With email being one of the best ways to gain new customers as well as nurture repeat customers, it is essential you are conducting effective email marketing practice. Most small businesses do not know the full capability of email, but we are here to say it should not be underestimated! However, before you go sending copious emails it is essential you build an effective marketing list in order to get a return from your efforts. In this blog we give you some of our favourite email marketing tips for small businesses.
Make the process easy to sign up
If a customer has to fill in endless information boxes they will soon give up and abandon the sign up process. This is something you want to avoid at all costs, therefore make the process as simple as possible. We advise to make the name and email address boxes mandatory then have the other information fields optional so that they can fill them in if desired.
Give them a worthwhile incentive
It can be hard to get visitors to sign up for your newsletter, why not provide an incentive so that they are more likely to sign up. This could be a discount, a free item, free delivery, free demo, exclusive offers etc. All would make users more likely to sign up to receive your marketing emails.
Be strategic with your ‘sign up now’ button
The placement of your newsletter sign up button is important, if misplaced you could be missing out on vital subscribers. We advise to have it above the fold (this is the top half of your page that appears before needing to scroll down), on the right-hand side, in the footer and at the end of blogs.
Explain what they should expect
In order to be GDPR compliant, you will need to tell users what they will be getting in exchange for their personal information. As well as being lawful, by doing this you are not misleading visitors and can nurture better relationships that could lead to more purchases.
Customise when you can
Emails that are personalised get a lot higher open rates than those without, ensure you are including personalisation tokens whenever possible. Nobody likes a corporate email which has clearly been sent to multiple people. If the email is personalised it will make the user feel personally thought of by the company, this can lead to better click-through rates which are essential in order to start the purchasing journey.
Make it easy to read
Most users will skim read their emails to see if they are valuable or not. You will need to clearly communicate what exactly the email is about, how the user can benefit and how to unlock the benefit. The email should be detailed but short in order to have a high impact without the user needing 5 hours to read through it all.
Use social media to shout out your newsletter
Your website is not the only platform that you can use to promote your newsletter, you can also speak about it on your social media. You have a following who want to see extra content from you, therefore they will most likely want to subscribe to your emails too.
Give them the option to change/leave
It is vital that you always give users the option to change their subscription preferences or remove themselves from the list entirely. You should make this process as clear and simple as possible so that you do not aggravate or provoke a bad response from users.
Include your social media handles in the email
If the user has found your email particularly useful they will want to share it with others. Therefore, make it easier for them to do this by plugging your social media handles/buttons into your email, this will also encourage others to do this who had not necessarily thought to share it. This could lead to more subscribers, more website visits or even more social media followers.
Include links in your emails
Within your emails, you will want to provide links to your other helpful resources and encourage users to go to your website. Your website will be the main hub and converter to get people to go from visitor to customer, therefore, the more you provide links the more likely users will click through. However, do not do too many links as this minimises the power they have in getting people to click.
Ensure they are mobile optimised
Majority of emails are opened on mobile, therefore if they do not appear correctly on screen it will cause more people to abandon quickly. Ensure they are optimised for mobile and double check how they look on a variety of mobile screens. Most email services provide a testing feature where you can see how the email will look on mobile, make use of this option!
Watch the results- take note and learn!
Now you have sent the email the work is not over. You will need to watch, measure and analyse the results to see what went well, what didn’t and how to improve for the future.
Subscribe to your competitor’s newsletter list
You will need to regularly complete competitor analysis to see how you can better your own business. This includes being subscribed to your competitor’s newsletter so that you can see how their email marketing efforts are performing. This could provide insight into their strategy, inspire your own decisions and watch for any trends. You have similar target audiences, therefore their marketing should be watched carefully.
For further insights and guidance, we invite you to explore our blog at 07hm.co.uk/blog. Here, you’ll find a wealth of information tailored to the needs and challenges of SMEs navigating the digital landscape. Additionally, if you have specific questions or need personalised advice, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email at info@07hm.co.uk or telephone on 01702 410663.
