Email marketing can be a useful and efficient way of talking to existing and potential customers: in 2015, the Direct Marketing Association’s annual client survey found that for every £1 a business spent on email marketing, they received an average return on investment of £38.
However, the trickiest part of email marketing for local businesses can be building up your list of subscribers. Without a strong list of people to send your emails to, you won’t see a good return in regards to the time or energy you’re spending on writing and sending your email marketing.
The first step in building your email database is to understand the legal requirements. No-one likes getting spam emails, so it’s important the people who receive your emails actually want to get them.
What the law says about email marketing
You can only send marketing emails to people who have given you permission to use their email address, which is normally done with a check box a person can tick at the end of an online form.
These emails must also comply with normal marketing and product laws by explaining who you are, what you’re selling and what the conditions of sale are. You can read more about the requirements here.
With this in mind, here are some simple ways to encourage people to give you their email address and build your email database.
Build email into day-to-day communication
Making email an everyday part of your conversations with customers means you’ll have their email address for future use. Email customers with quotes for work, invoices, receipts, booking confirmations and a quick note of thanks, rather than doing it on the phone or by post.
When you do email a customer, ask them if they’d like to receive other emails from you so they’re the first to know about promotions, discounts and news from your company. Many customers will be happy to hear from you again, especially if you’ve provided a great service.
Create a sign-up form on your website
Creating a simple sign-up form for your site is another way for them to provide you with an email address. Make the form clear and simple. Explain what you’ll be sending and when, and why they should sign up. People get lots of emails, so they need a very good reason to sign up to another one; it could be exclusive offers, helpful articles, discounts or invitations to special events. Remember that even once someone has subscribed to your emails, you face the challenge of ensuring they don’t unsubscribe too, so the content must always stay relevant to your subscribers.
If you use an email marketing provider like MailChimp you’ll be able to create this sign-up form using their free tools.
Ask followers on social media
You can share updates on social media which encourage people to sign up to your emails. Direct them to the sign-up form on your website, or if you don’t have this functionality yet, get them to send you their email address via private or direct messages on social media as an alternative. Just like getting people to sign up using a form on your website, you’ll need a strong reason for them to sign up through social media.
Competitions and giveaways can be excellent ways of building your list – people need to provide their email to enter a competition, which you can then use for email marketing. However, you should still be very clear with people about how you’ll use their email after the competition has ended.
If you have followers on social media who really like your emails, ask them to pass on the details or share it with a friend – if the service you provide is excellent, most customers will be happy to do this.
Use offline channels
If you have a shop, set up a little postbox on the counter and encourage visitors to drop off their business card. You could also use a comments book, or a guest book if you run a hotel or local attraction – ask people for feedback and an email address, and make sure it’s very clear they know they’re signing up for regular email marketing from you.
If you exhibit at trade shows, take this postbox and guestbook with you to get more email addresses. You could use similar techniques as before to encourage people to sign up, such as running an exclusive competition just for that trade show. Networking events are also a great place to swap business cards and ask people if they’d like to hear more from you (via email) in the future.
Your email database is a useful tool in marketing your local business to new and potential customers. Remember the laws around spamming people and make sure you always give them a choice to opt out. Importantly, making your emails interesting and explaining the benefits of being an email subscriber will mean people are more likely to sign up, giving you more opportunities to make a sale.
Already built up a brilliant email database? Take a look at these articles to help ensure your emails are as successful as possible:
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