Everything Local Business Owners Need to Know to Build, Promote And Grow Your Email List
Email marketing isn’t dead.
You own your email addresses. You don't own your social media account or any of your followers. One hack and it could all be gone tomorrow. If you don't have an email list, it's going to be very hard to reach all of your customers and rebuild what you lost.
But email marketing can be used for some much more than your safety net.
Whether you’re sharing new products, a change of hours, new location, a holiday promo, or other updates your customers look forward to hearing about, it’s a great place to gather the names and emails of the people who do business with you.
Whether you’re a restaurant or a brick + mortar or a lawn-care provider, email marketing can allow you to reach more people and create the foot traffic, book appointments, or whatever response you desire.
Think about the total number of customers who have purchased from you.
What would happen if even 10% of them always did the thing you told them about in your email?
If you’ve had 1000 customers and 100 of them took action on your email how would that impact your bottom line?
And then what would happen if 100 people took action on your email every time you sent it?
The worst thing that happens is people don’t open your email, but they see your brand and now you’re top of mind.
The best things?
Sales
New appointments
More foot traffic
Forwarded email
An educated audience
An educated customer will share correct information to those who bring up your brand or even bring you up in conversation because you shared something new and interesting. Even if they never take action on what you sent!
We’ve watched our clients get tremendous results from email marketing. One client in particular stayed afloat because of an e-gift card campaign that was promoted through email marketing.
Think about it for a minute. When something shifts in your business, how do you get the word out? Social media?
I’m sure if you have a really great following and engaged audience, social media WORKS, but I’m here to tell you that email marketing paired with social media will move your message so much further.
Here are some of the common objections we hear to building an email list. :)
I don’t know how.
I don’t know what to say.
My list is really small.
People don’t like email.
I don’t have time.
Would you be willing to give email marketing a try?
I wouldn’t talk about this all the time if it was a waste of time. I wouldn’t bring it up if it was too technical or advanced or complicated.
The fact is, it can be easy. And you can create a process that eventually becomes a habit.
And think… as your customer base grows you have MORE people who will see and respond to your offer.
If you’re intrigued and willing to give it a try, I’m going to give you my BEST how-tos, tips, templates, and ideas to get started. How much? Free.
Why on earth would I be giving you something easily worth $500 for free?
I watched dozens of my local friends struggle when Covid-19 hit. This could have helped tremendously. As businesses were pivoting, changing hours, changing how they distributed their products… their only means of communication was social media.
And leaving your communication up to an algorithm is risky business.
If you’re ready to launch your email list, start working through our five day training below!
Select Your System
Before you can set up your audience, you need to choose your email marketing system! If you’re brand new to email marketing, watch this short video.
In this training, we use MailChimp because it’s free to get started, and most of our Love Local community is using it right now.
Others we love?
Set Up Your Audience in MailChimp
Many people stop taking action because they’re overwhelmed by all the options. Don’t let this be you! Select one and proceed so you can keep moving forward!
Watch this short tutorial as I walk you through the essentials of creating your audience (otherwise known as your email list) in MailChimp.
WAIT! Before you add people to your audience, be sure you watch the lesson below on being compliant. If you do not watch this and follow the rules of email marketing, you’ll risk getting your account SHUT DOWN. Seriously, be sure to watch it before adding emails to this list. 😁
How to Create Your Opt-In Form
Do you want your customers, website visitors, and social media followers to have an easy way to get subscribed to your list? You need a couple key opt-in forms and they are super simple to make! Watch this short video.
Are You Being Compliant?
⚠️ This is Important: Don't Do Anything Else Until You Watch This Video⚠️
After watching this video make sure, moving forward, it’s clear that when people buy something from you or subscribe, they will be added to your email list. Also always make sure your emails have a place for people to unsubscribe (it’s the law!).
For more information about compliance from Mailchimp click here, otherwise search “compliance” with your email marketing provider to find more information.
How To Import Emails Using a CSV File
If you do have email addresses on file you have permission to add to your email marketing system, let me show you how to do it quickly!
Build Your Email Template
Watch this video to see how we recommend getting your template set up in MailChimp.
How To Create A Campaign
Learn how to take that template you designed and get your email set up to send.
What to Write in Your Emails
There’s no “one size fits all” when it comes to the content you’ll be putting in your emails, but we’re here to give you some ideas to get started! Watch this video to learn how to approach your copy when it comes to communicating with your list.
When to Send Your Emails
First and foremost, I am ONLY sharing this with you because I know some people will ask, but please do not be too rigid about this when starting out. It can guide you but don't become too attached to these dates and times. 😉
According to research (primarily focused on e-commerce/digital companies), the best DAYS to send emails is Thursday, followed closely by Tuesday.
Research shows that Tuesdays are the best Click-Through-Rate days, so if you want people to take action and click your buttons, Tuesday is your day.
The worst days are Mondays and Saturdays.
The best TIME to send an email is 8 a.m., 1 p.m. or 4 p.m.
Think about it...
People are checking email before signing into work, right after lunch, or on their commute home.
Ultimately, all of this will depend on trial/error and you getting to know YOUR customers and their preferences, lifestyles, etc.
All of your email marketing systems will allow you to schedule emails on specific dates/times, so if you're someone who likes to do batch work and get things scheduled far in advance, you can schedule everything (similar to social media and scheduling platforms). If you pay a little more money to email marketing programs, they'll oftentimes recommend certain times FOR you based on your audience's open rates, which can be quite handy.
Grow Your Email List
Watch this video to discover ideas you can use to grow your email list.
Tools we recommended in this video training:
Build Your Welcome Sequence
Watch the video to learn how to set up nurture emails in your email marketing platform.
15 Ideas on What to Put in Your Nurture Email List
Here are some ideas on what to include in your nurture email sequences!
Photos of your store, workspace, etc.
Meet the team! - introduce yourself and your teammates
Meet our customers/clients - share reviews from your customers
Exclusive promotion only available to new subscribers
Story of how you started your business
What makes you different from other businesses like yours
Your favorite resources related to your industry/business
Your social media links, website, physical location, contact info
In-depth description of one of your best-selling products/services
Teach/instruct how to do something related to your business (EX: you’re an interior designer, share how to dress up a blank wall or let’s say you sell pizza, share a list of drinks that pair best with your dishes)
Pair your products with complimentary items
New product line, service offerings
Old school bio with fun facts (think name, hometown, favorite: song, color, food, local business, etc.)
One of your recent blog posts, videos, posts that performed well
Ask your subscribers a question: what are you struggling with? What product/service would you most like to see in our business?
Wrap Up
That’s it! You now have everything you need to officially get your email marketing system launched and start sending out emails to your audience.
Like learning with Love Local? Join us for even more!
This was a sneak peek into a lesson we offer in Local Business School, a community full of resources, workshops, and education specifically designed for local business owners. Want the details?
