates. She thinks her busy and overwhelmed clients want to know exactly what they're going to receive when they open their email.
“I would do something blatant and literal over something clever any day,” she said.
Dalton, on the other hand, said she's more successful if her subject lines are a little more ambiguous. For example, the title of a recent email about productivity strategies you think are working but are actually hurting you is “I Was Eating a Snickers Bar for Breakfast and I Didn't Know It.” did.
“An interesting subject line makes customers want to click open and find out what’s inside,” she said.
It’s all about tracking and tracking data. “Looking at your email metrics holistically is important because you can discover surprising audience behaviors that can improve your future emails,” Test-Davis said.
