Bonfire Buzz: Building an Effective Email Marketing Platform | Small ...

Despite the never ending to-do list that every small business owner faces, the need for effective marketing does not waver. Small business owners must find a way to market their business, service, or product that is effective and can be done personally. This is where email marketing comes into play for the small business owner. Email marketing is an inbound marketing strategy that allows the business owner to communicate with consumers in a cost effective manner, directly through their inbox.

I don?t know about you, but I check my email daily ? sometimes more that daily. More than 50% of consumers who make purchases online do so as a direct outcome of email (Exact Target, 2009) they received. Marketing through email allows business owners to engage with their customers on a personal level and drive sales through the connection this communication brings.

I?ve gathered some extremely valuable information for beginners to help them get started.

Offer a Monthly Newsletter

Over the years, the Small Business Bonfire community has gathered a plethora of information on how to create and run a successful email newsletter for a small business, ?follow these 7 tips for creating an email marketing strategy that will survive for years to come and engage your customers in a way you never dreamed possible.

Choose the Right Platform

When it comes to email marketing, there are many different services available to choose from and the variety can be overwhelming for small business owners. Small Biz Trends collected 24 of the best email marketing services to help small business owners make the right choice for their company.

Know your Limits

As Marketing Profs points out, when building your subscription list and email content, it is important to remember to be yourself and to promote realistic expectations on what you, the small business owner, will be able to offer through the email subscription. In other words, don?t promise more than you can deliver.

Build Your List

Okay, so you have the platform and you?re certain about what you want to offer your readers, now what? Now it?s time for you to build your email subscription list. You?re probably already aware of how to to gather email addresses from current clients, but how do you attract new customers and subscribers? The U.S. Small Business Administration has five easy to follow tips for building your small business email marketing list.

Follow the Rules

Yes, there are rules to email marketing; there are also laws. It?s important for the small business owner to follow these simple email marketing rules when reaching out to prospective clients. Emily Suess shares the five unbreakable rules every small business owner and email marketer should know before pressing send the first time.

Learn from Your Mistakes

Just like with everything else in life, you?re going to make mistakes in your email marketing. The important thing is for you to learn from those mistakes and build a better, more effective, newsletter/marketing campaign. Learn how to gauge your customers? responses and adjust your frequency, content and offers in way that appeals to them.

Do you have any tips for business owners just getting started on their email outreach?

Image Credit: OmirOnia

Source: http://smallbusinessbonfire.com/bonfire-buzz-building-an-effective-email-marketing-platform

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